BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 33
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 33 (Simitian)
As Amended August 18, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
AGING 5-0 PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0
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|Ayes:|Yamada, Knight, Pan, |Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight Cedillo, |
| |V. Manuel P�rez, Torres | |Hagman, Hill, Mitchell, |
| | | |Skinner |
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SUMMARY : Repeals the sunset date associated with various
Welfare and Institutions Code sections (WIC), known as the Elder
and Dependent Adult Financial Abuse Act. Specifically this
bill :
1)Makes permanent a series of code sections which are scheduled
to become inoperative on January 1, 2013.
2)Double joints this bill with SB 718 (Vargas) in order to avoid
chaptering-out problems, in the event both bills are adopted
and signed by the Governor.
EXISTING LAW : A description of current law affected by the
January 1, 2013, sunset date is as follows:
1)WIC Section 15630.1 , which provides a comprehensive mandate
which defines who "mandated reporters" of known financial
abuse are, the settings in which their legal obligation to
report reside, and the activities which constitute a
reportable offense. WIC Section 15630.1 further details
exceptions which would preclude a "mandated reporter" from
reporting, penalties for failure to report, and conditions
under which suspected instances of financial abuse may be
reported.
2)WIC Section 15634 , which offers immunity from criminal and
civil liability for mandated reporters who make reports of
financial abuse in good faith. Though immune from liability,
action may still be brought against reporters; this bill could
force reporters to incur costs associated with a response.
Senator Simitian anticipated this in his original legislation
SB 33
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and provided access for reporters to the State Board of
Control. This bill identifies the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board as the appropriate
entity from which reporters may seek compensation in the event
legal action is brought against them for fulfilling their
legal reporting responsibility.
3)WIC Section 15640 , which directs county adult protective
services (APS) on cross-reporting obligations for reports of
financial abuse which occur in the community, versus those
that occur in a long-term care facility. This bill, as
amended June 15th, also identifies the Department of Public
Health as the licensing agency for skilled nursing facilities.
When the originating legislation was passed in 2005, the
department was known as the Department of Health Services.
4)WIC Section 15655.5 , which requires APS to provide financial
abuse reporting instructional materials to mandated reporters.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill merely repeals sunset dates associated
with existing code sections and therefore does not create
additional costs for the state. The bill is keyed non-fiscal
by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "(I)t is important to delete
the 2013 sunset because mandated reporting for financial
institutions has increased the number of confirmed reports of
elder financial abuse. According to data collected by APS, the
number of confirmed cases of elder and dependent adult financial
abuse rose over 16% from 4,784 in 2006 to 5,568 in 2007 (the law
was implemented in 2007). The number of confirmed cases in 2010
was 5,602.
"Starting in April 2007, APS has counted the number of reports
of elder financial abuse submitted by financial institutions.
Between April 2007 and 2010, financial institutions submitted
26,402 reports of elder financial abuse. Between 2008 and 2010,
financial institutions, on average, submit almost 7,000 reports
of elder financial abuse annually.
"Finally, mandated reporting has not produced a significant
increase in the number of frivolous or illegitimate reports of
abuse. Of all reports of abuse received by APS (including types
other than financial), 41.9% were confirmed in 2006 before
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mandated reporting, and 41.5% were confirmed in 2007 after
mandated reporting; the most recent confirmation percentage for
2010 was 38.3%."
Amendments adopted June 15th address the sunset date associated
with Government Code Section 7480 which empowers law enforcement
to obtain financial records related to criminal investigations.
The sunset date of that code section was repealed in 2010 and is
therefore no longer a subject of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Robert MacLaughlin / AGING & L.T.C. /
(916) 319-3990
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