BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2177


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          2177 (Maienschein)


          As Amended  August 2, 2016


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |80-0  |(May 31, 2016) |SENATE: |37-0  |(August 11,      |
          |           |      |               |        |      |2016)            |
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          |           |      |               |        |      |                 |
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          Original Committee Reference:  PUB. S.


          SUMMARY:  Establishes the Victims of Crime Act Funding Advisory  
          Committee to assist the Office of Emergency Services (OES) in  
          distributing federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds.  


          The Senate amendments provide that the members to be appointed  
          by the Senate shall be appointed by the Senate Rules Committee,  
          rather than by the President pro Tempore of the Senate.


          EXISTING LAW:   
            1)Establishes the OES.  
          2)Transferred the responsibilities of the now-defunct Office of  
            Criminal Justice Planning to the OES.  
          3)Authorizes OES to expend funds for local domestic violence  
            programs, subject to availability.  










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          4)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.  


          5)Requires OES to consult with an advisory council in  
            implementing the program.  


          6)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."  


          7)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.  


          8)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. 


          AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:


          1)Established the Victims of Crime Act Funding Advisory  
            Committee (advisory committee).  
          2)Required OES to seek the recommendation of the advisory  
            committee regarding the distribution of federal Victims of  
            Crime Act (VOCA) funds received by the state before making a  
            distribution of any kind of those funds.


          3)Provided that the advisory committee shall be comprised of the  








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            following 17 members:


             a)   One law enforcement representative to be appointed by  
               the Governor;
             b)   Eight crime victims (four appointed by the Governor, and  
               two each by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the  
               Speaker of the Assembly); and,


             c)   Eight representatives from victims' services  
               organizations (four appointed by the Governor, and two each  
               by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker  
               of the Assembly).


          4)Stated that the initial terms of membership on the advisory  
            committee is two years, and that members are eligible to be  
            reappointed twice.
          5)Required the advisory committee to select a chairperson from  
            its membership. 


          6)Stated that the members shall serve without compensation,  
            except that members who are crime victims shall receive per  
            diem.


          7)Required the advisory committee to meet twice a year, as  
            specified.


          8)Required the advisory committee to comply with the  
            Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 negligible state costs.


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "Facilitating public  
          participation in the administration of governmental programs is  








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          important to fulfilling the important goal of government  
          transparency.  When the doors of government are open and  
          accessible to all, the efficacy of the programs it administers  
          better reflect the needs of everyday citizens who stand to  
          benefit from their administration."The federal Victims of Crime  
          Act (VOCA) funds administered by the Office of Emergency  
          Services (OES) serve an exceedingly important purpose:  they  
          bring important and needed victims services to communities  
          across the state where people have suffered trauma and loss as a  
          result of crime.  Last year the state of California was given  
          over $230 million for distribution to victim services programs  
          across the state.  Current OES management of the VOCA funds  
          includes use of a steering committee made of organizational  
          leaders that meet privately and advise OES on both the grant  
          application process and which programs should receive grants.   
          Missing from this process are two important things:  the voice  
          of the people impacted by crime and a public, transparent  
          process with a venue for greater community input.


          "Assembly Bill 2177 will create a VOCA Advisory Committee that  
          will be comprised of not just service providers but also the  
          very victims that VOCA funds are designed to serve.  This body  
          will meet publicly to provide a venue for community and  
          stakeholder feedback that features the voice of survivors of  
          crime.  Victims of crime report that one of the most important  
          parts of the healing process is the opportunity to be heard, an  
          opportunity that can only begin to be fully realized when there  
          is a venue, process and body that is representative of the needs  
          of crime victims themselves."


          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744  FN:  
          0003896











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