BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2051
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 25, 2006
Counsel: Kathleen Ragan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 2051 (Cohn) - As Amended: April 19, 2006
SUMMARY : Establishes the Equality in Prevention and Services
for Domestic Abuse Act in order to provide culturally
appropriate education and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) victims of domestic violence.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes a $23 fee for those registering as domestic
partners, which will support the following initiatives to
combat domestic violence in the LGBT community:
a) An educational brochure specific to LGBT abuse;
b) LGBT-specific domestic violence training for law
enforcement officers and domestic violence service
providers; and,
c) Grants administered by Department of Health Services
(DHS) to support organizations that serve the LGBT
community.
2)Requires the fee to be deposited in the Equality in Prevention
and Services for Domestic Abuse Fund to be administered by
DHS.
3)Requires the Secretary of State to provide couples with a LGBT
domestic abuse brochure, along with their Certificate of
Registered Domestic Partnership.
4)Requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch of DHS, which
issues grants to battered women's shelters to provide
emergency shelter for women and their children escaping family
violence, to include grants to underserved communities,
including the LGBT community. Requires the advisory council
established to consult with DHS regarding the Maternal and
Child Health Branch grants to battered women's shelters to
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include individuals with an interest and expertise in LGBT
domestic violence.
5)Requires that the training program required for law
enforcement officers on the handling of domestic violence
complaints to include adequate instruction on the nature and
extent of domestic violence in the LGBT community.
6)Requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST), charged with developing the course of
instruction for the training program, to consult with, among
others, individuals with an interest and expertise in LGBT
domestic violence.
7)Requires that statewide training workshops on domestic
violence conducted by the Office of Emergency Services (OES)
include a curriculum on LGBT domestic abuse.
8)Requires DHS, using funds from the Equality in Prevention and
Services for Domestic Abuse Fund, to develop and disseminate
an LGBT-specific domestic abuse brochure and administer a
program of grants that support LGBT victims of domestic
violence, as specified
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows two persons, who are either of the same sex or person
of opposite sexes, where one or both is over 62, to become
domestic partners by filing a declaration with the Secretary
of State. Requires the Secretary of State, by regulation, to
establish and charge fees to registrants based on the actual
costs, currently set at $10. (Family Code Sections 297 to
298.5.)
2)Requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch of DHS to
administer grants to battered women's shelters to provide
emergency shelter for women and their children escaping family
violence, including grants to underserved communities.
Creates, until January 1, 2010, an advisory council to consult
with DHS regarding the funding program, consisting of, among
others, domestic violence advocates, battered women service
providers and law enforcement. (Health and Safety Code
Section 124250.)
3)Requires POST to implement a training program on the handling
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of domestic violence complaints for law enforcement officers
in California and to consult with various groups on
development of the program. (Penal Code Section 13519.)
4)Requires the OES Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence
Program to provide assistance to local domestic violence
centers through a grant program. Requires OES to conduct
statewide training workshops on domestic violence. (Penal
Code Section 13823.15.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
3)Author's Statement : According to the author: "This bill will
ensure that LGBT victims of intimate partner abuse have access
to culturally appropriate education and services that
encourage them to break the cycle of violence. . . . From a
community perspective, many LGBT victims are afraid to access
shelter services for fear of 'outing' themselves or being
further harmed by service providers who lack the understanding
and sensitivity to meet their needs. Gay male and transgender
victims may feel particularly uncomfortable at a women's
shelter. LGBT victims of domestic violence are much more
likely to seek safe havens at community centers and
organizations that cater directly to the LGBT community. In
addition, law enforcement, domestic violence shelters and
other providers require better training to serve LGBT victims,
especially in parts of the state that do not have
LGBT-specific organizations."
4)Domestic Violence in the LGBT Community : There is no
government source that systematically reports LGBT domestic
violence and statistics on the rate of abuse in the LGBT
community. However, a number of studies have reviewed the
prevalence of domestic violence in the gay and lesbian
community. While there are not sufficient data on which to
draw firm conclusions, it appears that the prevalence of
domestic violence in gay and lesbian relationships is
comparable to the prevalence in heterosexual relationships.
[Gregory Merrill and Valerie Wolfe, "Battered Gay Men: An
Exploration of Abuse, Help Seeking, and Why They Stay",
Journal of Homosexuality (2000).] According to information
provided by the author, while it is believed that most of the
domestic violence in opposite sex couple is committed by men
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against women, it appears that about one-half of the abuse in
the gay and lesbian community occurs in lesbian relationships
and about half in gay relationships.
According to information provided by the author, there are
almost no organizations throughout the nation that provide
services specifically for LGBT victims of domestic violence
and only one such group in California receives state funding.
Moreover, law enforcement and health care workers are usually
not specifically trained to deal with LGBT abuse and, as a
result, victims do not necessarily receive appropriate
services as compared with heterosexual victims.
5)Registration Fee for Domestic Partners and Brochure . This
bill would add a $23 fee to the current $10 fee for persons
registering as domestic partners. The fee, which would be
deposited in the Equality in Prevention and Services for
Domestic Abuse Fund, would be used for the development and
support of a LGBT curriculum for training on domestic
violence, support of service providers who serve the LGBT
community, printing and distribution of a LGBT-specific
domestic abuse brochure, and grants to provide services to
victims of LGBT domestic abuse. Under the bill, the Secretary
of State is required to provide registered domestic partners
with a LGBT domestic abuse brochure, along with their
Certificate of Registered Domestic Partnership.
While most registered domestic partners are same-sex couples,
some are opposite sex couples where one or both of them are
over the age of 62 and qualify for Social Security benefits
based on age. However, under the bill, the $23 fee is
required to be paid by all domestic partners, including
opposite sex couples.
6)Grant Programs . This bill requires that certain existing
grants for domestic service providers be directed to LGBT
service providers and creates a new granting program with DHS
for grants solely to LGBT domestic abuse service providers.
First, the Maternal and Child Health Branch of DHS, which
administers grants to battered women's shelters to provide
emergency shelter for women and their children escaping family
violence, currently is required to serve underserved
communities and ethnic and racial communities. This bill
would include LGBT communities within the underserved
communities that the Maternal and Child Health Branch must
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fund.
Second, this bill would create a new grant program within DHS,
using funds from the Equality in Prevention and Services for
Domestic Abuse Fund established with the $23 registration fee
for domestic partnerships, to administer a program of grants
that support LGBT victims of domestic violence. The program's
requirements are almost identical to the requirements of the
OES Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program, which
provides grants to local domestic violence service providers.
Services to be funded include 24-hour crises hotlines,
counseling, court and social service advocacy, legal
assistance, and emergency housing. Grant funds are to be
awarded initially through a competitive request for proposals
process. Program reapplying for funds will use a
non-competitive request for application process that assesses
the grantee's past performance. DHS will be required to
conduct site visits of grantees at least once every three
years to assess performance and provide technical assistance.
DHS must provide a written report of the assessment and may
require corrective action for specified deficiencies.
Grantees are required to provide matching funds or in-kind
contributions equal to at least ten percent of the grant from
DHS.
7)Arguments in Support :
a) Equality California states, "Under existing law, the DHS
and OES administer various grant programs to serve battered
women and their children. However, there is no similar
funding to service the needs of LGBT victims of domestic
violence.
"By requiring persons registering as domestic partners to pay
a $23 fee, this bill would establish the Equality in
Prevention and Services for Domestic Abuse Fund. This fund
would support a number of initiatives to address the
problem of domestic violence among same sex partners,
including:
i) An educational brochure specific to LGBT domestic
abuse to accompany domestic partnership certificates;
ii) Grants administered by DHS to support organizations
that serve LGBT victims of domestic abuse;
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iii) LGBT-specific domestic violence training for law
enforcement; and,
iv) LGBT-specific trainings for domestic violence
service providers."
b) The Community United against Violence states, "[D]HS and
OES administer various grant programs to serve battered
women and their children. However, there is no similar
funding to serve the needs of LGBT victims of domestic
violence. This problem was underscored in 2005 by a series
of hearings held by the California State Assembly Select
Committee on Domestic Violence that increased public
knowledge about LGBT domestic abuse and explored ways to
better serve victims."
1)Arguments in Opposition :
a) John Hamel & Associates states, "Based on extensive
clinical experience, as well as an exhaustive review of the
research literature, I believe that domestic violence is a
human and family problem, and not simply one of men
battering women. Accordingly, [this bill] ought to reflect
the realities of family violence. [S]hould you wish to
obtain more information, please visit the 'research' pages
of my Web site, www.JohnHamel.net or the website of the
Family Violence Treatment and Education Association
( www.FAVTEA.com .)
b) The Domestic Abuse Hotline for Men and Women states, "It
is [our] understanding that this bill, while laudatory in
its intent, is limited and discriminatory in its objective.
All human beings subjected to family violence should be
welcomed and offered the same services in our country's
federally funded domestic violence shelter programs in
California and across the country. For that matter,
heterosexual male victims should not continue to be
excluded as they have been for the last 35 years that we as
a society have been made publicly aware of the destructive
nature of domestic violence."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 2051
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Equality California (Sponsor)
Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast
Community United Against Violence
San Diego LGBT Community Center
Opposition
John Hamel & Associates, Licensed Clinical Social Workers
Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women
1 private individual
Analysis Prepared by : Kathleen Ragan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744