BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2721


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2721 (Rodriguez) - As Introduced February 19, 2016


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          |Policy       |Public Safety                  |Vote:|7 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |                               |     |             |
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          |             |Aging and Long Term Care       |     |6 - 0        |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop  
          and distribute an informational notice that warns the public  
          about elder and dependent adult fraud and provides information  
          regarding how and where to file complaints.  The bill also  
          requires the notice to be made available on the DOJ website.


          FISCAL EFFECT:








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          Minor one-time cost of $32,000 to develop the informational  
          notice, and ongoing absorbable costs to update the notice  
          annually.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background.  Current law provides that adult protective  
            services agencies and local long-term care ombudsman programs  
            also have jurisdiction within their statutory authority to  
            investigate elder and dependent adult abuse and criminal  
            neglect, and may assist local law enforcement agencies in  
            criminal investigations at the law enforcement agencies'  
            request, provided, however, that law enforcement agencies  
            retain exclusive responsibility for criminal investigations.


            The United States Census Bureau projected in 2000 that  
            California's elderly population will have doubled by 2025 to  
            6.4 million - a larger growth rate than any other state.

            As of 2010, there were 4.2 million people aged 65 years or  
            older in California.  The California Department of Finance  
            projects that the number of California residents aged 65 and  
            older - those who are most likely to need nursing homes or  
            other long term care services and supports - will nearly  
            double between 2010 and 2030.  Based on monthly reports sent  
            by local Adult Protection Services offices, the Attorney  
            General estimates that 200,000 elders or dependent adults are  
            abused each year.  The California Commission on Aging states  
            that "studies show that elderly and dependent adult victims of  
            financial abuse have a decreased lifespan, suffer emotional  
            trauma, and often face impoverishment."


          2)Purpose. According to the author, "Each year, thousands of  








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            California senior citizens find that they have become victims  
            of various types of fraud.  In some of these cases the crime  
            is reported, but most are not because many seniors are simply  
            too humiliated to report the fraud or may not know where to  
            turn to for help. ?"While California cannot constantly be  
            there to keep our citizens safe, we can create an  
            informational brochure to be distributed to retail outlets and  
            banks that access money or sell financial instruments.  

            "AB 2721 will place vital information in locations where  
            seniors typically access their funds when they are being  
            scammed.  The brochure will serve as a resource for seniors  
            before they lose scarce retirement dollars and a source of  
            information to let them know where to report fraud and scams."  
             



          3)Prior Legislation:

             a)   AB 518 (Wagner) of 2011, would have removed the repeal  
               date of section 15630.1 of the Welfare and Institutions  
               Code.  By doing so, AB 518 would extend the requirement  
               that officers and employees of financial institutions act  
               as mandated reporters of known or suspected financial elder  
               abuse indefinitely, a mandate which currently sunsets on  
               January 1, 2013 . By making section 15630.1 of the Welfare  
               and Institutions Code permanent, it would continue the  
               protection of elders and dependent adults from financial  
               abuse.  Failed in Senate Banking and Financial Institutions  
               Committee.



             b)   AB 140 (Dickinson), Chapter 668, Statues of 2013  
               established in the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil  
               Protection Act a new definition of undue influence that  
               focuses on excessive persuasion causing another person to  
               act or refrain from action, by overcoming that person's  








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               free will, resulting in inequity.  This bill also provided  
               a list of considerations for a court to utilize in  
               determining whether an action constituted excessive  
               persuasion.



             c)   AB 1623 (Atkins), Chapter 85, Statutes of 2014  
               authorized a local government or nonprofit organization to  
               establish a Family Justice Center to assist crime victims.



             d)   SB 196 (Hancock), Chapter 285, Statutes of 2015  
               authorized a county adult protective services agency to  
               file a petition for a protective order on behalf of an  
               elder or dependent adult, as specified.
          











          Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081
















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