BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1003
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1003 (John A. Perez)
As Amended July 2, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |46-20|(May 14, 2009) |SENATE: |24-15|(September 4, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Eliminates the four grant annual limitation for the
awarding of grants from the Equality in Prevention and Services
for Domestic Abuse Fund (EPSDA), and adds staff qualification
requirements.
The Senate amendments:
1)Require qualified organizations to provide matching funds of
at least 10% in order to be eligible to receive grant funding.
2)Require the California Emergency Management Agency (CAL-EMA)
to consult with the Department of Public Health (DPH) to
consider consolidation of their respective domestic violence
programs and to report its conclusion to the legislature no
later than June 30, 2011.
3)Make technical clarifications.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes a grant program for the development and support of
domestic violence programs and services for the gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
2)Provides that the Office of Emergency Services (OES) shall use
funds from the EPSDA fund to award up to four grants annually
to fund qualifying domestic violence programs and services for
the LGBT community with services including, but not limited
to, all of the following: 24-hour crisis hotlines;
counseling; court and social service advocacy; legal
assistance with temporary restraining orders, devices, and
custody disputes; community resource and referral; household
establishment assistance; emergency housing; and, educational
AB 1003
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workshops and publications.
3)Merges the OES and Office of Homeland Security into California
Emergency Management Agency (Cal-EMA).
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Deleted the requirement that programs previously funded shall
not be subject to a competitive grant process, but shall be
subject to a request for application process.
2)Provided that grant recipients are not subject to matching
funds requirements for the purposes of this section.
3)Incorporated for clarity the California Evidence Code Section
1037.1 definition of "domestic violence counselor" requiring
that domestic violence counselors must have either:
a) One year of counseling experience, at least six months
of which is in counseling domestic violence victims; or,
b) At least 40 hours of supervised training under a
qualified domestic violence counselor, which shall include
the history of domestic violence, relevant civil and
criminal law, societal attitudes towards domestic violence,
counseling techniques, housing, public assistance, and
referral services.
4)Provided that the minimum training standards of Evidence Code
Section 1037.1 shall be provided to the appropriate staff and
volunteers who do not meet the minimum requirements.
5)Changed references from OES to Cal-EMA.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "In 2006, Equality
California sponsored AB 2051 (Cohn), Chapter 856, Statutes of
2006, the EPSDA Act. This legislation, which was enacted on
January 1, 2007, levied a $23 fee on individuals registering as
domestic partners to fund culturally appropriate programs for
LGBT survivors of domestic violence. Specifically, this bill
established a grant program, funded by the EPSDA Fund, to ensure
that LGBT people in abusive relationships have access to
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prevention and intervention services that encourage them to
break the cycle of violence.
"By deleting the minimum number of grants that may be awarded,
Cal-EMA would have the flexibility to issue more organizations
grants should those funds become available.
"Additionally, concern has been expressed that the use of the
word 'all' has created an unintended consequence of limiting the
organizations that may be awarded grants. The purpose of the
grant program is to provide grants to organizations that are
able to provide the best culturally appropriate education and
services for LGBT victims of domestic violence."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0002262