BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2685
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2685 (Cooley) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Requires that a personal representative or estate
attorney notify the Victim Compensation Government Claims Board
(board) when a deceased person leaves money to a beneficiary
incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies that a representative of the board may provide the
probation department, district attorney, and court with
information relevant to the board's losses before the
imposition of the defendant's sentence, in accordance with
specified provisions of law.
2)Expands the inmate inheritance notice obligation to the board
so that it covers not only heirs, but also beneficiaries.
3)Expands the notice obligation to the board to cover not only
presently incarcerated persons, but also to cover those heirs
and beneficiaries that the personal representative or estate
attorney knows, without the benefit of conducting an
investigation, were previously incarcerated in a state or
local correctional facility.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the board to operate the Victim Compensation
Program (VCP). (Gov. Code, § 13950 et. seq.)
2)Authorizes the board to reimburse for pecuniary loss for the
following types of losses:
a) The amount of medical or medical-related expenses
incurred by the victim, subject to specified limitations;
b) The amount of out-patient psychiatric, psychological or
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other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by
the victim, as specified, including peer counseling
services provided by a rape crisis center;
c) The expenses of non-medical remedial care and treatment
rendered in accordance with a religious method of healing
recognized by state law;
d) Compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of
support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs
as a direct result of the victim's injury or the victim's
death, subject to specified limitations;
e) Cash payment to, or on behalf of, the victim for job
retraining or similar employment-oriented services;
f) The expense of installing or increasing residential
security, not to exceed $1,000, with respect to a crime
that occurred in the victim's residence, upon verification
by law enforcement to be necessary for the personal safety
of the victim or by a mental health treatment provider to
be necessary for the emotional well-being of the victim;
g) The expense of renovating or retrofitting a victim's
residence or a vehicle to make them accessible or
operational, if it is medically necessary; and
h) Expenses incurred in relocating, as specified, if the
expenses are determined by law enforcement to be necessary
for the personal safety or by a mental health treatment
provider to be necessary for the emotional well-being of
the victim. (Gov. Code, § 13957, subd. (a).)
3)Requires the court to order the defendant to make restitution
to the victim in an amount established by the court and based
on the amount of loss claimed by the victim, or victims, or
any other showing to the court. (Pen. Code, § 1202.4, subd.
(f).)
4)States that the court retains jurisdiction over the defendant
if the amount of victim restitution owed cannot be ascertained
at the time of sentencing. The court also retains
jurisdiction to modify a restitution order. (Pen. Code, §
1202.46.)
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5)Provides that the amount of restitution shall not be affected
by the indemnification or subrogation rights of a third party.
(Pen. Code, § 1202.4, subd. (f)(2).)
6)Provides that if the victim has received assistance from the
Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (board), then
the restitution payments shall be deposited in the Restitution
Fund, to the extent of the assistance received. (Pen. Code, §
1202.4, subd. (f)(2).)
7)Specifies that the amount of assistance provided by the
Restitution Fund shall be established by copies of bills
submitted to the board reflecting the amount paid by the board
and specifying the types of services. Certified copies of
these bills provided by the board, together with a statement
made under penalty of perjury by the custodian of records that
those bills were submitted to and were paid by the board,
shall be sufficient to meet this requirement. (Pen. Code, §
1202.4, subd. (f)(4)(B).)
8)Requires that when a deceased person has an heir who is
confined in a prison facility under CDCR's jurisdiction or
confined in any county or city jail, road camp, industrial
farm, or other local correctional facility, the estate
attorney or if there is no estate attorney, the beneficiary;
the personal representative; or the person in possession of
property of the decedent shall notify the director of the
board of the decedent's death and the name and location of the
decedent's heir not later than 90 days after the date of
death. The notice shall include a copy of the decedent's
death certificate. (Prob. Code, § 216.)
9)Requires that the notice to the board contain the heir's name,
date of birth, place of incarceration, booking number, a copy
of the decedent's death certificate, the probate case number,
and the name of the superior court hearing the case. (Prob.
Code, § 216.)
10)Allows the director of the board four months after notice is
received to pursue collection of any outstanding restitution
fines or orders. (Prob. Code, § 9202.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Existing law
provides that the VCGCB compensate crime victims; the law
permits the Board to recover these funds from criminal
offenders. AB 2685:
"1) Authorizes a representative of the Board to submit
information on the Board's losses directly to the court,
probation department, or district attorney, so as to enhance
the Board's ability to collect restitution funds from
offenders;
"2) Subject former inmates, and those classified as
beneficiaries, to the same notification requirements as
current inmates, and those classified as heirs; and
"This will close the gaps in current law and will provide the
Board with a more effective enforcement mechanism for
collecting restitution."
2)Background : The board provides compensation to victims of
violent crime. It reimburses eligible victims for many
crime-related expenses. Funding for the board comes from
restitution fines and penalty assessments paid by criminal
offenders, as well as federal matching funds. (See CVGCB Web
site http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/board.)
3)Probate Provisions : A person that is in charge of an estate
has to locate heirs and beneficiaries in order to make
distributions. Under current law, if the administrator of an
estate learns that an heir in incarcerated, then he or she is
required to notify the board. The board can then pursue
collection activities if the inmate owes restitution.
This bill expands the notice obligation to cover beneficiaries
as well as heirs. This bill also expands the notice
obligation to cover those heirs and beneficiaries who the
administrator knows were previously incarcerated, not just
those presently incarcerated. However, the administrator need
not conduct any investigation to determine prior
incarceration.
4)Argument in Support : The California Victims Compensation and
Government Claims Board , the sponsor of this bill, states,
"The Board is sponsoring this bill, which allows a
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representative of the Board to provide information on its
economic losses to a court for purposes of inclusion in a
restitution order. It also provides notification to the Board
of funds that criminal offenders are to receive from an
estate. These provisions will enhance the Board's ability to
collect restitution from criminal offenders and increase
revenue to the Restitution Fund, which supports the Victim
Compensation Program."
5)Argument in Opposition : According to Taxpayers for Improving
Public Safety , "This legislation fails to take into account
the needs of estate beneficiaries not subject to a restitution
order. Unless this bill is amended to establish (1) a
mandatory period within which after notice the Board must
present the demand for payment to the Superior Court or
Trustee must present a claim, a failure of which will be
deemed a waiver to the court the same as any other creditor's
claim and (2) a requirement that the claim include an accurate
accounting and basis for the claim, it is the remaining heirs
and beneficiaries that will suffer. The Board is already
adequately protected by the publication of notice pursuant to
Prob. Code § 8120 and the giving of notice of administration
of the decedent's estate pursuant to Prob. Code §§ 9050-9054,
as well as Prob. Code, 9203 as to any distribution."
6)Related Legislation : AB 2489 (Lowenthal) decreases fees for
attorneys representing victims before the board. AB 2489 was
pending before this Committee, but the hearing was cancelled
at the request of the author.
7)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 717 (Fuller), Chapter 582, Statutes of 2008,
specified additional information that estate administrators
must include when notifying the board of a pending
inheritance to an inmate.
b) SB 972 (Poochigian), Chapter 238, Statutes of 2005,
required that the board be notified when an inmate is
scheduled to inherit money from an estate.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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California Crime Victim Assistance Association
California District Attorneys Association
Crime Victims United of California
Merced County District Attorney
Opposition
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744