BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1733|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1733
Author: Quirk-Silva (D), Atkins (D), and Maienschein (R), et
al.
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/18/14
AYES: Hernandez, Morrell, Beall, DeSaulnier, Evans, Monning,
Nielsen, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: De León
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/24/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/28/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public records: fee waiver
SOURCE : Housing California
DIGEST : This bill requires local registrars or county
recorders to issue a birth certificate without a fee to any
person who can verify his/her status as a homeless person or a
homeless child or youth; prohibits a fee from being charged for
an original or replacement identification card issued by the
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Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to any person who can verify
his/her status as a homeless person or homeless child or youth;
and requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to develop an
affidavit attesting to an applicant's status as a homeless
person or homeless child or youth.
ANALYSIS :
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/her own legal name
and is an "authorized person."
3.Requires a notary, prior to notarizing a document, to obtain
satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person signing
the document.
4.Permits 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:
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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/her status as a homeless person
or a homeless child or youth, as defined. Permits DPH to
implement and administer this bill through an all-county
letter or similar instructions from the Director or State
Registrar without taking regulatory action.
2.Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2016, a fee from being
charged for an original or replacement ID card issued to any
person who can verify his/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/her eligibility.
3.Requires 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.
1.Requires a request for a birth certificate made pursuant to
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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.
2.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.
3.Requires DPH to develop an affidavit attesting to an
applicant's status as a homeless person or homeless child or
youth. Specifies that the affidavit shall not be deemed
complete unless it is signed by both the person making a
request for a certified record of live birth and a homeless
services provider that has knowledge of the applicant's
housing status.
4.Adds a law enforcement officer designated as a liaison to the
homeless population by a local police department or sheriff's
department within the state to the definitions of a "homeless
services provider."
5.Prohibits a person applying for a birth certificate under this
bill from being charged a fee for verification of his/her
eligibility.
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,
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
According to the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development, there are about 136,000 homeless people in
California at any given time. Many of those homeless
individuals are homeless for a short time and may not have
lost track of their identification documents necessary for
application for public assistance programs. It is likely that
only a small portion of the homeless population will request a
free copy of their birth certificate or DMV-issued ID card in
any given year. (Also, only homeless individuals who are
still located in the county of their birth are likely to
request a copy of their birth certificate since a request by
mail must be notarized, creating additional costs). The
following cost estimates assume that 5% of the state's
homeless population request copies of these documents each
year.
One-time costs of about $300,000 for the development of
regulations and information technology changes to allow DMV to
issue no-cost ID cards (Motor Vehicle Account).
Ongoing cost of about $115,000 per year for DMV to issue
no-cost ID cards (Motor Vehicle Account).
Ongoing costs to local registrars and county recorders of
about $140,000 per year (local funds or General Fund). (This
analysis assumes that the fee charged to issues a birth
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certificate generally covers the cost to issue the document).
Local registrars or county recorders typically charge around
$25 for a copy of a birth certificate. Of that fee, $4.55 is
remitted to DPH to fund various programs relating to vital
records. Because the state is mandating local government to
issue no-cost birth certificates, this bill creates a
reimbursable state mandate. Whether counties file mandate
claims and the size of those claims for those costs will
depend on their actual costs.
Ongoing revenue loss to DPH of about $30,000 due to reduced
birth certificate fees (various funds).
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/14)
Housing California (source)
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
Aspiranet
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California Church IMPACT
California Coalition for Youth
California Communities United Institute
California Mental Health Directors Association
California Mental Health Planning Council
California Parole, Probation Officers, and Corrections
Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Association of Counties
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
Cottage Housing, Inc.
County of Santa Clara
County Welfare Directors Association of California
EAH Housing
First Place for Youth
General Assistance Advocacy Project
Home Start
Hoopa Valley Tribe
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Kern County Homeless Collaborative
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
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and
Youth
National Association of Social Workers California Chapter
Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority
Paratransit
Pathways of Hope
People Assisting the Homeless
Plowshares
Project Homeless Connect
Project Sanctuary
Redwood Children Services, Inc.
River City Food Bank
Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee
Sacramento Homeless Youth Task Force
Sacramento Housing Alliance
Sacramento LGBT Community Center
Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness
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
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, Department of California
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Western Center on Law and Poverty
Womanhaven, Inc.
Yolo County Continuum of Care
Yolo County Office of Education
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/19/14)
County Recorders' Association of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 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, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, 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: Beth Gaines, Melendez, Vacancy
JL:e 8/19/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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