BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                             SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
                          Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair

          BILL NO:       AB 1733
          AUTHOR:        Quirk-Silva, Atkins, and Maienschein
          AMENDED:       May 23, 2014
          HEARING DATE:  June 18, 2014
          CONSULTANT:    Moreno

           SUBJECT  :  Public records: fee waiver.
           
          SUMMARY  :  Requires local registrars or county recorders, on or  
          after July 1, 2015, to issue a birth certificate without a fee  
          to any person, who can verify his or her status as a homeless  
          person or a homeless child or youth, as defined.  Prohibits, on  
          and after January 1, 2016, a fee from being charged for an  
          original or replacement identification card issued by the  
          Department of Motor Vehicles to any person who can verify his or  
          her status as a homeless person or homeless child or youth, as  
          specified. 

          Existing law:
          1.Requires the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, a local  
            registrar, or a county recorder, upon payment of a required  
            fee, to supply applicants with a certified copy of birth,  
            fetal death, death, marriage, or divorce records.  Requires  
            applicants for birth or death records to pay a fee.  

          2.Allows the State Registrar, local registrar, or county  
            recorder to furnish a certified copy of birth, death, or  
            marriage records to applicants upon request if the request is  
            written or faxed and accompanied by a notarized statement,  
            sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester is an  
            "authorized person," or, the request is made in person, and  
            the official takes a statement, sworn under penalty of  
            perjury, that the requester is signing his or her own legal  
            name and is an "authorized person." 

          3.Defines "authorized person," for purposes of obtaining  
            certified copies of birth, death, or non-confidential marriage  
            records, as:

                a.      The person who is the subject of the record or the  
                  parent or legal guardian of that person;
                b.      A party who is entitled to receive the record as a  
                  result of a court order, or certain parties associated  
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                  with an adoption;
                c.      Law enforcement or governmental agency personnel  
                  conducting official business;
                d.      A child, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic  
                  partner, or grandparent of the person who is the subject  
                  of the record;
                e.      An attorney or other person empowered to act on  
                  behalf of the person who is the subject of the record or  
                  his or her estate; or,
                f.      An agent or employee of a funeral establishment  
                  who orders death certificates when acting on behalf of  
                  specified individuals.

          4.Requires a notary, prior to notarizing a document, to obtain  
            satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person signing  
            the document.   Permits this evidence to include the oath of a  
            witness who is personally know to the notary, as specified;  
            the oath of two witnesses who prove their identities with a  
            current passport or identification (ID) card, as specified;  
            or, presentation of a current passport or ID card, as  
            specified.

          5.Permits the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue an ID  
            card to any person who provides their true full name, correct  
            age, and any other identifying data as required by DMV.   
            Requires an application for an ID card to be signed and  
            verified by the applicant, as specified, and requires the  
            applicant to provide a legible thumb or finger print. Requires  
            a $26 fee to be paid to DMV for the issuance of an ID card.   
            Requires an original or replacement ID card for a senior  
            citizen to be issued free of charge.  Requires an original or  
            replacement ID card to be $6 for an applicant that can provide  
            proof of eligibility for public assistance programs, as  
            specified.  

          This bill:
          1.Requires local registrars or county recorders, on or after  
            July 1, 2015, to issue a birth certificate without a fee to  
            any person, who can verify his or her status as a homeless  
            person or a homeless child or youth, as defined.  Permits  
            Department of Public Health (DPH) to implement and administer  
            this bill through an all-county letter or similar instructions  
            from the director or State Registrar.

          2.Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2016, a fee from being  
            charged for an original or replacement ID card issued to any  




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            person who can verify his or her status as a homeless person  
            or homeless child or youth. Requires a determination of  
            eligibility for these purposes be subject to regulations  
            adopted by the DMV.  Prohibits a person applying for an  
            identification card from being charged a fee for verification  
            of his or her eligibility.

          3.Permits a homeless services provider that has knowledge of a  
            person's housing status to verify that status for the purposes  
            in 1) and 2) above.  Defines "homeless services provider" as  
            including, but not being limited to:

               a.     A governmental or nonprofit agency receiving  
                 federal, state, or county or municipal funding to provide  
                 services to a "homeless person" or "homeless child or  
                 youth," or that is otherwise sanctioned to provide those  
                 services by a local homeless continuum of care  
                 organization;
               b.     An attorney licensed to practice law in this state;
               c.     A local educational agency liaison for homeless  
                 children and youth designated as such pursuant to  
                 existing federal law, or a school social worker;
               d.     A human services provider or public social services  
                 provider funded by the State to provide homeless children  
                 or youth services, health services, mental or behavioral  
                 health services, substance use disorder services, or  
                 public assistance or employment services; and, for the  
                 purposes of an ID card, any other homeless services  
                 provider that is qualified to verify an individual's  
                 housing status, as determined by the DMV.

          4.Requires a request for a birth certificate made pursuant to  
            this bill to be made by a homeless person or a homeless child  
            or youth on behalf of themselves, or by any person lawfully  
            entitled to request a certified record of live birth on behalf  
            of a child, if the child has been verified as a homeless  
            person or a homeless child or youth, as specified. 

          5.Entitles a person applying for a birth certificate under this  
            bill to one certificate, per application, for each eligible  
            person verified as a homeless person or a homeless child or  
            youth. 

          6.Requires DPH to develop an affidavit that permits a person who  
            makes a request for a birth certificate to attest to his or  




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            her status as a homeless person or a homeless child or youth.   
            Requires the affidavit, for purposes of this bill, to  
            constitute sufficient verification that a person is a homeless  
            person or a homeless child or youth. 

          7.Prohibits a person applying for a birth certificate under this  
            bill from being charged a fee for verification of his or her  
            eligibility.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, one-time costs in the range of $150,000 to the DMV  
          (Motor Vehicle Account) for programming costs to allow for the  
          no-fee ID card, processing and mailing of additional ID cards,  
          revision of publications and forms, establishment of  
          regulations, and development and issuance of memorandum to  
          staff.

          In January 2013, there were approximately 136,000 homeless  
          individuals in California.  If five percent of these individuals  
          requested an identifying document in a given year, this bill  
          would generate costs of $50,000 to the General Fund in  
          state-reimbursable mandate costs to account for lost revenue to  
          counties and additional workload.  This bill would also result  
          in minor revenue loss and additional workload, likely around  
          $100,000 statewide (Motor Vehicle Account) to DMV to provide  
          free ID cards.

           PRIOR VOTES  :  
          Assembly Health:    19- 0
          Assembly Transportation:16- 0
          Assembly Appropriations: 17- 0
          Assembly Floor:     77- 0
           
          COMMENTS  :  
           1.Author's statement.  According to the author, people  
            experiencing homelessness rely on access to government  
            programs and social services in order to obtain housing,  
            employment, nutrition, health services, education, public  
            assistance and other benefits.  Nearly every state and federal  
            program providing these services requires an applicant  
            establish eligibility by producing proof of identity and/or  
            proof of residence.  The most common documents required are a  
            certified birth record and a valid, government-issued photo  
            identification card.  Many people experiencing homelessness  
            lack the necessary forms of personal identification needed to  
            establish their eligibility for the various public assistance  




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            and social programs previously mentioned. The most common  
            forms of identification that people experiencing homelessness  
            need in order to access these programs are birth records and  
            government-issued photo identification.  DPH and DMV both  
            charge fees to obtain certified copies of vital records and  
            government-issued photo identification, respectively.  For  
            many people experiencing homelessness, the fees levied are a  
            cost-prohibitive barrier to the legal documents they need to  
            access programs that could help end their homelessness.
            
          2.Background. The base fee for a copy of a birth certificate is  
            $12 and counties are allowed to raise the fee to cover the  
            costs of modernizing vital record operations and improving the  
            collection and analysis of health related birth and death  
            certificate information.  Costs vary from county to county  
            with the average cost to receive a copy of a birth certificate  
            ranging from $23 to $28.  According to DPH, they do not  
            currently have a process in place to provide a free or reduced  
            cost birth certificate.  
             
             The DMV offers a reduced fee ID card to applicants who have  
            been identified by a governmental or non-profit agency as  
            meeting the income eligibility requirements for certain  
            specified assistance programs, including but not limited to,  
            California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids, Food  
            Stamps/CalFresh, and Supplemental Security Income.

            Outside of the cost, there is no difference between the  
            reduced fee ID and the ID issued to applicants that pay the  
            full amount.  A government or non-profit agency must contact  
            DMV to request the verification paperwork and confirm that a  
            customer's income meets the requirements for a reduced fee ID  
            card.  The agency will complete the paperwork which is  
            provided to the customer to bring into their local DMV office  
            for processing.  In the 12 months ending November 2013, DMV  
            issued a total of 143,726 reduced fee ID cards, of which  
            34,193 were original ID cards and the rest were renewals.

          3.Double referral. This bill has been double referred. Should it  
            pass out of this committee, it will be referred to Senate  
            Transportation and Housing Committee.

          4.Prior legislation.  SB 1098 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal  
            Review), Chapter 212, Statutes of 2004, among other things,  
            authorized the DMV to provide photo IDs at a reduced fee to  




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            qualified individuals.

          5.Support.  According to Housing California (HC), the sponsor of  
            this bill, the problem of homelessness in California is  
            epidemic and the state is home to more than one in five people  
            experiencing homelessness in the United States.  HC writes in  
            support that people experiencing homelessness and living in  
            poverty are often without the resources to pay for a certified  
            birth certificate or state ID card.  Their inability to access  
            programs designed to improve their self-sufficiency allows  
            homelessness to persist, holding individuals back and costing  
            California millions of dollars in city, county and state  
            emergency resources.  The National Association of Social  
            Workers, the Coalition of California Welfare Rights  
            Organizations, Inc. and many other groups also support the  
            bill, writing that people who experience homelessness rely on  
            access to government programs or social services in order to  
            obtain the necessary items to survive, however, nearly every  
            state and federal program that provides these services  
            requires an applicant to provide proof of identity or  
            residence in order to qualify and this bill will make it  
            easier for them to do so.

          6.Oppose unless amended.  The County Recorders' Association of  
            California writes that this bill will allow a homeless  
            individual to receive copies of birth certificates for their  
            parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse, domestic partner,  
            children and grandchildren - even if those persons were not  
            homeless and this could create a significant cost to County  
            Recorders.  They oppose this bill unless it is amended so that  
            recorders can recover their costs for producing the document  
            as necessary.  

          7.Amendment.  Under current provisions, it is not clear as to  
            whether a homeless service provider's sign-off is required for  
            verification of a person's homelessness, or if someone can  
            self-certify.  According to the author, the intent is to not  
            allow for self-certification.  Towards that intent, the author  
            has agreed to an amendment to require the affidavit to include  
            verification of an applicant being homeless by a homeless  
            services provider.   
            SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION  :
          Support:  Housing California (sponsor)
                    American Legion, Dept. of California
                    AMVETS, Dept. of California
                    Aspiranet




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                    California Association of County Veterans Service  
                    Officers (CACVSO)
                    California Catholic Conference of Bishops
                    California Church IMPACT
                    California Coalition for Youth
                    California Communities United Institute
                    California Mental Health Directors Association (CMHDA)
                    California Mental Health Planning Council
                    California Police Chiefs Association
                    California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
                    California State Commanders Veterans Council
                    Central Coast HIV/AIDS Services
                    Century Housing
                    City and County of San Francisco
                    Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations,  
                    Inc.
                    Compass Family Services
                    Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
                    Cottage Housing, Inc.
                    County of Santa Clara
                    County Welfare Directors Association of California  
                    (CWDA)
                    EAH Housing
                    First Place for Youth
                    General Assistance Advocacy Project (GAAP)
                    Home Start
                    Hoopa Valley Tribe
                    Housing California (Sponsor)
                    Kern County Homeless Collaborative (KCHC)
                    Kings/Tulare Continuum of Care
                    Larkin Street Youth Services
                    Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
                    LINC Housing
                    Loaves & Fishes
                    Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
                    Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc.
                    Marin Partnership to End Homelessness
                    Military Officers Association of America, California  
                    Council Chapters
                    National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
                    National Association for the Education of Homeless  
                    Children and Youth 
                    National Association of Social Workers (NASW)  
                    California Chapter
                    Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority




          AB 1733 | Page 8




                    Paratransit
                    Pathways of Hope
                    People Assisting the Homeless (PATH)
                    Plowshares
                    Project Homeless Connect (PHC)
                    Project Sanctuary
                    Redwood Children Services, Inc.
                    River City Food Bank
                    Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee (SHOC)
                    Sacramento Homeless Youth Task Force
                    Sacramento Housing Alliance (SHA)
                    Sacramento LGBT Community Center
                    Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness  
                    (SCREH)
                    San Diego Housing Commission
                    San Diego Housing Federation
                    San Diego Hunger Coalition
                    San Luis Obispo County Office of Education
                    Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians
                    Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local  
                    1000
                    Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians
                    Skid Row Housing Trust
                    Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless
                    St. Mary's Center
                    St. Vincent DePaul - Father Joe's Villages
                    Swords to Plowshares
                    United Way of Greater Los Angeles
                    United Way of Silicon Valley
                    Veterans of Foreign Wars, Dept. of California
                    Western Center on Law and Poverty
                    Womanhaven, Inc.
                    Yolo County Continuum of Care
                    Yolo County Office of Education

          Oppose:   County Recorders' Association of California (unless  
                    amended)


                                      -- END --