BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 968|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 968
Author: Torlakson (D)
Amended: 8/14/06
Vote: 21
ALL SENATE VOTES NOT RELEVANT
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-29, 8/23/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Domestic violence: Contra Costa County
SOURCE : Contra Costa County
DIGEST : This is a new bill. As it left the Senate, it
dealt with land use planning.
As amended, this bill deletes the January 1, 2007 sunset
date dealing with fee increases on documents that funded
domestic violence programs in Contra Costa County.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Authorizes the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors,
upon making specified findings and declarations, to
increase the fees for marriage licenses and confidential
marriage licenses and for certified copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records
and death records by up to $2, with further increases
CONTINUED
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permitted on an annual basis, based on the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) for the San Francisco metropolitan
area for the preceding year.
2. Directs that these fees are to be deposited into a
special fund to be used for governmental oversight and
coordination of domestic violence and family violence
prevention, intervention and prosecution efforts.
3. Provides that the authorization for these fee increases
will sunset on January 1, 2007.
This bill deletes the January 1, 2007 sunset date for the
fee increase for certified copies of specified documents
and increases that fee in order to fund domestic violence
prevention efforts in Contra Costa County. Specifically,
this bill:
1. Makes legislative findings with regard to the prevalence
of domestic violence, the harm done thereby, and Contra
Costa County's successful domestic violence program.
2. Deletes the January 1, 2007 sunset date for the fee
increase, and increases that fee from $2 to $4 (subject
to CPI increases), for certified copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, and death records to
provide funding for governmental oversight and for
coordination of domestic violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts in the county.
Comments
Under existing law, the Contra Costa County Board of
Supervisors is permitted to increase fees by $2 on marriage
licenses and on certified copies of marriage certificates,
birth certificates, fetal death records, and death records
for the purpose of funding that county's oversight and
coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention,
and prosecution efforts. This fee increase sunsets on
January 1, 2007. Contra Costa County, the bill's sponsor,
now seeks to delete the repeal date of its Zero Tolerance
for Domestic Violence Program, which is funded by the fee
increase. This bill allows the fee increase for marriage
certificates to expire, but increases the fee for certified
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documents from $2 to $4.
The fee increase was established in 2001 by SB 425
(Torlakson), Chapter 90, Statutes of 2001. SB 425 permits
the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to increase
fees on marriage licenses and on certified copies of
marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death
records, and death records for the purpose of funding that
county's governmental oversight and
coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention,
and prosecution efforts. The fee increase is scheduled to
sunset on January 1, 2007. Since then the Legislature has
approved similar programs in Alameda and Solano Counties.
[AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004]
SB 425 requires the Contra Costa County Board of
Supervisors to report to the Senate and Assembly Judiciary
Committees, no later than July 1, 2006, on the annual
amounts of funds received and expended under the program
and the outcomes achieved. That report, entitled "Zero
Tolerance for Domestic Violence: A Systemic Approach to
Stopping Domestic Violence," was submitted on June 6, 2006.
According to the report, Contra Costa's "response to
domestic violence has undergone significant and
wide-reaching changes" since SB 425 was enacted. As a
result of the increased funding, Contra Costa County has
been able to, among other things, (1) increase funding for
a coordinated system and for individual agencies, (2)
increase system wide accountability, (3) increase batterer
accountability, and (4) increase protections for victims
and children. Prior to the fee increase, individual
agencies did not work together smoothly, but the funding
increase has permitted the county to "operate an efficient
and coordinated system."
The report states that to date over $712,000 has been
raised by the increased fees, representing approximately
$177,000 per year. According to the report, this small,
but significant infusion of money helped the board of
supervisors to invest $9.8 million, to date, in coordinated
early intervention services. County agencies and
community-based organizations have, in turn, invested an
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estimated $12 million to the program. Moreover, these
investments have helped garner over $1 million in federal
funding in the last two years. This increased funding has
led to the following developments:
1. Helped community partners align polices and practices.
2. Increased capacity for individual agencies.
3. Expanded data collection of partner agencies.
4. Increased system wide accountability.
5. Increased batterer accountability by increasing
convictions of misdemeanor domestic violence cases,
sending more perpetrators to batterers treatment
programs, and increasing early intervention in domestic
violence cases.
6. Increased protection for victims and children by
increasing the identification of children living in
violent homes and the number of restraining orders
issued and filed in the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS) database.
7. Increased access to services for victims by improving
collaboration among partner agencies.
8. Increased consumer satisfaction with the services
offered.
While much progress has been made, the report finds that
more needs to be done to combat domestic violence by
broadening continuum strategies, closing system gaps and
incorporating best practices throughout the county. The
report concludes that the program:
"[H]as the potential to permanently increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of domestic violence
prevention and interventions and create safer
communities. 'Zero Tolerance' has demonstrated
multiple successes in oversight and coordination and
has identified challenges and new directions which have
broad implications for similar public-private domestic
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violence coordination models."
Domestic violence continues to be a significant problem
throughout the nation and in California. Just last year,
the Attorney General's Task Force on Domestic Violence
reported that:
"The health consequences of physical and psychological
domestic violence can be significant and long lasting,
for both victims and their children? A study by the
California Department of Health Services of women's
health issues found that nearly six percent of women,
or about 620,000 women per year experienced violence or
physical abuse by their intimate partners. Women
living in households where children are present
experienced domestic violence at much higher rates than
women living in households without children: domestic
violence occurred in more than 436,000 households per
year in which children were present, potentially
exposing approximately 916,000 children to violence in
the homes every year."
[Report to the Attorney General from the Task Force on
Local Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence,
"Keeping the Promise: Victim Safety and Batterer
Accountability" (June 2005)]
That report discovered numerous significant and troubling
problems in the implementation of statutory directives
aimed at preventing domestic violence, including failing to
enter restraining orders into CLETS and failing to ensure
that batterers attend mandated treatment programs. Given
that the Contra Costa program has made significant
improvements in these areas, it has the potential for
serving as a model for best practices for the state as a
whole. Maintaining its funding will allow this innovative
local program to continue and even improve.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/06)
Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County
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Contra Costa Council
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Contra Costa County Department of Child Support Services
Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services
Contra Costa County Office of the District Attorney
Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
Contra Costa County Probation Department
STAND! Against Domestic Violence
Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
"Domestic Violence is costly. In addition to the high
cost of law enforcement, civil and criminal justice,
health services, mental health services, substance
abuse treatment, human services, and community-based
services, the results of domestic violence have
"hidden" costs, such as job turnover. Domestic
violence cuts across all economic, social, ethnic and
community characteristics as well as all age groups and
education levels. Domestic violence can result in
injury or death of victims, including children.
Domestic violence is learned and generational, and
requires a multifaceted intervention that engages
civil, criminal, health, and social service sectors
working together to align objectives, protocols,
policies, and activities of each sector.
"Contra Costa County determined that achievement of
this alignment requires government oversight and
coordination of the multiple agencies involved; during
the past four years, the county has created a
successful domestic violence program, established a
coordinated data system, set up a training program
involving law enforcement, courts, health, and social
services agencies, established restraining order
clinics and other victim support services and increased
accountability measures against perpetrators of
domestic violence. Contra Costa County's Domestic
Violence Program successfully competed for federal and
other funds which have increased its ability to serve
victims and prosecute offenders, is piloting numerous
new domestic violence prevention strategies and has
demonstrated critically needed leadership through its
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Systemic Approach Model to addressing domestic violence
by integrating victim services across multiple
disciplines and by advancing public-private
partnerships to institutionalize coordination. The
reauthorization of fees is essential for Contra Costa
County to continue its efforts."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Baca, Bass, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon,
Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto, De La Torre,
Dymally, Evans, Frommer, Goldberg, Hancock, Jerome
Horton, Jones, Karnette, Klehs, Koretz, Laird, Leno,
Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu, Matthews, Montanez, Mullin,
Nation, Nava, Oropeza, Parra, Pavley, Ridley-Thomas,
Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas, Spitzer, Vargas, Wolk, Yee,
Nunez
NOES: Aghazarian, Benoit, Blakeslee, Bogh, Cogdill,
Daucher, DeVore, Emmerson, Garcia, Haynes, Shirley
Horton, Huff, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie, Maze,
McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia, Richman,
Sharon Runner, Strickland, Tran, Villines, Walters,
Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Houston, Negrete McLeod, Torrico,
Umberg, Vacancy
RJG:mel 8/28/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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