BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 519
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 519
(Hancock) - As Amended July 16, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill makes reforms to rules governing the processing of
claims by the California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board (board). Specifically, this bill:
SB 519
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1)Requires the board to approve or deny an application within 90
days of acceptance.
2)Provides that a felon on probation or parole is eligible for
compensation for mental health counseling despite this status.
3)Prohibits the denial of a claim for a victim who is a minor
based on the grounds of failing to cooperate with law
enforcement.
4)Prohibits the board from establishing policy or regulations
limiting the amount recoverable for funeral expenses to less
than $7,500.
5)Requires all correspondence by the board to an applicant to be
written in specified languages.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Moderate administrative costs to the board to make a
determination within the required 90 days of receipt of the
claim, since this will increase the number of appeals. If a
claim is incomplete, the board will deny the claim and the
claimant will appeal the decision. The language requirement
for all correspondence is consistent with current board
practice.
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2)Increased ongoing claim costs in the $200,000 (GF) range,
$100,000 to provide mental health counseling for felons and
$100,000 to reimburse qualifying minors. The $7,500 minimum
reimbursement for funeral expense is the current reimbursement
rate
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Making sure that victims
are compensated by their victimizers is not only good economic
policy, but morally sound. Providing justice and compensation
to Californians who are the victims of crime are among the
paramount missions of our government."
SB 519 provides some reforms to the process the board uses to
compensate crime victims.
2)Background: The California Victim Compensation Program
(CalVCP), administered by the board, provides compensation for
victims of violent crime. It reimburses eligible victims for
many crime-related expenses, such as medical treatment, mental
health services, funeral expenses, home security, and
relocation services.
Under current law, the board has up to 180 days to process
claims. While the average time to process a claim is
currently less than 60 days, some claims can take longer than
90 days due to incomplete applications, such as lack of
documentation. SB 519 requires that the claim be processed
within 90 days of submittal. In a 2008 audit, the Bureau of
State Audits noted various instances in which the board did
not demonstrate that it approved or denied the applications as
promptly as it could have after receiving the information
necessary to make the determination.
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The committee may wish to clarify the 90-day clock begins with
a complete application. Staff is concerned that the board may
deny incomplete claims 90 days after receipt of the claim,
only to approve the claim during the more resource intensive
appeal process when all the proper documentation will be
submitted.
Current law prohibits compensation for a felon until that
person has been discharged from probation or is released from
a correctional institution and has been discharged from
parole. SB 519 provides and exemption if the compensation is
solely used to fund mental health counseling.
Claims by minors are often denied due to perceived lack of
cooperation with law enforcement in the apprehension of the
criminal responsible for the crime. SB 519 prohibits the
denial of a claim due to lack of cooperation with law
enforcement if the victim eligible for compensation is a
minor.
Current law limits the qualifying funeral expense benefit at
$7,500. In the past, the board reduced this benefit to
$5,000. SB 519 prohibits the board from adopting regulations
to reduce this benefit below $7,500.
3)Argument in Support: According to Californians for Safety and
Justice, "Through our outreach, time and again we have
encountered victims and survivors of crime in need of support
opportunities to heal from trauma. The overwhelming impact of
serious crime is often exacerbated by the justice system
process and crime victims often face challenges finding the
right supports for recovery. We often hear survivors talk
about how support services to heal from trauma are an ongoing
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unmet need. Our 2013 survey of crime victims in California,
the first of its kind, found that four of the five services
available to crime victims, including assistance accessing
victims' compensation and navigating the criminal justice
process, were unknown to the majority of victims. SB 519 will
begin to address these barriers and help more crime victims
get the support they need."
4)Related Legislation:
a) AB 1140 (Bonta), pending in Senate Appropriations,
revises various rules governing the CalVCP.
b) SB 556 (De León), on the Assembly Floor, defines
"application processing time" for the approval or denial
of a victim's compensation claim.
5)Prior Legislation:
a) AB 1911 (Patterson), of the 2013-2014 Legislative
session, which was not set for a policy hearing, would have
shortened the time period in which the board must approve
or deny an application to within 30 calendar days of the
date of acceptance, and also would have shortened the time
period in which the board must make disbursements of funds
for emergency awards.
b) AB 2809 (Leno), Chapter 587, Statutes of 2008, allowed a
minor who suffers emotional injury as a direct result of
witnessing a violent crime to be eligible for reimbursement
for the costs of outpatient mental health counseling if the
minor was in close proximity to the victim when he or she
witnessed the crime.
c) AB 2869 (Leno), Chapter 582, Statutes of 2006, specified
that the provisions authorizing reimbursement for funeral
and burial expenses apply without respect to any felon
status of the victim.
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Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081