BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2169
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2169 (Montanez)
As Introduced February 21, 2006
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS
(vote not available)
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|Ayes:|Jones, Harman, Evans, | | |
| |Haynes, Laird, Leslie, | | |
| |Levine, Lieber, Monta?ez | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Deletes the existing sunset date of January 1, 2008,
and makes the Safe at Home Project a permanent program
administered by the Secretary of State (SOS).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that public records be open to inspection at all
times during the office hours of the state or local agency
that maintains those records and declares that every person
has a right to inspect any public record, except as otherwise
provided by statute.
2)Requires state and local agencies to make public records
available upon request, subject to duplication fees, unless
the disclosure of the records is expressly prohibited by law.
3)Permits a victim of domestic violence or stalking to apply,
through a community-based victims' assistance program, to the
SOS for a designated address, other than the victim's actual
residence, for use in public records. Requires local and
state agencies to use the victim's designated substitute
address as the victim's official address for the purposes of
creating, maintaining, modifying, or disseminating public
records.
4)Requires the SOS to submit to the Legislature an annual report
detailing the total number of persons who have applied to, and
participated in, the Safe at Home Project.
AB 2169
Page 2
5)Provides that the Safe at Home Project shall remain in effect
only until January 1, 2008, unless deleted or extended by
statute.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
analysis:
1)Continues an otherwise sunsetting program, with annual General
Fund costs to the SOS in the range of $200,000.
2)Costs to local governments for this program are minor.
COMMENTS : Persons attempting to escape domestic violence and
stalking frequently establish new names and addresses in order
to prevent the violent abuser or stalker from finding and
re-victimizing them. California's Safe at Home Project, created
as a pilot project in 1999, was modeled after a very successful
program in the state of Washington. According to the author,
the data collected by the SOS's office shows that the project
"has provided 2,600 victims an opportunity to live a new life
without having to constantly move and live in fear of being
discovered." Because the project has proven its worth, and the
threat of domestic violence and stalking is an on-going problem
in California, the author believes that this successful and
worthwhile project should become a permanent program. Removing
the sunset will accomplish this goal.
Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0014712