BILL NUMBER: AB 1003	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member John A. Perez

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to amend Section 13823.17 of the Penal Code, relating to
domestic violence.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1003, as introduced, John A. Perez. Domestic violence grants.
    Existing law establishes a grant program for the development and
support of domestic violence programs and services for the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. Existing law requires
the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to use funds from the Equality
in Prevention and Services for Domestic Abuse Fund to award up to 4
grants annually to fund domestic violence programs and services for
the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, including, but
not limited to, all of the following: (1) 24-hour crisis hotlines,
(2) counseling, (3) court and social service advocacy, (4) legal
assistance with temporary restraining orders, devices, and custody
disputes, (5) community resource and referral, (6) household
establishment assistance, (7) emergency housing, and (8) educational
workshops and publications.(PU CHP200700179 )
   This bill would revise that provision to instead specify that the
OES shall award grants annually to fund domestic violence programs
and services for that community, including, but not limited to, any
of the components described above.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 13823.17 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   13823.17.  (a) The Legislature finds the problem of domestic
violence in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community to
be of serious and increasing magnitude. The Legislature also finds
that existing domestic violence services for this population are
underfunded and that members of this population are unserved or
underserved in the state. Therefore, it is the intent of the
Legislature that a goal or purpose of the Office of Emergency
Services (OES) shall be to increase access to culturally appropriate
domestic violence education, prevention, and services for the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.
   (b) The goal of this section is to establish a targeted or
directed grant program for the development and support of domestic
violence programs and services for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender community. The OES shall use funds from the Equality in
Prevention and Services for Domestic Abuse Fund to award  up
to four  grants annually to qualifying organizations, with
at least one in southern California and one in northern California,
to fund domestic violence programs and services including, but not
limited to,  all   any  of the following:
   (1) Twenty-four-hour crisis hotlines.
   (2) Counseling.
   (3) Court and social service advocacy.
   (4) Legal assistance with temporary restraining orders, devices,
and custody disputes.
   (5) Community resource and referral.
   (6) Household establishment assistance.
   (7) Emergency housing.
   (8) Educational workshops and publications.
   (c) Each grant shall be awarded for a three-year term for the
purposes of this section.
   (d) In order to qualify for a grant award under this section, the
recipient shall be a California nonprofit organization with a
demonstrated history of working in the area of domestic violence
education and prevention and serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community.
   (e) The funding process for distributing grant awards to
qualifying organizations shall be administered by the OES as follows:

   (1) Grants that were not funded in the previous cycle shall be
awarded to qualifying organizations as a result of a competitive
request for proposal (RFP) process. The RFP process shall comply with
all applicable state and federal statutes and to the extent
possible, the response to the RFP shall not exceed 15 narrative
pages, excluding attachments.
   (2) The following criteria shall be used to evaluate grant
proposals:
   (A) Whether the proposed program or services would further the
purpose of promoting healthy, nonviolent relationships in the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
   (B) Whether the proposed program or services would reach a
significant number of people in and have the support of the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
   (C) Whether the proposed program or services are grounded in a
firm understanding of domestic violence and represent an innovative
approach to addressing the issue.
   (D) Whether the proposed program or services would reach unique
and underserved sectors of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community, such as youth, people of color, immigrants,
and transgender persons.
   (3) Grant funds shall not be used to support any of the following:

   (A) Scholarships.
   (B) Awards to individuals.
   (C) Out-of-state travel.
   (D) Projects that are substantially completed before the
anticipated date of the grant award.
   (E) Fundraising activities.
   (4) Organizations reapplying for grants shall not be subject to a
competitive grant process, but shall be subject to a request for
application (RFA) process. The RFA process shall consist in part of
an assessment of the past performance history of the organization in
relation to the standards established by this section. The response
to the RFA shall not exceed 10 narrative pages, excluding
attachments.
   (5) Any organization funded through this program in the previous
grant cycle shall be funded upon reapplication, unless, pursuant to
the assessment required under the RFA process, its past performance
history fails to meet the standards established by this section.
   (f) Grant recipients may seek, receive, and make use of any funds
which may be available from all public and private sources to augment
any funds received pursuant to this section.
   (g) The OES may adopt rules as necessary to implement the grant
program created under this section.
   (h) The OES may hire the support staff and utilize all resources
necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
   (i) For purposes of this section, "domestic violence" means the
infliction or threat of physical harm against past or present adult
or adolescent intimate partners, including physical, sexual, and
psychological abuse against the person, and is a part of a pattern of
assaultive, coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at
achieving compliance from or control over that person.