BILL ANALYSIS
AB 81
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 81 (Torrico) - As Amended: April 10, 2007
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Judiciary 8-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill extends, from 72 hours to 30 days, the age at which a
child may be left at a designated safe-surrender site. This bill
also:
1)Adds a local fire agency, upon the approval of the appropriate
local governing body of the agency, to the designated
safe-surrender sites. (Current sites are either designated by
boards of supervisors, or are locations within a hospital, as
designated by the hospital.)
2)Appropriates $5,000,000 (GF) for a safe-surrender public
awareness campaign.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Appropriates $5,000,000 (GF) to the Department of Social
Services (DSS) for a safe-surrender public awareness campaign,
for a toll-free phone number for public education and
assistance, and for competitive grants to county social
service agencies that conduct safe-surrender outreach.
2)Minor, potentially state-reimbursable costs for local entities
and governments to consult regarding the designation of
safe-surrender sites.
COMMENT
1)Rationale. The author contends the safe-surrender law should
be expanded and advertised, as 187 babies have been safely
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surrendered in California since the advent of this law in
2001. "Unfortunately, public awareness of the law has been
insufficient as almost the same number of babies (146) have
been found abandoned illegally?. The anonymity,
confidentiality and freedom from prosecution may encourage
parents to leave their child at a safely surrender site.
Factors such as post partum depression, other mental health
issues, language barriers and lack of public awareness may
prevent a woman from being able to make a decision so quickly
after having a baby.
"Extending the date from the current 72 hour provision to 30
days may save the lives of more babies in California."
2)Current law, established by SB 1368 (Brulte, 2000), provides
for the surrender of a newborn by a parent or other
responsible person to a safe-surrender site. SB 1368 was
intended to provide mothers of unwanted newborns a safe
alternative to abandoning infants in places where babies would
likely die. SB 1368 designated safe places (such as an
emergency room of a hospital) where a person can surrender a
baby, with no questions asked, and retrieve the baby within a
14-day period, as specified, with immunity from criminal
penalties under child abandonment laws.
According to a January 2005 DSS report on the safe-surrender
law, 64 infants were safely surrendered in 2001-2004. Of the
64 referenced in the DSS report, 55 were less than one-day-old
and nine were two or three-days-old. Fifty-two showed no signs
of abuse or neglect, and 10 tested drug-positive. In only one
case did a parent attempt to reclaim an infant. (That parent
did not pursue the effort after an initial query.)
3)Related legislation.
a) AB 1873 (Torrico), 2006, which was virtually identical
to this bill, was passed by this committee off of the
Suspense File - minus the $5 million appropriation - and
was vetoed. The governor stated:
"The current 72-hour period contained in California
statutes allows for a no questions asked safe surrender of
a newborn and is supported by research and statistics that
indicate that most neonaticide occurs within the first day.
Some experts have raised concerns about this bill, which I
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share, that instead of improving child safety, increasing
the time that a baby may be surrendered from 72-hours to
30-days, will have the opposite effect, putting newborns in
greater risk by keeping them in an unsafe environment
without proper care and supervision."
b) SB 139 (Brulte), Chapter 150, Statutes 2003, provides a
child may be surrendered at any hospital or other
designated safe-surrender site. Previously, a designated
employee at a hospital emergency room or other location was
the only person permitted to accept a baby.
c) SB 116 (Dutton), Chapter 625, Statutes of 2005, deleted
the January 1, 2006 sunset of the safe-surrender law.
4)A Difficult Public Awareness Campaign to Run. Targeting and
reaching the potential audience for a safe-surrender program
is a difficult task. Public awareness efforts to date have
been funded with a $1 million grant from First Five California
and $250,000 from the California Children's Trust Fund.
Materials were produced and distributed to county welfare
agencies, probation departments and community-based
organizations.
5)Opposition , which includes the L.A. District Attorney's
Office, the L.A. Sheriff's Office, the County Welfare
Directors' Association, and the CA State Association of
Counties, centers on the extension of 72 hours to 30 days,
based on the premise that the original 72-hour period was
designed to deal with the immediate emotional period in which
most infant homicides occur, rather than a protracted period
during which a child may be relinquished, but not anonymously.
According to the L.A. District Attorney's Office, "this bill
is unnecessary and could result in child abusers escaping
arrest and prosecution. Moreover, it could deny abandoned
newborns the medical information they may need to address
future medical issues, deny fathers or other interested family
members the ability to care for their own children, and
increase the number of children who become wards of the state
without a source of child support?. Existing law is based upon
research which demonstrates that 83% of newborn infants killed
by a parent are killed within 24 hours of birth. Moreover,
nearly all are killed within the first 72 hours. In Los
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Angeles County, 24 out of 25 infants found dead or abandoned
between 1998 and 2002, were abandoned or killed within 72
hours of birth."
The County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) contends this
bill "is not supported by research on baby abandonment, would
run counter to the policy of anonymity for women who surrender
their babies, and would bypass more appropriate existing
methods for helping parents whose babies are older than a few
days."
6)Other States . According to a March 2007 policy brief by the
Guttmacher Instititute - a nonprofit organization focused on
sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and
public education - 47 states have legalized relinquishment (30
of which authorize anonymous relinquishment and legal imunity,
while others request medical information and/or investigate
missing child status): 16 for 72 hours; 11 for three days to
two weeks; 14 for 28 to 31 days: five for 45 to 90 days, and
two (North Dakota and Missouri) for one year.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081