BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 906
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 906 (Galgiani)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Dickinson, Huber, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Huffman, Jones, Monning, | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| |Wieckowski | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Extends to murder witnesses the address
confidentiality protections contained in the Safe at Home
Program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the Safe at Home Program to protect the
confidentiality of the address of a witness who has testified
in a murder trial.
2)Provides that an application submitted by a witness who
testified in a murder trial shall be accompanied by payment of
a fee to be determined by the Secretary of State (SOS) which
fee shall not exceed the reasonable cost of enrolling the
witness in the program. In addition, an annual fee may also
be assessed by the Secretary of State for murder witnesses to
defray the reasonable costs of maintaining the program for the
murder witness program participants.
EXISTING LAW provides that:
1)A victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking may
enter into an address confidentiality program. The victim
must apply to the program in person at a community-based
victim's assistance program. The application must be approved
by the Secretary of State for the purpose of enabling state
and local agencies to respond to requests for public records
without disclosing a program participant's residence address
contained in any public record and otherwise to provide for
confidentiality of that person's identity.
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2)Reproductive health care services providers, employees,
volunteers, and patients may enter into a similar address
confidentiality program.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, it is unknown how many witnesses would choose to
participate in the Safe at Home program. According to the SOS,
the annual General Fund cost of the program, currently with
2,735 participants, is $1.041 million, or an average cost of
$381 per participant. At this cost, if the program were to grow
by only 400 new participants, the total cost would exceed
$150,000. Regardless of the number of participants, the SOS
would likely require two staff positions, at a cost of $150,000
to establish this new category of program participant. Some of
these costs will be offset by fees, but this would depend on the
number of participants, and fee revenues would not likely offset
program costs unless there are a substantial number of
participants.
COMMENTS : The Safe at Home program, created by SB 489 (Alpert),
Chapter 1005, Statutes of 1998, allows victims of domestic
violence or stalking to apply to the Secretary of State to
request an alternate address to be used in public records. The
purpose of the program is to "enable state and local agencies to
respond to requests for public records without disclosing the
changed name or location of a victim of domestic violence or
stalking." The Secretary of State provides a substitute,
publicly accessible address for these victims while protecting
their actual residences or locations. The Secretary of State
also acts as the program participants' agent for service of
process and forwards 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 with the purpose of preventing
potential acts of violence from being committed against those
who assist in the provision of reproductive health care services
and the patients seeking those services. (AB 797 (Shelley),
Chapter 380, Statutes of 2002.) According to the Safe at Home
2010 Legislative Report, there are 2,735 active participants in
the program, and 5,704 participants have been served since the
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program's inception in 1999.
The original 2005 sunset date for the Safe at Home Program was
extended twice. First, AB 797 (Shelley) in 2002 extended the
sunset to January 1, 2008, then AB 2169 (Monta�ez), Chapter 475,
Statutes of 2006, extended again until January 1, 2013. Last
year SB 1233 (Oropeza), Chapter 326, Statutes of 2010, removed
the sunset for the Safe at Home Program entirely, thereby making
it permanent.
In support of the bill, the author states:
The 'Safe at Home Program' has helped protect the personal
information of thousands of survivors. Witnesses who
testify in murder trials often face threats of retaliation
and intimidation, and have similar fears regarding the
disclosure of their physical addresses. Yet under existing
law, these persons are not allowed to participate in the
"Safe at Home Program". Last July, Loren Herzog, a
notorious serial killer from Stockton - my district - was
released on parole as a result of an Appellate Court
overturning three first degree murder convictions and a
conviction as an accessory to a fourth murder. He was
originally convicted and sentenced to 78 years to life.
Prosecutors believe Herzog and his partner Wesley
Shermantine killed up to 22 people in addition to the
original six murders they were initially charged with. At
their trials, more than 80 witnesses testified with the
belief that these two killers would never see the light of
day. However, with the parole of Herzog, witnesses are
fearful that this serial killer can acquire access to their
home address and exact revenge? Assembly Bill 906 remedies
this situation by allowing witnesses who testified in
murder trials to participate in the 'Safe at Home Program'?
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001033
AB 906
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