BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1127
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Brian Maienschein, Chair
AB 1127
(Cooley) - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: Domestic and family violence: Sacramento County.
SUMMARY: Allows Sacramento County to increase fees by up to $4
for certified copies of marriage certificates, birth
certificates, fetal death records, and death records to fund
domestic and family violence prevention, intervention, and
prosecution. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the Sacramento County Zero Tolerance for Family
Violence and Human Trafficking Act.
2)Allows the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (Board),
upon making findings and declarations for the need for
governmental oversight and coordination of the multiple
agencies dealing with domestic violence, to authorize an
increase in the fees for certified copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and
death records, up to a maximum increase of $4.
3)Allows the Board, effective July 1 of each year, to authorize
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an increase in these fees by an amount equal to the increase
in the California Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the preceding
calendar year, rounded to the nearest 50 cents. The fees
shall be allocated pursuant to the provisions outlined in 7)
through 9), below.
4)Requires an applicant for a certified copy of a marriage
certificate, birth certificate, a fetal death record, or death
record in Sacramento County to pay to the local registrar,
county recorder, or county clerk the fees established by the
Board pursuant to 2) and 3), above.
5)Requires the Board to submit to the Legislature, no later than
July 1, 2017, a report containing the following information:
a) The total annual amount of funds received and expended
from fee increases for the purpose of governmental
oversight and coordination of domestic violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts in the county; and,
b) Outcomes achieved as a result of the activities
associated with the Sacramento County Zero Tolerance for
Family Violence and Human Trafficking Act.
6)Requires the report described above to be submitted in
compliance with existing law governing the process for
submitting reports to the Legislature.
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7)Requires the Board to direct the local registrar, county
recorder, and county clerk to deposit fees collected pursuant
to the provisions described, above, into a special fund.
8)Requires proceeds from the fund to be used for governmental
oversight and coordination of domestic violence and family
violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts
among the court system, the district attorney's office, the
public defender's office, law enforcement, the probation
department, mental health, substance abuse, child welfare
services, adult protective services, and community-based
organizations and other agencies working in Sacramento County
in order to increase the effectiveness of prevention, early
intervention, and prosecution of domestic and family violence.
9)Allows Sacramento County to retain up to 4 percent of the fund
for administrative costs associated with the collection and
segregation of the additional fees and the deposit of these
fees into the special fund.
10)Makes the following findings and declarations:
a) Since 2005, over 150 individuals have died in homicides
related to domestic violence. This number includes
children, one as young as two years old;
b) In 2013 alone, a total of 18,000 domestic
violence-related calls were reported by law enforcement
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entities within Sacramento County, with over 4,000 adult
cases arrested and over 2,400 cases filed and prosecuted;
c) More than 21,000 crisis calls are made to the three
domestic violence shelter programs in Sacramento County
every year;
d) Domestic violence has many hidden costs. These costs
include exposing children to recruitment by human
traffickers. Currently in Sacramento, 76 percent of the
children screened by the juvenile court are found to be
involved with, or vulnerable for recruitment to, human
trafficking have a family history with child protective
services, and 20 percent have an open case with child
protective services;
e) Sacramento has a high rate of human trafficking, and in
2013, the FBI Human Trafficking Task Force, in a multiday
sweep involving Sacramento, rescued the sixth highest total
of underage trafficking victims in the country;
f) Domestic violence is ubiquitous, it cuts across all
economic and education levels, all age groups, ethnicities,
and other social and community characteristics;
g) Domestic violence is insidious, it is characterized by a
predictable, repetitious cycle that can result in injury or
death of victims, including children;
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h) Domestic violence puts children at risk. Children in
homes where domestic violence occurs are physically abused
or seriously neglected at a rate significantly higher than
the national average in the general population;
i) Domestic violence is learned and generational. Studies
show that boys who witness family violence are more likely
to batter their female partners as adults than boys raised
in nonviolent homes. Girls who witness their mothers'
abuse have higher rates of being battered as adults and it
is often a precursor to becoming a victim of human
trafficking. Over 80 percent of victims of human
trafficking either suffered abuse in their homes or
witnessed such abuse between parents;
j) Substance abuse is a significant factor contributing to,
although not necessarily a cause of, domestic violence.
Many domestic violence offenders have documented histories
of substance abuse or were under the influence of drugs or
alcohol at the time a felony crime was committed. Over 80
percent of human trafficking victims had parents that
abused substances;
aa) Domestic violence is costly, both in human and
organizational terms. The results of domestic violence
have many hidden costs, such as job turnover, loss of
productivity, school absenteeism, low school performance,
in addition to the high cost of law enforcement, civil and
criminal justice, health services, mental health services,
substance abuse treatment, human services, and
community-based services;
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bb) The domestic violence prevention, intervention, and
prosecution system is complex and multifaceted, spanning
civil, criminal, health, and social service sectors, and in
order to be effective, there must be an alignment in the
objectives, protocols, policies, and activities of each
sector; and,
cc) A special law is necessary and a general law cannot be
made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article
IV of the California Constitution because of the unique
circumstances of Sacramento County with respect to domestic
violence and human trafficking.
11)Provides that this bill shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a
later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2021,
deletes or extends that date.
EXISTING LAW allows the following local jurisdictions to
increase fees for copies of marriage certificates, birth
certificates, fetal death records, and death records to fund
governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence
prevention, intervention, and prosecution programs: the City of
Berkeley (birth and death records only) and the Counties of
Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Sonoma, and Stanislaus.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
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1)Bill Summary. This bill allows Sacramento County to increase
fees by up to $4 for certified copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and
death records to fund domestic and family violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution. The Board must submit a report
to the Legislature by July 1, 2017, a report containing the
following information:
a) The total annual amount of funds received and expended
from fee increases for the purpose of governmental
oversight and coordination of domestic violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts in the county; and,
b) Outcomes achieved as a result of the activities
associated with the Sacramento County Zero Tolerance for
Family Violence and Human Trafficking Act.
This bill is sponsored by the Sacramento County Board of
Supervisors and the Sacramento County District Attorney.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "In 2013 alone,
a total of 18,000 domestic violence-related calls were
reported by law enforcement entities within Sacramento County.
More than 21,000 crisis calls are made to the three domestic
violence shelter programs in Sacramento County every year.
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"Domestic violence puts children at risk. Children in homes
where domestic violence occurs are physically abused or
seriously neglected at a rate significantly higher than the
national average. Children in these homes are more vulnerable
to recruitment to human traffickers. Currently, in
Sacramento, 76 percent of children screened by the Juvenile
Court and found to be involved or vulnerable for recruitment
to trafficking have a family history with Child Protective
Services (CPS). Twenty percent have an open case with CPS.
"The domestic violence prevention, intervention, and
prosecution system is complex and multi-faceted. It spans the
civil, criminal, health and social service sectors. To ensure
the effectiveness of the efforts to address domestic violence
in these sectors, it is necessary to ensure that their
objectives, protocols, policies, and activities are aligned."
3)Background. The Legislature has allowed the following local
jurisdictions to increase fees for copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and
death records to fund governmental oversight and coordination
of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution
programs: the City of Berkeley (birth and death records only)
and the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Sonoma, and
Stanislaus.
Contra Costa is allowed an increase of $4, while all other
jurisdictions are allowed a $2 increase. All jurisdictions
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may approve additional increases based on the CPI for the San
Francisco metropolitan area. These programs were initially
established on a pilot basis and were made permanent after
submitting required reports on their effectiveness to the
Legislature (with the exception of Stanislaus County, which
has a sunset date of January 1, 2016).
This bill establishes in a nearly identical fashion the same
authority for Sacramento County, which estimates additional
revenue of $500,000 annually from the bill's authority.
Sacramento County's current fees for these records range from
$11 to $28, depending on the type or record requested and the
type of requestor (a government agency or a member of the
public). Sacramento County would like to use funds generated
by the fee increases to assist in establishing a Family
Justice Center.
4)Sacramento County Family Justice Center. According to
Sacramento County's website, "In 2011, the national Family
Justice Center Alliance chose Sacramento County to receive
initial funds to launch a Family Justice Center (FJC). The
FJC will be available to serve victims of family violence and
sexual assaults, including victims of marital and dating
violence, elder and child abuse and human trafficking. The
FJC collaborative will include government agencies and
community based organizations working together with one
central facility where victims and their families can come to
access almost all services available in the county.
"Services will include immediate crisis intervention, safety
planning, social service eligibility, counseling, child
advocacy, emergency food and transportation, and many other
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support services designed to keep them from falling back into
the hands of the accused. Services will be either housed at
the center or linked via video. Although there are currently
15 FJCs throughout California, the Sacramento center will be a
first-of-its-kind in the state because it will integrate
Sacramento State as a key partner. The center will provide
unique learning and research opportunities for both students
and faculty members."
5)Proposition 26. In the November 2010 election, California
voters approved Proposition 26, which amended the California
Constitution to expand the definitions of local taxes and tax
increases that require voter approval. Under Proposition 26,
any levy, charge, or exaction
of any kind imposed by a local government is a tax, requiring
voter approval, except for:
a) A charge for a benefit or privilege conveyed directly to
the payor and not conveyed to those not charged;
b) A charge for a service or product provided directly to
the payor and not provided to those not charged;
c) A fee to cover certain costs of regulation;
d) Entrance fees for state or local property;
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e) Fines imposed by a court or a local government;
f) A charge imposed as a condition of property development;
and,
g) Assessments and property-related fees governed by
Proposition 218.
It is not clear that local fees on vital records to fund the
coordination of domestic violence prevention efforts qualify
as fees under any of Proposition 26's exceptions. Instead,
they may be local special taxes, which must be approved by
two-thirds of voters before they can be added to the charges
for copies of vital records.
6)Policy Considerations. This bill establishes the Sacramento
County Zero Tolerance for Family Violence and Human
Trafficking Act. While the provisions of this bill are nearly
identical to existing programs for a handful of other local
jurisdictions in California, including the purposes for which
funds generated by increased fees must be allocated, the
inclusion of human trafficking in these statutes is new.
While the prevention of human trafficking is laudable, the
Committee may wish to consider whether the statutes governing
the authority of local jurisdictions to increase fees for the
support of programs addressing domestic violence should
include human trafficking in the language.
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7)Previous Legislation. AB 1852 (Campos) of 2012 would have
allowed a county board
of supervisors, or a city council of a city with a local
registrar, to increase fees for certified copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and
death records by up to $5. AB 1852 was vetoed with the
following message:
"Domestic violence and child abuse prevention programs are
well worth the investment of public funds, but seeking a
fee increase on vital records, when the fee is already
going up by $6 for some of these records, would burden
people of modest means."
AB 1770 (Galgiani), Chapter 578, Statutes of 2010, established
a similar domestic violence prevention funding pilot program
in Stanislaus County until January 1, 2016.
SB 635 (Wiggins), Chapter 356, Statutes of 2009, established a
similar domestic violence prevention funding pilot program in
Sonoma County until January 1, 2015. SB 154 (Wolk), Chapter
120, Statutes of 2011, repealed the sunset date, making the
program permanent.
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SB 425 (Torlakson), Chapter 90, Statutes of 2001, established
a similar domestic violence prevention funding pilot program
in Contra Costa County. SB 968 (Torlakson), Chapter 635,
Statutes of 2006, repealed the sunset date, making Contra
Costa's program effective indefinitely.
AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004, established
the pilot programs in Alameda County and Solano County. AB
1712 (Hancock), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2005, authorized the
City of Berkeley, within Alameda County, to also participate
in the pilot program. AB 73 (Hayashi), Chapter 215, Statutes
of 2009, repealed the sunset date, making Alameda's and
Berkeley's programs effective indefinitely.
8)Arguments in Support. The Sacramento County Board of
Supervisors and the Sacramento County District Attorney,
sponsors of this measure, write, "Research done by the Family
Justice Center Alliance found that 'survivors?benefitted from
a comprehensive service approach that considered the context
of a safe and supportive environment, in an all-in-one service
approach that included the therapeutic and legal needs of
survivors, and individualized services that emphasized
emotional support and survivors getting the help they need.'
"The service model contemplated in Sacramento County would
serve victims of not only domestic violence, but also family
violence including child abuse victims as well as survivors of
human trafficking. This comprehensive approach to service
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delivery is vital to producing more positive outcomes and
making the receipt of services easier for victims.
"The family justice center model has seen significant
successes across the state. Since adopting this model,
Alameda County has had a 20 percent reduction in domestic
violence case dismissals; improved inter-agency collaboration;
a dramatic reduction in domestic violence homicides (from 31
in 2001 to 3 in 2007); and, provided over 20,000 coordinated
client services since opening. Sacramento County wishes to be
counted among these successes."
9)Arguments in Opposition. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association, in opposition, states, "While the purpose of this
tax - to provide a source of funding for domestic violence
programs - is laudable, the means to that end is flatly
illegal and will only engender expensive and protracted
litigation. AB 1127, simply stated, violates Proposition
26?(which) lists a series of five regulatory fee exemptions
that allow levies to not be termed tax increases. Of these,
only one is really even debatable. Article XIII C, section
1(e)(3)
exempts 'A charge imposed for the reasonable regulatory costs to
a local government for issuing licenses and permits,
performing investigations, inspections, and audits, ... and
the administrative enforcement and adjudication thereof.'
"This exemption is also inapplicable because the revenue from
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the AB 1127 fee is not being used to regulate the payers of
the fee. There is no proof that marriage, for example (much
less birth or death) leads to domestic violence. In fact, the
opposite is true. Empirical studies show that married couples
are less likely candidates for domestic violence than persons
in unmarried relationships. Therefore, most payers will never
be covered by the funded programs.
"Moreover, local governments simply do not regulate marriages.
They do not conduct regulatory inspections or audits to
enforce rules on married households. The exemption was
obviously intended by voters to refer to regulated business
activities, not marriages. In sum, because of the lack of an
appropriate regulatory nexus, AB 1127 purports to authorize a
special tax without the requisite two-thirds vote."
10)Double-Referral. This bill is double-referred to the
Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors [CO-SPONSOR]
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Sacramento County District Attorney [CO-SPONSOR]
A Community for Peace
California District Attorneys Association
My Sister's House
WEAVE
Opposition
CalTax
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Analysis Prepared by:Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
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