BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1754 Page A Date of Hearing: March 15, 2016 Counsel: Sandra Uribe ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair AB 1754 (Waldron) - As Amended March 7, 2016 As Proposed to be Amended in Committee SUMMARY: Creates a pilot program in San Diego County permitting the Victims of Crime Program (CalVCP) to reimburse victims of elder and dependent adult financial abuse for costs of financial and mental-health counseling. Specifically, this bill: 1)Contains legislative findings and declaration about the extent of financial abuse of the elderly and dependent adults, the response of other legislative bodies to the problem, of the need for a pilot program, and of why San Diego County is well-situated for the pilot program. 2)Establishes the San Diego County Elder or Dependent Adult Financial Abuse Crime Victim Compensation Pilot Program. 3)Limits compensation to direct victims of theft, identity theft, embezzlement, forgery, or fraud of an elder or dependent adult, and deems derivative victims ineligible. 4)Limits compensation to a particular victim to $3,000. AB 1754 Page B 5)Permits compensation for up to 10 sessions of mental health counseling and up to 10 session of financial counseling. 6)Limits the distribution of the total funds under the pilot program to one million dollars. 7)States that funding authorization stops on January 1, 2019. 8)Sunsets the program on January 1, 2020. 9)Requires the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (board) to report to the Legislature and the Governor, by July 1, 2020, the following: a) The number of victims who received payment under the pilot program; b) The number of victims who received mental health counseling; c) The average payment for mental health counseling per recipient; d) The number of victims who received financial counseling; e) The average payment for financial counseling per recipient; and, f) Any other data on the pilot program that the board wishes to include. 10)States that a special law is necessary because of the unique circumstances in the County of San Diego where a high number of reported elder and dependent adult financial abuse crimes occur. EXISTING LAW: AB 1754 Page C 1)States that all persons who suffer loss as a result of criminal activity shall have the right to restitution from the perpetrators. (Cal. Const. Art. 1, § 28(b).) 2)Establishes Victim's Compensation Program (CalVCP) administered by the board to reimburse crime victims for the pecuniary losses they suffer as a direct result of criminal acts. Indemnification is made from the Restitution Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the board for these purposes. (Gov. Code, §§ 13901 & 13950 et. seq.) 3)Authorizes the board to reimburse victims of crimes causing physical injury or emotional injury with a threat of physical injury for pecuniary loss for specified types of losses, including medical expenses, mental-health counseling, loss of income or loss of support, and installing or increasing residential security. (Gov. Code, §§ 13955, subd. (f), and 13957.) 4)Authorizes the board to establish maximum rates and service limitations for medical and medical-related services, and for mental health and counseling services. (Gov. Code, § 13957.2) 5)Defines an "elder" as "any person who is 65 years of age or older." (Pen. Code, § 368, subd. (g).) 6)Defines a "dependent adult" as "any person who is between the ages of 18 and 64, who has physical or mental limitations which restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities or to protect his or her rights, including, but not limited to, persons who have physical or developmental disabilities or whose physical or mental abilities have diminished because of age." (Pen. Code, § 368, subd. (h).) 7)Specifies that any person who is not a caretaker who violates any provision of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, or identity theft, with respect to the property or personal identifying information of an elder or a dependent adult, and who knows or reasonably should know that the victim AB 1754 Page D is an elder or a dependent adult, is punishable as follows: a) By a fine not exceeding $2,500, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for two, three, or four years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value exceeding $950. b) By a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value not exceeding $950. (Pen. Code, § 368, subd. (d).) 8)Provides that any caretaker of an elder or a dependent adult who violates any provision of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, or identity theft, with respect to the property or personal identifying information of that elder or dependent adult, is punishable as follows: a) By a fine not exceeding $2,500, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for two, three, or four years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value exceeding $950; or b) By a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value not exceeding $950. (Pen. Code, § 368, subd. (e).) FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown COMMENTS: AB 1754 Page E 1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "Assembly Bill 1754 would establish a pilot program for victims of elder and dependent adult financial abuse in San Diego County to be eligible for financial assistance through the California Victims' Compensation program. Elder and dependent adult financial abuse can lead to large costs to victims, families, and society. In 2014-2015, San Diego County's Adult Protective Services confirmed a total of 1,148 unique cases of elder and dependent adult financial abuse. The San Diego District Attorney estimates approximately 600 elderly and dependent adult victims are served annually, averaging about 50 clients per month. This bill establishes a two-year pilot project in San Diego County to provide mental health and financial counseling, as well as other support services to this vulnerable population. This bill also gives the state the opportunity to gather essential data for the use of mental health and financial counseling by elderly and dependent adult victims of financial abuse." 2)CalVCP: The CalVCP provides compensation for victims of violent crime, or more specifically those who have been physically injured or threatened with injury. It reimburses eligible victims for many crime-related expenses, such as medical treatment, mental health services, funeral expenses, and home security. Funding for the board comes from restitution fines and penalty assessments paid by criminal offenders, as well as from federal matching funds. (See board Website < http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/board >.) 3)Other Victims Services Programs: The board is not the only state agency which administers programs to assist victims. The Office of Emergency Services (OES) also oversees several such programs, including the Unserved/Underserved Victim Advocacy and Outreach Program, the Victim/Witness Assistance Program. (See OES Website: < http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/grants-management/c riminal-justice-emergency-management-victim-services-grant-prog rams/victim-services-programs >.) It is unclear whether elder AB 1754 Page F or dependent adult victims of financial abuse qualify for compensation through any OES programs, but the description of both of the aforementioned programs do reference elder abuse in general. Thus, it is possible that funding for mental health and financial counseling might be compensable through one of these OES programs without broadening the scope of the CalVCP program. For example, in January of this year, the Criminal Justice/Emergency Management and Victims Services Branch of the OES was soliciting proposals for the Elder Abuse (XE) Program for fiscal year 2016-2017. The stated purpose of the the XE Program is to enhance the safety of elder and dependent adult victims of crime by providing direct services to victims and bridging the gap between elder justice service providers (including Adult Protective Services (APS), Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs, providers of legal assistance, etc.) and victim service providers. (See Elder Abuse (XE) Program RFP, pp, 3-4, < http://www.caloes.ca.gov/GrantsManagementSite/Documents/16XE%2 0RFP.pdf >.) Although the RFP period has closed, it is possible that there are other funds available through OES to fund the pilot program proposed by this bill. On the other hand, the Governor's budget for 2015-16 proposes to reorganize the board beginning in 2016-17. The proposed change would have the board primarily administer victim programs including some currently handled by other agencies, such as the OES.<1> 4)Concerns Raised by San Diego County: The County of San Diego has submitted a letter raising some concerns with the bill. The main concerns relate to workload and financial --------------------------- <1> Government claims would be moved to the Department of General Services. The board would still retain the responsibility for administering claims for the wrongfully convicted. AB 1754 Page G implications. The county is concerned that it would bear the responsibility for the implementation and operation of the program, as well as the data collection. The financial concerns lie in the fact that the "bill does not appear to create a new funding stream for the Restitution Fund." As to workload concerns, it should be noted that the San Diego County District Attorney's Office already operates the Victim/Witness Assistance Program which helps victims with filing compensation claims with CalVCP. (< http://www.sdcda.org/helping/victims/victim-services.html >.) Additionally, this bill directs the board, not the county, to collect data and issue a report to the Governor and the Legislature. 5)Argument in Support: According to "California Commission on Aging (CCoA), a co-sponsor of this bill, "This bill establishes a pilot program in San Diego County to demonstrate the cost and benefits of providing essential victim services to these vulnerable groups. San Diego County is well-situated to implement this pilot program quickly, given the County's strong array of victims' and aging services, as well as the county's large retiree population. County officials also report a large number of elder/dependent adult financial abuse cases. "The CCoA is a citizen's advisory body designated by law to act as the principal advocate in the state on behalf of California's older adults. Our members are gubernatorial and legislative appointees from throughout the state who represent a wealth of experience both in and out of the aging services area. The California Elder Justice Coalition (CEJC) is a statewide multidisciplinary network devoted to elder justice. "Studies show that elderly and dependent adult victims of financial abuse have a decreased life-span, suffer emotional trauma, and often face impoverishment. The California Department of Social Services reports that statewide as many as 1,600 reports of elder and financial abuse are under AB 1754 Page H investigation in a given month by Adult Protective Services, yet almost no services are available for this population. "Many states have already begun providing assistance to elderly and dependent victims of financial crimes, ? Covered services include payment for mental health counseling, assistance with travel to court, and financial counseling. California, despite having the largest over-60 population, has not yet made CalVCP compensation available to these victims." 6)Related Legislation: AB 1718 (Kim) authorizes the court to sentence a defendant convicted of felony financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult to state prison. AB 1718 will be heard by this committee today. 7)Prior Legislation: a) SB 847 (Block), of the 2013-2014 Legislative session, would have allowed an elderly person or dependent adult who was the victim of financial abuse to seek reimbursement of up to $2,000 for mental health and financial counseling from the CalVCP. SB 847 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee. b) SB 60 (Wright), Chapter 147, Statutes of 2013, was originally drafted to extend compensation to elderly and dependent adult victims of financial abuse. The bill was amended to only extend eligibility to victims of human trafficking. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support California Commission on Aging (Co-Sponsor) California Elder Justice Coalition (Co-Sponsor) Arc and Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration California Association of Area Agencies on Aging Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman AB 1754 Page I San Diego County District Attorney One Private Individual Opposition None Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744