BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1233
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 1233 (Oropeza) - As Amended:  May 17, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                               
          JudiciaryVote:10-0 (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Eliminates the January 1, 2013 sunset dates on the Safe at  
            Home address confidentiality program and the Safe at Home  
            voter confidentiality program.

          2)Requires that change of name records pertaining to a Safe at  
            Home program participant be retained permanently rather than  
            being destroyed three years after participation ends in the  
            program.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Permanent extension of annual program administrative  
          costs-currently about $300,000 (General Fund)-in 2012-13 and  
          beyond.

          COMMENTS  

           Background and Purpose  . The Safe at Home program, which was  
          established by SB 489 (Alpert)/Chapter 1005 of 1998, allows  
          victims of domestic violence or stalking to apply to the  
          Secretary of State (SOS) to request an alternate address to be  
          used in public records.  The program is intended to allow public  
          agencies to respond to requests for public records without  
          disclosing the changed name or location of a victim of domestic  
          violence or stalking. The SOS provides a substitute, publicly  
          accessible address for these victims while protecting their  
          actual residences or locations.  The SOS also acts as the  
          program participants' agent for service of process and forwards  








                                                                  SB 1233
                                                                  Page  2

          mail received at the substitute address provided.  A program  
          participant, once certified, may stay in the program for four  
          years, after which re-certification is required.  

          In 2002, the Safe at Home program was expanded to include  
          reproductive health care services providers, employees,  
          volunteers, and patients to prevent potential acts of violence.  
          In 2006, the program was expanded to include victims of sexual  
          assault. According to the 2009 program report, there are 2,437  
          active participants in the program, and 4,974 participants have  
          been served since the program's inception.  

          The original 2005 sunset date for the program has been extended  
          twice, most recently by AB 2169 (Montanez)/Chapter 475 of 2006.  
          This bill, sponsored by the SOS, removes the sunset, thereby  
          making the program permanent, and requires that the SOS  
          permanently retain name change records for program participants.  
          No concerns have been raised about the administration or cost of  
          the Safe at Home Program. Permanently establishing this address  
          confidentiality program will assure participants that their  
          anonymity, and thus some measure of their safety, is not in  
          jeopardy.

           Analysis Prepared by :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081