BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 124
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Date of Hearing: August 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 124 (Kehoe) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
Policy Committee:
AppropriationsVote:
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
As proposed to be amended (to add an urgency clause) this bill
appropriates $1,422,000 from the GF to pay for two legal
settlements, Harris v California National Guard ($990,000) and
Parent Voices et al. v. Jack O'Connell ($432,000).
FISCAL EFFECT
Appropriates $1,422,000 from the GF - $990,000 to the Department
of Justice (DOJ) and $432,000 to the Department of Education -
to pay for two legal settlements.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. This bill is one of two or three annual bills
carried by the Appropriations chairs to provide appropriation
authority for legal settlements approved by DOJ and the
Department of Finance (DOF). These settlements were entered
into lawfully by the state upon advice of counsel (DOJ). They
are binding state obligations.
2)Harris v California National Guard . This $990,000 settlement
concludes the wrongful death case of Harris v. California
National Guard. On August 24, 2007, a Staff Sergeant murdered
an employee of the California National Guard at the Culver
City Armory and was convicted of murder. The victim was
pregnant with the married offender's child and had engaged in
a series of discussions with the offender to encourage
abortion, including alleged promises of a car in exchange for
the abortion. Concurrently, the killer, now serving
life-without-possibility-of-parole, engaged in conversations
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with others regarding harming the fetus. These conversations
were passed on to National Guard authorities, who in turn,
involved civilian authorities.
On October 1, 2008, the victim's mother filed a wrongful death
suit in state court as an individual and successor-in-interest
to the victim. During the trial the Judge urged that, based on
evidence produced, it was in the best interest of the state to
settle the case.
3)Parent Voices et al. v. Jack O'Connell . The 2010 Budget Act
terminated CalWORKs Stage 3 Child Care services, effective
November 1, 2010. Child care advocates and several affected
parents sued the State Department of Education in Alameda
County to halt termination of services for Stage 3 families.
The petitioners claimed proper notice and due process were not
provided, and that the state had a duty to attempt to transfer
affected families to child care slots in other programs for
which they were eligible.
Pursuant to court order, the termination of Stage 3 services
was delayed until December 31, 2010, to allow for eligibility
screening and possible placement of Stage 3 families in other
programs. As a result, approximately 4,500 children were
placed in other programs. Funding for Stage 3 was restored in
2010-11, and the parties agreed in June 2011 to allow the
children who had been placed in other programs to return to
Stage 3. The suit has since been concluded, with the exception
of the plaintiff's outstanding demand for attorneys' fees.
While the plaintiffs assert the actual hours spent on the case
amounts to more than $800,000, they have agreed to settle for
$432,000 to cover the attorney's fees.
The settlement stipulates that if payment of the fees is not
made within 60 days of enactment of the settlements bill,
interest will begin to accrue at an annual rate of seven
percent.
4)Proposed amendments add an urgency clause.
5)Related Legislation .
a) SB 1558 (Kehoe), chaptered in June 2012, appropriated
$2.6 million ($1.3 GF; $1.3 Federal Trust Fund) to the
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Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay the settlement in
Darling v. Douglas, U.S. District Court, Northern District.
b) SB 730 (Kehoe), chaptered in February 2012, appropriated
$13 million to DOJ to pay for six settlements, with
interest in two cases.
c) AB 140 (Fuentes) and SB 206 (Kehoe), both chaptered in
2011, appropriated funds for state settlements last year.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081