BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1629|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1629
Author: Bonta (D), et al.
Amended: 8/21/14 in Senate
Vote: 27
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Hancock, De León, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson, Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/28/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Victims of crime fund: reimbursement for peer
violence recovery counseling
SOURCE : Youth Alive
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board (Board) to reimburse a
crime victim or a derivative victim for outpatient
violence-peer-counseling expenses incurred.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/21/14 require that a peer violence
counselor shall be directly supervised by a licensed
professional, such as a psychologist or marriage and family
counselor, who is employed by the same agency that employs the
peer counselor.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.States that all persons who suffer losses as a result of
criminal activity shall have the right to restitution from the
perpetrators.
2.Requires the court to order a criminal defendant to pay both a
restitution fine and restitution to the victim or victims, if
any, in addition to any other penalty provided or imposed
under the law.
3.Establishes the Board to operate the California Victim
Compensation Program.
4.Provides than an application for compensation shall be filed
with the Board in the manner determined by the Board.
5.States that except as provided by specified sections of the
Government Code, a person shall be eligible for compensation
when specified requirements are met.
6.Disqualifies certain individuals from eligibility, including a
participant in the crime for which compensation is being
sought, and persons convicted of a felony who are currently on
probation or parole.
7.Authorizes the Board to reimburse for pecuniary loss as
specified.
8.Limits the total award to or on behalf of each victim to
$35,000, except that this amount may be increased to $70,000
if federal funds for that increase are available.
This bill:
1.Allows the Board to reimburse for outpatient violence peer
counseling expenses to direct or derivative crime victims.
2.Defines "service organization for victims of violent crime" to
mean a nongovernmental organization that meets both of the
following criteria:
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A. Its primary mission is to provide services to victims of
violent crime.
B. It provides programs or services to victims of violent
crime and their families, and other programs, whether or
not a similar program exists in an agency that provides
additional services.
1.Defines "violence peer counseling services" to mean counseling
by a violence peer counselor for the purpose of rendering
advice or assistance for victims of violent crime and their
families.
2.Defines "violence peer counselor" to mean a provider of formal
or informal counseling services who is employed by a service
organization for victims of violent crime, whether financially
compensated or not, and who meets all of the following
requirements:
A. Possesses at least six months of full-time equivalent
experience in providing peer support services acquired
through employment, volunteer work, or as part of an
internship experience.
B. Completed a training program aimed at preparing an
individual who was once a mental health services consumer
to use his/her life experience with mental health
treatment, combined with other strengths and skills, to
promote the mental healthier recovery of other mental
health services consumers who are in need of peer-based
services relating to recovery as a victim of a violent
crime.
C. Possesses 40 hours of training on all of the following:
(1) The profound neurological, biological,
psychological, and social effects of trauma and
violence.
(2) Peace-building and violence prevention strategies,
including, but not limited to, conflict mediation and
retaliation prevention related to gangs and gang-related
violence.
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(3) Post-traumatic stress disorder and vicarious
trauma, especially as related to gangs and gang-related
violence.
(4) Case management practices, including, but not
limited to, ethics and victim compensation advocacy.
A. When providing violence peer counseling services,
requires supervision by a marriage and family therapist, a
licensed educational psychologist, a clinical social worker
or a licensed professional clinical counselor, as
specified. Provides that the licensed marriage and family
therapist, licensed educational psychologist, licensed
clinical social worker, or licensed professional clinical
counselor shall be employed by the same service
organization as the violence peer counselor.
1.Sunsets these provisions January 1, 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, increase in
victim compensation payments potentially in excess of $150,000
(Special Fund*) for two years based on the current peer
counseling rate of $15 per weekly session for up to 10 weeks
($150 maximum per victim), assuming 1,000 victims served
annually.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/14)
Youth Alive (source)
AFSCME
California Catholic Conference
California Equity Leaders Network
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Californians for Safety and Justice
Children's Defense Fund-California
City of Oakland
Crime Victims United of California
National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention
Programs
PolicyLink
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San Francisco Wraparound Project
Wellspace Health
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/14)
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
The California Attorney General has reported a 3% increase in
violent crime from 2011-2012. These statistics demonstrate the
need to expand statewide efforts to curb violence. The Board
received 54,115 applications for assistance in fiscal year
2012-2013. Of those greater than half - 29,000 - were related
to violent crimes, excluding sexual assault. Ending violent
crime and supporting victims of violent crime should be major
priorities for the state.
This bill will support violence prevention efforts, targeting
those eligible for benefits offered by the Board. For example,
victims of gun violence often return to the environment where
the crime occurred. This return creates a cycle where victims
are constantly traumatized by experiencing the event over and
over. Moreover, victims are also more likely to be victimized
again in the place where the violence occurred. Hospital-based
violence intervention programs are proven to be effective in
ending the trend; this bill removes a statutory barrier to
achieving that objective.
This bill provides reimbursement for a crime victim or
derivative victim for outpatient violence peer counseling
expenses, thereby providing greater and more equitable access to
services for all victims of violent crime. This reimbursement
is a first step to curbing community violence and supporting
victims. Setting up a pay-for-service reimbursement for
'Violence Intervention Specialists' would accomplish two things:
(1) Allow more organizations to offer intervention specialist
services to victims, and (2) Increase the number of victims
receiving benefits, who can spread awareness among victims about
the services offered. This bill is part of the recognition that
all victims of violent crime deserve support and assistance.
This bill is also a big step toward relieving our communities of
the violence that plagues them.
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Taxpayers for Improving Public
safety write, "Although there is no doubt that crime victims
should to the extent possible be provided with whatever
treatment will assist them in recovery from the trauma of crime,
it is absolutely clear that the Victim Compensation Fund is not
a reasonable source from which to seek reimbursement. At this
time, for reasons which this committee should undertake a
separate investigation, the Fund is bankrupt. The Board has
been overly generous from the limited funding source, i.e.,
incarcerated and paroled individuals who at best earn minimum
wage and while incarcerated, earn pennies per hour."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/28/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
JG:e 8/22/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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