BILL ANALYSIS
SB 635
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 635 (Wiggins)
As Amended June 23, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-17
JUDICIARY 7-3
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Brownley, Evans, | | |
| |Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, | | |
| |Monning | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Tran, Knight, Silva | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes, until January 1, 2015, the Sonoma County
Board of Supervisors to increase specified fees to fund domestic
violence prevention programs; and, extends the sunset for a
similar program in Solano County by one year. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Authorizes, until January 1, 2015, the Sonoma County Board of
Supervisors, upon making specified findings and declarations,
to increase the fees for marriage licenses and confidential
marriage licenses by up to $2, with further increases
permitted on an annual basis, based on the Consumer Price
Index (CPI) for the San Francisco metropolitan area for the
preceding year.
2)Authorizes, until January 1, 2015, the Sonoma County Board of
Supervisors, upon making specified findings and declarations,
to increase the fees for certified copies of marriage
certificates, fetal death records, and death records by up to
$2, with further increases permitted on an annual basis, based
on the CPI for the San Francisco metropolitan area for the
preceding year.
3)Directs that the fees in 1) and 2) above 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.
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4)Requires the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to submit to
the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees preliminary
reports by July 1, 2013, and final reports by July 1, 2014,
regarding the funds received, the activities funded, and the
outcomes of those activities.
5)Extends, until January 1, 2011, the authority of the Solano
County Board of Supervisors to increase fees for marriage
licenses and confidential marriage licenses, as well as
certified copies of marriage, birth, and death certificates by
up to $2 (subject to CPI increases) for governmental oversight
and coordination of domestic violence and family violence
prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the Alameda and Solano County Boards of Supervisors
and the Berkeley City Council, upon making specified findings
and declarations, to increase the fees for marriage licenses
and confidential marriage licenses, as well as certified
copies of marriage, birth, and death certificates, by up to
$2, with further increases permitted on an annual basis, based
on the CPI for the San Francisco metropolitan area for the
preceding year. Provides that the authorization for the fee
increases will sunset on January 1, 2010.
2)Directs that the fees in 1) above 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 Alameda and Solano County Boards of
Supervisors and the Berkeley City Council must submit to the
Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees, by July 1, 2009,
reports regarding such fee increases. The report must provide
the amounts of fees received and expended as well as the
outcomes achieved as a result of the expenditures.
4)Increases the 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 coordination of domestic violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts in the Contra Costa
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County.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In 2001, pursuant to SB 425 (Torlakson), Chapter 90,
Statutes of 2001, the Legislature authorized a pilot program in
Contra Costa County, allowing the county to provide governmental
oversight and coordination of domestic violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts within the county. The
county was required to make findings and declarations about the
need for oversight and coordination, and, as a result of those
findings, was authorized to increase fees by a maximum of $2 for
marriage licenses and on certified copies of vital records to
fund the program. SB 425 contained a sunset of January 1, 2007,
which was later repealed by SB 968 (Torlakson), Chapter 635,
Statutes of 2006, making Contra Costa's program effective
indefinitely.
AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004, subsequently
authorized the counties of Alameda and Solano to raise by $2 the
fees for marriage licenses and for certified copies of vital
records. The money raised is placed in a special fund in each
county to provide for oversight and coordination of domestic
violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts in
each respective county. These efforts include the creation of a
one-stop Family Justice Center (FJC) in Alameda County, allowing
for coordination among the court system, the district attorney's
office, the public defender's office, law enforcement, the
probation department, mental health, substance abuse, child
welfare services, adult protective services, and other agencies
and community-based organizations. AB 2010 contained a sunset
of January 1, 2010. The following year, AB 1712 (Hancock),
Chapter 545, Statutes of 2005, authorized the City of Berkeley
to also increase the fees for certified copies of vital records
by up to $2 to provide oversight and coordination of its
domestic violence programs under the same terms and conditions
that apply to the rest of Alameda County. AB 1712 also
contained a sunset of January 1, 2010. AB 73 (Hayashi) of 2009
would delete the sunset date for the pilot programs in Alameda
County and the City of Berkeley, thereby authorizing the
increased fees for domestic violence prevention indefinitely.
That bill is now pending in the Senate.
This bill, sponsored by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors,
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establishes a similar pilot program for domestic violence
funding in Sonoma County by authorizing the county to increase
fees on marriage licenses and other vital records. Sonoma
County seeks to address domestic violence through the
implementation of a FJC. The FJC model was originally developed
in San Diego, which opened a center in 2002. The idea behind
the FJC model is to create a coordinated, single-point-of-access
center offering comprehensive services for victims of domestic
violence, thereby reducing the number of locations a victim must
visit in order to receive critical services. The United States
Department of Justice, through its Office on Violence Against
Women (OVW), has identified the FJC model as a best practice in
the field of domestic violence.
According to the OVW, documented FJC outcomes include a
reduction in the rate of homicide; increased victim safety;
improved offender prosecution; reduced fear and anxiety for
victims and their children; increased efficiency among service
providers through the provision of collaborative victims; and,
increased community support for the provision of services.
(Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack, Hope for Hurting Families:
Creating Family Justice Centers Across America 2006.)
This bill also extends, for one year, the Solano County Board of
Supervisors' authority to raise fees for combating domestic
violence. Under existing law, the Solano County Board of
Supervisors' authority to increase fees for specified documents
to combat domestic violence will expire on January 1, 2010.
Following Alameda County's successful model, Solano County now
plans to use the fees it has collected to create a FJC in the
county. This bill extends Solano County's program for one
additional year. That additional year should provide the county
with sufficient time to demonstrate the program's ability to
combat domestic violence in the county.
Analysis Prepared by: Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001675