BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1140 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1140 (Bonta) As Amended May 28, 2015 2/3 vote ------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------| |Public Safety |7-0 |Quirk, Melendez, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Jones-Sawyer, | | | | |Lackey, Low, | | | | |Santiago, Weber | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------| |Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | | | | |Bonta, Calderon, | | | | |Chang, Daly, | | | | |Eggman, Gallagher, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Gordon, Holden, | | | | |Jones, Quirk, | | | | |Rendon, Wagner, | | | | |Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | AB 1140 Page 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Revises various rules governing the California Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP). Specifically, this bill: 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 the following circumstances: a) He or she has information, or reasonably-obtainable information, that is needed to process the claim but fails to do so after the board requests it. However, the board must take the applicant's economic, psycho-social, and post-crime traumatic circumstances under consideration, and cannot unreasonably reject an application solely for failure to provide information; b) He or she provides false information regarding the claim, or causes another person to do so; c) He or she refuses to apply for benefits from other sources to which he or she may be entitled, such as worker's compensation, Social Security, state disability insurance or unemployment insurance; or, d) He or she threatens a board member or staff with violence or bodily harm. 3)Authorizes compensation for a victim's emotional injury incurred as a direct result of the nonconsensual distribution of pictures AB 1140 Page 3 or video of sexual conduct in which the victim appeared, if the victim is a minor. But disallows compensation for derivative victims. 4)Revises provisions allowing compensation for emotional injury suffered in child abduction cases to delete the requirement that the deprivation of custody lasted for 30 calendar days, and instead requires only that criminal charges be filed in the case. 5)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. 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; 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. 7)States that if the board finds that the victim or derivative victim was involved in events leading to the crime, factors that AB 1140 Page 4 may be used to mitigate or overcome involvement, include, but are not limited to: a) The victim's injuries were significantly more serious than reasonably could have been expected based on the victim's level of involvement; b) A third party interfered in a manner not reasonably foreseeable by the victim or derivative victim; and, c) The victim's age, physical condition, and psychological state, as well as any compelling health and safety concerns. 8)Prohibits a domestic violence victim from being found to be uncooperative based on his or her conduct with law enforcement at the scene of a crime. 9)Prohibits a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking from being found to be uncooperative because of a delay in reporting the crime. 10)Prohibits the denial of an application for a claim arising from a sexual assault based solely on the failure to file a police report. 11)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. 12)Denies compensation to any person convicted of a violent felony, as specified, until that person is no longer incarcerated and discharged from parole, probation, post-release community supervision, or mandatory supervision. AB 1140 Page 5 13)Denies compensation to any person who is required to register as a sex offender. 14)Removes current provisions which prioritize the applications of victims who are not felons. 15)Removes limits for statutory rape counseling. 16)Expands eligibility to recoup the costs of mental health counseling to grandparents and grandchildren. 17)Limits reimbursement for medically-related expenses to those that were provided by a licensed medical provider. 18)Eliminates the board's authority to reimburse for expenses of nonmedical remedial care and treatment given in accordance with a religious method of healing recognized under state law. 19)Eliminates verification requirements for reimbursement of increased residential-security measures. 20)Allows reimbursement for the purchase of a vehicle for a victim who becomes permanently disabled. 21)Specifies that, as to reimbursement of costs for a victim's relocation, the victim may be required to repay the reimbursement if the victim notifies the perpetrator of his or her new address or allows the offender on the premises. Additionally, if a security deposit is required for relocation services, the board shall be named as the recipient of the AB 1140 Page 6 security deposit. 22)Expands reimbursement to cover clean up expenses when the crime scene is a vehicle. 23)Allows the board to request verification before it reimburses for attorney's fees. 24)Permits an applicant who seeks a hearing on the denial of compensation to request a telephonic hearing. 25)Provides that evidence submitted after the board has denied a request for reconsideration shall not be considered unless the board chooses to reconsider the decision on its own motion. 26)Requires any board actions to collect overpayments be commenced within seven years of the date of the overpayment, except there is no statute of limitation for the action if overpayment was a result of fraud, misrepresentation or willful non-disclosure of the applicant. 27)Authorizes the recipient of an alleged overpayment to contest that finding. 28)Provides that the board need only forward restitution proceeds collected from a prisoner or parolee to a victim when the payment is $25 or more, unless the victim requests payments of a lesser amount. 29)Increases the rate of compensation for a wrongfully convicted person from $100 per day to $130 per day. AB 1140 Page 7 30)Makes technical, non-substantive changes. EXISTING LAW: 1)Establishes the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB) to operate the CalVCP. 2)Provides than an application for compensation shall be filed with the board in the manner determined by the board. 3)States that, except as provided by specified sections of the Government Code, a person shall be eligible for compensation when all of the following requirements are met: a) The person form whom compensation is being sought any of the following: i) A victim. ii) A derivative victim. iii) A person who is entitled to reimbursement for funeral, burial or crime scene clean-up expenses pursuant to specified sections of the Government Code. b) Either of the following conditions is met: i) The crime occurred within California, whether or not the victim is a resident of California. This only applies when the VCGCB determines that there are federal funds available to the state for the compensation of crime victims. AB 1140 Page 8 ii) Whether or not the crime occurred within the State of California, the victim was any of the following: (1) A California resident. (2) A member of the military stationed in California. (3) A family member living with a member of the military stationed in California. c) If compensation is being sought for derivative victim, the derivative victim is a resident of California, or the resident of another state who is any of the following: i) At the time of the crimes was the parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse, child or grandchild of the victim. ii) At the time of the crime was living in the household of the victim. iii) At the time of the crime was a person who had previously lived in the house of the victim for a person of not less than two years in a relationship substantially similar to a previously listed relationship. iv) Another family member of the victim including, but not limited to, the victim's fiancé or fiancée, and who witnessed the crime. v) Is the primary caretaker of a minor victim, but was not the primary caretaker at the time of the crime. d) And other specified requirements. 4)States that an application shall be denied if the board finds AB 1140 Page 9 that the victim failed to reasonably cooperate with law enforcement in prosecution of the crime. 5)Disqualifies certain individuals from eligibility, including a participant in the crime for which compensation is being sought, and persons convicted of a felony who are currently on probation or parole. 6)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 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 AB 1140 Page 10 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. 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. 7)Limits the total award to or on behalf of each victim to $35,000, except that this amount may be increased to $70,000 if federal funds for that increase are available. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, three areas have fiscal implications: 1)Cooperation with Law Enforcement. The CalVCP 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 payment of $2,250 per application, the total payment increase would be approximately $50,000 per year. AB 1140 Page 11 3)Applicants with Felon Status. The CalVCP 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. 4)Per Day Indemnification. Increased cost to the CalVCP in the range of $500,000 to increase the per day cost from $100 to $130. COMMENTS: According to the author, "The California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board administers the CalVCP and is authorized to compensate victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes through a continuously appropriated fund, the Restitution Fund. Existing law sets forth the eligibility requirements and limits on the amount of compensation the CalVCP may award. The CalVCP framework was developed several decades ago and has not been thoroughly revised since that time. "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 law also restricts AB 1140 Page 12 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. For example, the bill would include online harassment as a compensable crime and also allow compensation to a minor who sustains emotional injury as a direct result of the distribution of pictures or video of sexual conduct." Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000739