BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 538
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
538 (Campos) - As Amended May 13, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill allows victims of specified felonies to be notified
that the person who committed the felony has entered into a
contract for the sale of the story of the crime, and extends by
five years (from ten to 15 years) the statute of limitations to
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file a civil action for damages against the person convicted of
the felony. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that any person or entity that enters into a
financial contract with a criminal offender for the sale of
the story of a crime for which the offender was convicted
shall notify the Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and
Services (OVS) within the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that the parties have entered into
such a contract, if the following are true:
a) A crime that is the basis of the story sold under the
contract is specified in Code of Civil Procedure Section
340.3(b) and resulted in the felony conviction of the
offender.
b) An action for damages against the offender is allowed to
be commenced pursuant to Section 340.3(b) of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
2)Requires OVS to notify the victim and members of the victim's
immediate family, as defined, that it has received
notification that a contract has been entered into for the
sale of the offender's story, if the victim or immediate
family member has previously requested to receive
notifications provided by OVS.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible fiscal impact for OVS to provide the required
notifications, which will likely be minimal.
COMMENTS:
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Background and Purpose. Currently, crime victims, their family
members, and certain witnesses in a criminal matter may fill out
a form (known as the "CDCR 1707 form") to provide their contact
information to OVS and request that OVS notify them in the case
of certain future events related to a particular criminal
offender. For example, the current CDCR 1707 form allows a
person to be notified of the release, escape, or death of the
offender; a criminal appeal by the offender; the parole hearing
date for an offender sentenced to life imprisonment; and the
scheduled execution of an offender sentenced to death. The form
is also used to inform OVS about the existence of a restitution
order, as well as any request for special conditions of parole
or community supervision when the offender is released from
incarceration.
According to the author, this bill would simply require OVS to
modify its current victim notification process to provide
notification of an additional event related to the criminal
offender-namely, a contractual relationship with another party
for the sale of the story of the crime for which he or she was
convicted.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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