BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1140 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 1140 (Bonta) - As Amended May 4, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill revises various rules governing the California Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP). Some examples include: AB 1140 Page 2 1)Expands the definition of a victim's "authorized representative" to include any person having written authorization by the victim or derivative victim, or any person designated by law such as a legal guardian, conservator, or social worker; but excluding any medical or mental health provider, or its agent, who has provided services to the victim or derivative victim. 2)Provides that an applicant may be found to have been "uncooperative" for purposes of verifying information necessary to process a claim under very specific circumstances. 3)Authorizes denial of a claim, in whole or in part, if the board finds that denial is appropriate because of the nature of the applicant's involvement in the events leading to the crime, or the involvement of the person whose injury or death gave rise to the claim. This limitation does not apply if the victim's injury or death occurred as a direct result of the crimes of rape, spousal rape, domestic violence, or unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. 4)Prohibits the denial of an application for a claim arising from a sexual assault based solely on the failure to file a police report. And requires the board to adopt guidelines allowing it to consider and approve applications for assistance in sexual assault cases by relying upon evidence other than a police report. Factors evidencing a sexual assault has occurred may include medical records, mental health records, and a sexual assault examination. 5)Denies compensation to any person who is required to register as a sex offender. 6)States that factors to be considered for determining involvement in the crime include, but are not limited to: a) The victim or derivative victim initiated the qualifying crime, or provoked or aggravated the suspect into initiating the qualifying crime; AB 1140 Page 3 b) The qualifying crime was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conduct of the victim or derivative victim; and, c) The victim or derivative victim was committing a crime that could be charged as a felony and that reasonably lead to him or her being victimized. 6)States that if the board finds that the victim or derivative victim was involved in events leading to the crime, specifies factors that may be used to mitigate or overcome involvement. 7)Allows the board to request verification before it reimburses for attorney's fees. 8)Removes current provisions which prioritize the applications of victims who are not felons. FISCAL EFFECT: Three areas have fiscal implications: 1) Cooperation with Law Enforcement. The Program currently denies approximately 400 applications based on domestic violence and 100 based on sexual assault per year due to lack of cooperation with law enforcement. If half of these applicants were made eligible by the changes in denial due to lack of cooperation with law enforcement, at an average payment of $2,250 per application, the total payment increase would be approximately $550,000 per year. 2) Denial Due to Participation in a Crime. Approximately 45 applicants per year are denied due to participation in a crime. If half of these applicants were made eligible by the change in denial due to participation at an average AB 1140 Page 4 payment of $2,250 per application, the total payment increase would be approximately $50,000 per year. 3) Applicants with Felon Status. The Program has denied reimbursement of expenses to approximately 90 applicants per year due to their felon status. If half of these applicants were made eligible by the allowance of payments to non-violent felons at an average payment of $2,250 per application, the total payment increase would be approximately $100,000 per year. COMMENTS: 1)Background: CalVCP provides compensation for victims of violent crime. It reimburses eligible victims for many crime-related expenses, such as medical treatment, mental health services, funeral expenses, home security, and relocation services. Funding for the board comes from restitution fines and penalty assessments paid by criminal offenders, as well as federal matching funds. 2)Purpose. According to the author, ""To address ongoing issues with outdated restrictions and the need to modernize the program to reflect changing technologies and crimes, the CalVCP conducted a Statute Modernization Project, bringing various stakeholder groups together to make recommendations on revising and updating the state compensation program to better serve victims." "AB 1140 would implement many of the recommendations made by the CalVCP Statute Modernization Project to modernize the existing statutes. For example, current law restricts compensation of victims of domestic violence if the victim fails to cooperate with law enforcement or report the assault in a timely fashion. AB 1140 would update that law to comport with current understandings of domestic violence and the many reasons a victim may fail to immediately report or cooperate. Current AB 1140 Page 5 law also restricts compensation to persons on probation or parole and those who have participated in a crime that resulted in their injuries. AB 1140 would delete those restrictions and allow compensation unless the person is on probation or parole for a violent crime or is a sex offender and allow compensation to those who participated in a crime unless the crime was a felony. "The bill would also make a number of other improvements to address emerging issues in law." 3)Argument in Opposition: According to the California District Attorneys Association, "Section 5 of the bill (on p. 19) amends Government Code section 13957(a)(1) to provide for reimbursement only for medical or medical-related expenses incurred by the victim for services that were provided by a licensed medical provider. "This is directly contrary to established law. In People v. Keichler (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 1039, the 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld compensation for Laotian Hill Tribe assault victims who paid for a shaman's spirit healing ceremony, rather than incur Western medical expenses, after a full trial hearing including expert testimony on the value of such a ceremony. ? "Finally, we ask that language be added to the bill to require that any compensation received by a supervised felon first be applied to any victim restitution, fines, and fees that they owe in the case for which they are being supervised." Staff notes that Public Safety Committee did not address the concerns raised by the opposition. AB 1140 Page 6 Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081