BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2084|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2084
Author: Karnette (D), et al
Amended: 8/28/06 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-1, 6/27/06
AYES: Dunn, Escutia, Kuehl
NOES: Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrow
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-22, 5/25/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Domestic violence shelter-based programs
SOURCE : California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
DIGEST : This bill repeals the Domestic Violence Centers
Act, and, in its place, enacts the Domestic Violence
Shelter-Based Programs Act, with much of the same
provisions. Notable changes include requiring all funding
to go to a shelter whose primary function is to administer
domestic violence programs, protecting a victim's
confidential information, and allowing shelters to allocate
funds to direct and indirect shelter services.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/28/06 return a provision
conditioning receipt of funds upon compliance with the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to existing
CONTINUED
AB 2084
Page
2
law.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Domestic Violence Centers
Act, makes various findings and declarations, defines
domestic violence, creates standards for domestic violence
programs, and outlines various funding provisions.
This bill repeals the Domestic Violence Centers Act, and
instead enacts the Domestic Violence Shelter-Based Programs
Act (Act), with similar findings and declarations, and
similar provisions, while changing references within the
Act from "program" to "domestic violence shelter-based
program."
This bill additionally states the intent of the Legislature
to provide victims of domestic violence with a safe place,
in an undisclosed and secured location, on a 24-hour basis,
where staff qualify as domestic violence counselors under
Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code. It is further the
intent of the Legislature to resolve conflicting
interpretations as to whether county board of supervisors
have discretionary authority to fund nonshelter-based
county domestic violence programs that lack any emergency
or transitional shelter component, by restricting funding
under this chapter to shelter-based domestic violence
programs, as described in Sections 18294 and 19295. These
clarifying and conforming changes are intended to be
declaratory of existing law.
Existing law states that agencies and organizations whose
primary function is to administer domestic violence
programs shall have priority for funding. [Section 18293 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC)]
This bill requires funding to be given to those agencies
and organizations. This bill states that the primary
purpose of the process to determine eligibility of a
shelter for funding is to ascertain whether it meets the
requirements of the Act. That process must be expedient
and prove a mechanism for annual recertification.
This bill provides that funding is for the unrestricted use
of the shelter, and may be used for direct and indirect
costs.
AB 2084
Page
3
Existing law defines "domestic violence" as abuse
perpetrated by and committed against a family or household
member. [WIC Section 18291]
This bill, instead, defines "domestic violence" as abuse
committed against an adult or minor who is a spouse, former
spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant or person with whom
the suspect has had a dating or engagement relationship,
consistent with the Family Code definition.
This bill defines "cohabitant" as two adult persons living
together for a substantial period of time resulting in some
permanency of relationship.
This bill defines "domestic violence shelter" as a shelter
for domestic violence victims that provides shelter in an
undisclosed and secured location, provides qualified
domestic violence counselors, and meets all the
requirements of this Act.
Existing law defines the requirements for shelters that
wish to qualify for prioritization of domestic violence
funds.
This bill revises and recasts those requirements, including
requiring shelters provide a 24-hour telephone hotline, and
(3) ensure staff and volunteers meet the training
requirements set forth in Section 1037.1 of the Evidence
Code for domestic violence counselors. Programs that
receive funding through this chapter shall, to the extent
feasible, provide services to persons with a physical
disability who are victims of domestic violence. If the
program cannot provide the services, then the program's
staff, to the extent feasible, shall assist in referring
the person with a physical disability to other programs and
services in the community where assistance may be obtained.
Existing law requires each center to prepare an annual
report that must include the total number of persons
requesting service, number of persons served by each type
of service, and a description of the social and economic
characteristics of persons receiving services by type of
service. [WIC Section 18300]
AB 2084
Page
4
This bill prevents a county from requiring any information
not enumerated in the requirements for the annual report,
disclosure of any information pertaining to the
confidential location of a program, or identity of a
resident, employee or volunteer. This bill prevents a
county from requiring a method of data collection, or
imposing any other requirement, that would be inconsistent
with the federal Violence Against Women Act.
This bill requires the county board of supervisors to
consult with the regional domestic violence coalition in
planning for the establishment of new domestic violence
shelter-based programs, or for ongoing technical assistance
to existing programs.
Existing law requires, at the time of issuance of a
marriage license, $23 of each fee to be deposited into the
county domestic violence programs special fund. Collected
fees are disbursed on a yearly or more frequent basis. [WIC
Section 18305]
This bill instead refers to a county domestic violence
shelter-based programs special fund. This bill
additionally provides that funds shall be disbursed using a
request for qualification process.
Existing law provides that if a county does not have
sufficient funds in the special fund to finance all the
required basic services, and community services are not
available to finance those services, the county may finance
one or more of those services. [WIC Section 18306]
This bill removes that allowance.
Existing law allows a county to carry over funds deposited
in the special fund until the domestic violence program is
established. [WIC Section 18307] Existing law requires
funds deposited in a county domestic violence special fund
to be used to finance all, or one or more, basic services
required of shelters in this Act. [WIC Section 18307]
This bill states that those funds shall be used for shelter
services, and may be used for direct or indirect costs.
AB 2084
Page
5
Existing law provides for Alameda County, City Council of
the City of Berkeley, Contra Costa County, and Solano
County to direct the local registrar, county recorder and
county clerk to deposit special increased fees into a
special fund. Except for Contra Costa County, those
provisions will sunset on January 1, 2010. Contra Costa
County's allowance to charge increased fees will sunset on
January 1, 2007. [WIC Section 18308-18310]
This bill continues the allowance for Alameda County, City
Council of the City of Berkeley, and Solano County to
collect the increased fees, and preserves their January 1,
2010 sunset date.
Funding shall be given to agencies and organizations whose
primary function is to administer domestic violence
shelter-based programs. Any additional fees received by
Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Solano County, and the
City of Berkeley at the time of issuance of a marriage
license pursuant to Sections 18308, 18309, and 18309.5,
that are in excess of the $23 fee collected pursuant to
this act, shall be available to that city or county for
funding domestic violence programs other than domestic
violence shelter-based programs.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors shall direct
the local registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to
deposit fees collected pursuant to Section 103626 of the
Health and Safety Code into a special fund. The county may
retain up to four percent of the fund for administrative
costs associated with the collection and segregation of the
additional fees and the deposit of these fees into the
special fund. Proceeds from the fund shall be used for
governmental oversight and coordination of domestic
violence and family violence prevention, intervention, and
prosecution efforts among the court system, the district
attorney's office, the public defender's office, law
enforcement, the probation department, mental health,
substance abuse, child welfare services, adult protective
services, and community-based organizations and other
agencies working in Contra Costa County in order to
increase the effectiveness of prevention, early
intervention, and prosecution of domestic and family
AB 2084
Page
6
violence.
A portion of this bill is contingent upon the passage of SB
968 (Torlakson).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/10/06) (Unable to reverify)
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (source)
American Association of University Women
Asian Pacific Women's Center
Asian Women's Shelter
California Women's Law Center
Center for the Pacific Asian Family
Coalition to End Family Violence
Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse
Community Solutions
Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic
Domestic Abuse Center
Domestic Violence Education and Services
El Dorado Women's Center
Emergency Shelter Program, Inc.
Equality California
Family Services of Tulare County
Former Senator Robert Presley
Haven Women's Center
Interface Children Family Services Domestic
Interval House Crisis Shelters for Victims of Domestic
Violence
Jenesse Center, Inc.
Jewish Family Violence Project
La Casa de las Madres
Lambda Letters Project
Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women
Marin Abused Women's Services
Marjaree Mason Center
Mountain Crisis Services
Napa Emergency Women's Services
Plumas Rural Services Inc., Domestic Violence Services
Rainbow Services
Riley Center of St. Vincent DePaul Society
Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments
AB 2084
Page
7
Safequest Solano
Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Advocacy Consortium
South Bay Community Services
South Lake Tahoe Women's Center
Stand Against Domestic Violence
Su Casa - Ending Domestic Violence
Su Casa Domestic Abuse Network
Support Network for Battered Women
Women's Center - High Desert, Inc.
Women's Crisis Support - Defensa de Mujeres
YMCA Sonoma County
YWCA of Glendale
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/10/06) (Unable to reverify)
California State Association of Counties
Fresno County Board of Supervisors
Jan Scully, District Attorney, Sacramento County
Solano Board of Supervisors
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"California has a network of over 100 domestic violence
shelter-based programs. These programs provide shelter
in a confidential location 24 hours a day, seven days a
week and provide services by staff that is domestic
violence trained ? However, far too many women and
children who need shelter are turned away due to lack
of space. In 2005, the Governor's Office of Emergency
Services reported that 5,108 people were turned away
from shelters due to lack of space. (OES, FVPSA VOCA
Statistics 04-05.)
"For thirty years, marriage license fees have supported
domestic violence shelters as was intended when this
funding source was created. However, there is a growing
trend of allocating funds from marriage license fees to
domestic violence 'programs' that do not provide
shelter, either emergency or transitional. Taking
these already meager funds from existing shelters
endangers the shelters as well as the comprehensive
response services shelters have built over decades.
. . .
AB 2084
Page
8
"AB 2084 is an effort to clarify any ambiguity in the
law about the intent of marriage license fees as a
funding source for domestic violence shelters."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California State
Association of Counties (CSAC) states:
"We disagree, with the efforts to expressly restrict
funding collected to the marriage license fee surcharge
to shelter-based domestic violence programs. Under the
recast Domestic Violence Shelter-Based Programs Act --
specifically, Welfare and Institutions Code 18293(d) --
as well as proposed new language that seeks to resolve
conflicting interpretations of boards of supervisors'
authority counties would be required to direct all
revenue collected under Government Code Section 26840.7
to domestic violence shelters-based programs. Current
law is clear and provides flexibility -- appropriately
so, in our view -- in that it gives local boards of
supervisors the ability to prioritize funding to
'agencies and organizations whose primary function is
to administer domestic violence programs.' That
language clearly expresses intent to support primarily
domestic violence programs, but gives local boards
flexibility to determine the range and types of
services that are supported.
"We understand the needs and funding challenges that
face shelter-based programs. However, county boards of
supervisors must have tools available to them to
develop a continuum of services that is appropriate for
local circumstances and can best address local needs.
We feel it is inappropriate to impose that degree of
inflexibility on the expenditure of these important
funds. Should there ever be an increase in the
marriage license surcharge, counties would not have the
authority to direct the additional revenue to other
worthy and necessary programs or services in the
community, and would have no other option but to
exclusively fund domestic violence shelter-based
programs. Counties do and will continue to support
shelter-based programs as they deliver critical
services, but that support should not be to the
AB 2084
Page
9
exclusion of other legitimate providers who serve the
needs of the same population and who may fill important
service gaps required by that community.
"Further, there are five counties in the state --
Colusa, Glenn, Mono, Sierra, and Yuba -- without a
domestic violence shelter. While some may have
existing agreements with other counties to provide
shelter services, the changes imposed by AB 2084 would
effectively require those counties to direct all funds
collected in their counties to shelter-based programs
outside their jurisdiction. We are not certain that
under all circumstances this is appropriate, given that
a county has, under current law, the ability to fund
other non-shelter-based services that may provide
assistance locally to domestic violence survivors.
"For these reasons, we must continue to oppose the
bill[.]"
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Baca, Bass, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon,
Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De
La Torre, Dymally, Evans, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg,
Hancock, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Jones, Karnette,
Klehs, Koretz, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu,
Matthews, Montanez, Mullin, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Richman, Ridley-Thomas,
Sharon Runner, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas, Torrico, Umberg,
Vargas, Villines, Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NOES: Aghazarian, Benoit, Bogh, Cogdill, DeVore, Emmerson,
Harman, Haynes, Houston, Huff, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer,
Leslie, Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi, Niello,
Strickland, Tran, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Spitzer
RJG:mel 8/27/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****