BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2160
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2160 (Bonta) - As Amended March 28, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill expands eligibility for compensation under the Victim
Compensation Program (CalVCP) and increases compensation limits
for specified losses which are already reimbursed.
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Specifically, this bill:
1)Conforms the application deadline for victims of specified sex
crimes to the statute of limitations for those crimes.
2)Authorizes compensation for a victim's emotional injury
incurred as a direct result of distribution of child
pornography in which the victim appeared, and for the crime of
cyber exploitation.
3)Increases compensation limits for: a) installing or increasing
residential security, from $1,000 to $2,000; b) relocation,
from $2,000 to $4,500, and allows relocation, for reason of
medical necessity; and c) crime scene clean-up costs, from
$1,000 to $2,000.
4)Authorizes compensating adult derivative victims of a deceased
victim for up to five consecutive calendar days of lost income
due to bereavement.
5)Expands reimbursement for an adult victim's loss of income to
include missed work to attend crime-related appointments,
including legal, medical, and mental health counseling
appointments.
6)Authorizes compensating adult derivative victims for income
loss when it is necessary for them to miss work to take a
minor victim to crime-related appointments, including legal,
medical, and mental health counseling appointments.
7)Allows reimbursement for transportation and child care
expenses that are necessary for a victim to attend
crime-related appointments, including legal, medical, and
mental health counseling appointments.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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Significant reimbursement costs to the CalVCP (Restitution
Fund/FF) in the $8.1 million range -$5.4 million for income
loss, $1.1 million for travel, $680,000 relocation, $500,000 for
child care, $300,000 bereavement, $40,000 residential security,
and $10,000 for crime clean up.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The CalVCP of the Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (board) provides financial assistance
to victims, or derivative victims (family member, current or
former member of the household, primary caretaker of minor
victim, etc), of violent crimes. The board reimburses, up to
specified dollar amounts, 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. Furtheremore, current law also
limits the total award to or on behalf of each victim to
$35,000, except that this amount may be increased up to
$70,000 if federal funds for that increase are available.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "AB 2160 helps California
meet the needs of crime victims and their advocates---from the
college student who needs counseling after discovering, years
later, that sexually explicit photos were taken of her as a
child---to the single father who is missing work and losing
wages to care for a child who witnessed gun violence.
Inadequate compensation for child care and transportation are
two of the most common barriers preventing a victim from
accessing medical care, mental health services, or legal
appointments. AB 2160 reduces these barriers by reimbursing
victims for their associated child care and transportation
costs. AB 2160 will provide critical support for victims of
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violent crimes by expanding the California Victim's
Compensation Program to provide additional resources and
support to victims in order facilitate their healing and
recovery."
3)Argument in Support: According to the Napa County District
Attorney, "AB 2160 is in direct response to the July 2015
report published by the California Victim's Compensation Board
(CalVCP) entitled "Gap Analysis Report: California's
Underserved Victims and their Access to Victim Services and
Compensation."
4)Related Legislation:
a) AB 1563 (Rodriguez), currently on the Assembly floor,
establishes a six-month deadline for the board to respond
to an appeal from a denial of an application for
compensation.
b) AB 1754 (Waldron), currently pending in Assembly Public
Safety, creates a pilot program in San Diego County to
compensate victims of elder financial theft.
1)Prior Legislation:
AB 1140 (Bonta), Chapter 569 of this session, revised
standards for involvement in a crime and for cooperation with
the board in various circumstances; authorized compensation
for non-consensual distribution of sexual images of minors,
and revised various other rules governing the CalVCP.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 2160
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