BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2177 Hearing Date: June 28, 2016
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|Author: |Maienschein |
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|Version: |April 14, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|AA |
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Subject: Victims of Crime Act Funding Advisory Committee
HISTORY
Source: Californians for Safety and Justice
Prior Legislation:None
Support: California Catholic Conference
Opposition:None Known
Assembly Floor Vote: 80 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to establish within the Office of
Emergency Services a Victims of Crime Act Funding Advisory
Committee regarding the distribution of funds received by the
state pursuant to the federal Victims of Crime Act, as
specified.
Current law establishes the Office of Emergency Services (OES).
(Gov. Code, § 8585, subd. (a)(1).)
Current law transferred the responsibilities of the now-defunct
Office of Criminal Justice Planning to the OES. (Pen. Code, §
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13820, subd. (a)(1).)
Current law authorizes OES to expend funds for local domestic
violence programs, subject to availability. (Pen. Code, §
13823.3.)
Current law establishes a Comprehensive Statewide Domestic
Violence Program administered by the OES in order to provide
financial and technical assistance to local domestic violence
service providers. (Pen. Code, § 13823.15, subd. (b).)
Current law requires OES to consult with an advisory council in
implementing the program. (Pen. Code, § 13823.15, subd. (c).)
Current law establishes an appointed Domestic Violence Advisory
Council consisting of "experts in the provision of either direct
or intervention services to victims of domestic violence and
their children." (Pen. Code § 13823.16, subd. (a).)
Current law includes in the council's membership:
domestic-violence victims' advocates; battered-women service
providers; representatives of women's organizations; law
enforcement; at least one representative serving the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender communities; and other groups
involved with domestic violence. (Pen. Code § 13823.16, subd.
(b).)
Current law requires the council and the OES to closely
collaborate in developing funding priorities, framing the
request for proposals, and soliciting proposals for domestic
violence and sexual assault/rape crisis grant programs. (Pen.
Code § 13823.16, subd. (c).)
This bill would enact a new law to require OES to seek the
recommendation of the
Victims of Crime Act Funding Advisory Committee . . . regarding
the distribution of funds received by the state pursuant to the
federal Victims of Crime Act, also known as VOCA, before making
a distribution, of any kind, of those funds.
This bill would provide that the "Victims of Crime Act Funding
Advisory Committee is hereby established within the Office of
Emergency Services and shall be composed of the following 17
members:
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(1) One member who represents law enforcement. The
Governor shall appoint this member.
(2) Eight members who have been a victim of a crime. The
Governor shall appoint four of these members, and the
President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the
Assembly shall each appoint two members.
(3) Eight members who represent the interests of
organizations that specialize in providing services to the
victims of crime. The Governor shall appoint four of these
members, and the President pro Tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint two
members."
This bill would provide that the initial terms of membership on
the committee shall be two years. Members are eligible to be
reappointed twice after an initial term.
This bill would require the committee to elect a chairperson
from its membership.
This bill would require that the members serve without
compensation and would get per diem.
This bill would require that the committee meet twice a year.
This bill would require that the committee "make a
recommendation on the distribution of funds at one meeting and
shall provide input on the efficacy of programs that have been
funded at the other meeting."
This bill would require that the committee shall comply with the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
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On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015;
and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of
December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed
capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the
final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed
capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February
2015." (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to
February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge
Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One
year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult
institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,
and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.
(Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
population, the state must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
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is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1.Stated Need for This Bill
The author states:
The Office of Emergency Services (OES) administers
federal Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) funds through a
grant process to fund victim services. OES convenes a
steering committee to advise it on management of their
VOCA grant program. Currently, this committee is
comprised of representatives from a variety of service
areas that include domestic violence victims, LGBT
victims, children's victims, and sexual assault
victims, among others. The list of members to this
steering committee is not readily accessible to the
public. Almost all of the representatives are
Directors of organizations that provide services or
work with organizations that provide services to
victims. This committee meets in private and makes
recommendations to OES about the drafting of the
Request for Proposals (RFP) to apply for funds as well
as the awarding of funds. Because of the lack of
public meetings, many victims services groups were not
even aware of the issuance of the RFP, which was timed
to coincide with the Christmas and New Year's holiday
this past year.
This bill would require OES to engage the public and
more importantly, victims themselves. Victims of
crimes served by VOCA funds who do not represent any
organizational interests should be included in the RFP
drafting process, the application review process and
discussions surrounding the current gaps and duplicity
in services around the state. Victims also offer
important insight on the efficacy of programs and
services that can be funded by VOCA funds. Requiring
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the committee to meet publicly will provide the
broader community with the opportunity to provide
important feedback that OES does not currently receive
through its steering committee. Requiring the
committee to review and make recommendations before
funds are disbursed will inform OES prior to the
making of final decisions.
2.Background - OES; Federal VOCA Funding
"OES is primarily responsible for assuring the state's
readiness to respond to and recover from natural and
man-made emergencies. In addition, OES administers certain
grant programs, including most of the state's victim grant
programs.
"The OES received responsibility for these programs in
2004-05, which were previously under the jurisdiction of
the Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP). When OCJP
was eliminated, most of its programs (including the various
victim programs below) were transferred to OES even though
OES did not have expertise in these program areas." (See
The 2015-16 Budget: Improving the State Programs for Crime
Victims, Legislative Analyst's Office, March 18, 2015, pp.
9-10,