BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2869
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: 8/28/06 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/20/06
AYES: Migden, Poochigian, Cedillo, Perata
NO VOTE RECORDED: Margett, Romero
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-2, 8/17/06
AYES: Murray, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn, Battin, Escutia,
Florez, Ortiz, Poochigian, Romero, Torlakson
NOES: Aanestad, Dutton
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/22/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Crime victims reimbursement program: Burial
expenses
and crime scene cleanup.
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides that where a crime victim was
killed during commission of the crime, reimbursement for
crime-scene cleanup, funeral and burial expenses may be
paid to the victim's family if the victim was on probation
or parole, if the victim was not involved in the crime in
which he or she was killed.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/28/06 are technical amendments
CONTINUED
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to conform this bill to related provisions of AB 2413.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for the indemnification
of victims of specified types of crimes by the California
Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, subject to
specified criteria. A person is generally eligible for
compensation if he/she is a victim or derivative victim of
a crime, as defined, or he/she voluntarily paid the funeral
and burial expenses of a victim of a crime. Existing law
provides that no person who is convicted of a felony may be
granted compensation by the board until after discharge
from probation or release from a correctional institution
and discharge from parole.
This bill clarifies that the Victims Compensation and
Government Claims Board (Board) is required to award
compensation to a person seeking reimbursement for
crime-scene cleanup, funeral and burial expenses of a
victim that died as a result of a crime without respect to
any felony status of the victim.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 Fund
Reimbursement Unknown, potentially significant costs
Special*
*Restitution Fund
It is unknown how many individuals are killed each year who
are on probation or parole and whose next of kin would seek
reimbursement for crime-scene clean-up, funeral and burial
costs if this bill were to become law. The maximum amount
payable for the funeral benefit is $7,500 and the maximum
payable benefit for crime-scene clean-up is $1,000. If 20
people were to seek the full $8,500 reimbursement this bill
authorizes, annual costs would exceed $150,000.
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/06) (unable to reverify)
Friends Committee on Legislation
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Current law is sufficiently
ambiguous as to allow the Board to deny claims of family
members to pay for the burial or funeral costs of their
loved ones if they are still on parole or probation at the
time of their violent death.
A group of constituents came to visit me who had been
denied such claims. These constituents were so proud of
their sons/family members who had left their gang pasts
behind after release from prison, were working hard to
support their families, but were gunned down by their
former gang for doing exactly what society had asked them
to do, distance themselves from the gang and live honest
and hard-working lives.
The simple fact that their sons were still on parole or
probation (for a lesser crime) at the time they were gunned
down resulted in a denial of their families' claims for
burial/funeral expenses.
This bill attempts to provide clarity in the statute so
that guidance from the Board governing claims for burial or
funeral expenses is consistent from year to year so that we
treat victims of violent crime consistently, as long as
they were not perpetrators of the crime that resulted in
their death. This bill provides that clarity, without
making it possible for the Board to pay claims for
perpetrators of the crime, such as in he 1986 Cabarga case.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Bass, Benoit, Berg,
Bermudez, Blakeslee, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez,
Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De La Torre, DeVore,
Dymally, Emmerson, Evans, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg,
Hancock, Harman, Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton,
Houston, Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs, Koretz, La
Malfa, La Suer, Leno, Leslie, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu,
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Matthews, McCarthy, Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin,
Nakanishi, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Niello, Parra, Pavley,
Plescia, Ridley-Thomas, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas,
Spitzer, Strickland, Torrico, Tran, Umberg, Vargas,
Villines, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bogh, Laird, Maze, Nation, Oropeza,
Richman, Sharon Runner
RJG:do 8/26/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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