BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2169
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2169 (Montanez)
As Amended August 24, 2006
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(May 30, 2006) |SENATE: |40-0 |(August 29, |
| | | | | |2006) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Extends until January 1, 2013, the sunset date for the
Safe at Home Project, a program administered by the Secretary of
State (SOS) for victims of domestic violence and stalking and
reproductive health care workers and patients.
The Senate amendments extend the sunset to January 1, 2013, for
the Safe at Home Program and clarify that the sunset will be
extended for reproductive health care workers and patients as
well victims of domestic stalking and violence.
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
participate in the SOS Safe at Home Project, which is
administered by the SOS and allows participants to use a
designated address, other than the victim's actual residence,
for use in public records. Requires further that 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.
AB 2169
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4)Permits reproductive health care services providers,
employees, volunteers, and patients to participate in the Safe
at Home Project administered by the SOS, as described in #3)
above.
5)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.
6)Provides that the Safe at Home Project shall remain in effect
only until January 1, 2008, unless deleted or extended by
statute.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill eliminated the sunset
provision for the Safe at Home Project as it applied to victims
of domestic violence and stalking.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations analysis,
there are currently 2,600 participants in the Safe at Home
program, and SOS has annual ongoing costs in the $380,000 range
to administer this program.
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." In 2002, AB 797, Chapter 380, Statutes of 2002),
the Safe at Home Project was extended to reproductive health
care providers, workers, volunteers and patients because it was
found that such persons were often subject to harassment,
threats, and acts of violence.
While the bill as passed in the Assembly effectively made the
Safe at Home Project a permanent program by eliminating the
sunset altogether, the Senate version of this bill extends the
existing sunset date by an additional five years. In addition,
the Senate amendments similarly extend the sunset date for the
program as it applies to reproductive health care providers,
workers, volunteers, and patients.
AB 2169
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Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0017328