BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Elaine K Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: AB 503
A
AUTHOR: Furutani
B
AMENDED: April 14, 2009
HEARING DATE: June 10, 2009
5
CONSULTANT:
0
Tadeo/
3
SUBJECT
Battered women's shelters: grant program
SUMMARY
Deletes a January 2010 sunset for the Domestic Violence
Advisory Council, which provides consultation to the
Domestic Violence Program in the Department of Public
Health (DPH).
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law:
Establishes the Battered Women's Shelter Program, now known
as the Domestic Violence Program, within the DPH Maternal
and Child Health Branch, now known as the Maternal, Child
and Adolescent Division, to administer grants to battered
women's shelters for comprehensive shelter-based services.
These services include: emergency shelter for victims and
their children escaping violent family situations;
transitional housing programs which may include case
management, counseling, job training and placement, support
groups, and classes in parenting and family budgeting;
advocacy and representation to pursue appropriate legal
options; and other support services for victims and their
children.
Continued---
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Establishes until January 1, 2010 the Domestic Violence
Advisory Council (Council), which DPH is required to
consult with in implementing the Domestic Violence Program.
Existing law requires the Council membership to include
domestic violence advocates; battered women service
providers; representatives of law enforcement, women's
organizations, and other groups involved with domestic
violence; and, a service provider serving the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender community.
Specifies that the Council is comprised of seven members
appointed by the Governor, three members each appointed by
the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules Committee,
and two non-voting ex-officio members who are members of
the Legislature.
This bill:
Deletes the January 1, 2010 sunset for the Council which
provides consultation to the Domestic Violence Program in
DPH.
FISCAL IMPACT
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis
of AB 503, there would be no direct fiscal impact to DPH to
continue oversight of the Council.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The author states that the Domestic Violence Program
administers $20 million annually in grants to shelters to
provide services to survivors of family violence. The
author contends that allowing the Council to exist
indefinitely will ensure that local domestic violence
shelters continue to receive the support they need from the
state.
Domestic violence
Domestic violence most often refers to intimate partner
violence. It includes violence between spouses,
individuals in dating relationships, and former partners or
spouses, and can occur inside or outside the home.
Domestic violence often involves a pattern of coercive
behavior that includes physical, sexual, verbal, emotional
and psychological abuse. The California Penal Code defines
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abuse as "intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting
to cause bodily injury, or placing another person in
reasonable apprehension of imminent, serious bodily injury
to himself, herself or another."
According to the Department of Justice, law enforcement
received 174,649 domestic violence calls in 2007; 119
murders were the result of intimate partner violence, 101
women were killed by their husbands, ex-husbands or
boyfriends, and 18 men were killed by their wives, ex-wives
or girlfriends. As of April 2008, there were 246,444
domestic violence related orders (emergency protective
orders, temporary restraining orders, orders after hearing,
other domestic violence orders, or criminal protective
orders) on file with the department.
Domestic Violence Program
The Domestic Violence Program was created by the Battered
Women Protection Act of 1994 (AB 167). The Council was
created in 1996 (AB 3483). The Domestic Violence Program
funds 94 shelter-based domestic violence shelters to
provide: emergency and non-emergency direct services to
victims of domestic violence and their children; domestic
violence prevention activities; and, outreach to
unserved/underserved populations. The Domestic Violence
Program serves approximately 200,000 plus victims and their
children each year. Services may include emergency
shelter, transitional housing, legal advocacy, and
assistance with temporary restraining orders, counseling,
and other support services.
Funding
The Domestic Violence Training and Education Fund is the
funding source for the Domestic Violence Program. Funding
for the Domestic Violence Program for 2008-09 is $20.4
million of which $235,000 is from fines/fees received from
defendants convicted of domestic violence crimes.
Related legislation
SB 273 (Corbett) would change the definition of domestic
violence in the Domestic Violence Program to extend
services to males, and make the program subject to
specified anti-discrimination provisions. Also changes the
definition of domestic violence in the statewide domestic
violence program administered by the Emergency Management
Agency (CalEMA), previously known as the Office of
Emergency Services, to extend services to males. This bill
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is pending referral in the Assembly.
AB 1003 (John A. Perez) eliminates the four grant annual
limitation for the awarding of grants from the Equality in
Prevention and Services for Domestic Abuse Fund, which
CalEMA administers for the development and support of
domestic violence programs and services for the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, and adds
staff qualification requirements. This bill is set to be
heard in Senate Health Committee on June 17.
Previous legislation
SB 185 (Bowen), Chapter 439, Statutes of 2001 requires the
Maternal and Child Health Branch to strengthen oversight
and technical assistance to shelters receiving state
grants.
AB 100 (Cohn), Chapter 462, Statutes of 2005 extends the
sunset on the Domestic Violence Advisory Council from
January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2010.
AB 442 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 1161, Statutes of
2002 extends the sunset on the Domestic Violence Advisory
Council from January 1, 2003 to January 1, 2006.
AB 1107 (Cedillo), Chapter 146, Statutes of 1999 extends
the sunset on the Domestic Violence Advisory Council from
January 1, 1998 to January 1, 2003.
AB 3483 (Friedman), Chapter 197, Statutes of 1996 creates
the Domestic Violence Advisory Council under the Maternal
and Child Health Branch of DPH. Sunsets the Domestic
Violence Advisory Council on January 1, 1998.
AB 167 (B. Freidman), Chapter 140, Statutes of 1994 enacts
the Battered Women Protection Act of 1994 to establish a
comprehensive domestic violence program.
Requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch to
administer, in consultation with an advisory council, a
comprehensive shelter-based services grant program for
battered women's shelters.
Arguments in support
Supporters state that domestic violence statistics
highlight the continuing need for emergency shelters,
housing, legal advocacy, and support services for victims
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of domestic violence. Supporters further state that AB 503
extends important provisions of the Battered Women
Protection Act which requires the Domestic Violence Program
to consult with the Council regarding the distribution of
grants. Supporters contend that members of the Council are
leaders and experts in the domestic violence field, and
that by extending the Council, AB 503 will ensure strong
leadership in providing funding to these programs.
COMMENTS
1.Is this the right time to eliminate the sunset on the
Council?
The committee may wish to consider whether it is
reasonable to allow the Council to exist indefinitely, in
light of the proposed unprecedented cuts to the state
budget and elimination altogether of other advisory
boards, commissions and councils, in addition to the
uncertainty of funding for existing programs at this
time.
2.Duplicity of domestic violence programs.
The author may wish to maximize the contribution of the
Council. In addition to the Domestic Violence Program
addressed by this bill, the other statewide domestic
violence program, administered by CalEMA, awards grants
from the Equality in Prevention and Services for Domestic
Abuse Fund. Combining the two programs and having the
Council advise both programs may benefit the state and
enhance the value of the Council.
3.Agency and program name changes.
The Maternal and Child Health Branch is now known as
the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Division; and the
Office of Emergency Services is now known as the
Emergency Management Agency.
Suggested technical amendments:
Page 2, line 14
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
Page 2, line 18
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
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Adolescent Division
Page 2, line 36
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
Page 3, line 10
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
Page 3, lines 13 and 14
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
Page 3, lines 15 and 16
Office of Emergency Services Emergency Management Agency
Page 3, lines 16 and 17
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
Page 4, line 15
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
Page 4, line 31
Maternal and Child Health Branch Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Division
PRIOR ACTIONS
Assembly Floor: 80-0
Assembly Appropriations:16-0
Assembly Health: 19-0
POSITIONS
Support: Alternatives to Domestic Violence
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
Asian Women's Shelter
Break the Cycle
Community Service Program Victim
Assistance Programs
Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, Fifth
District, Long Beach
Eastman Hope Healthy Start
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House of Ruth
Human Options
Legal Aid Society of Orange County
Mothers of Lost Children
Peace Over Violence
Rainbow Services
South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency
Sojourn Services for Battered Women and
Their Children
One individual
Oppose: None received
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