BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 154|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 154
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 4/5/11
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-2, 3/29/11
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno
NOES: Harman, Blakeslee
SUBJECT : Marriage licenses: vital records: fees:
domestic violence:
Solano County
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill deletes a January 1, 2012 sunset date
relative to Solano County increasing fees for certified
copies of vital records thereby extending existing law
indefinitely.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes the Solano County
Board of Supervisors, 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 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco
metropolitan area for the preceding year. Existing law
provides that the authorization for the fee increases will
sunset on January 1, 2012. (Government Code Section
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26840.11; Health and Safety Code Section 103628)
Existing law directs that these fees 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.
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section 18309.5)
Existing law provides that the Solano County Board of
Supervisors must submit to the Assembly and Senate
Judiciary Committees, by July 1, 2009, a report 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. (Government Code Section
26840.11; Health and Safety Code Section 103628)
This bill extends the authorization for the Solano County
Board of Supervisors to increase fees for the purposes
specified above, indefinitely. This bill, in addition to
the existing report contained in existing law (above), also
requires a preliminary report and a follow-up report no
later than
July 1, 2014.
Background
AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004,
authorized the Counties of Alameda and Solano to raise the
fees for marriage licenses and for certified copies of
vital records for each county to provide for oversight and
coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention,
and prosecution efforts in each respective county. These
efforts include 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 in the counties. AB 2010 authorized a fee
increase of up to $2 for each county, with further
increases permitted on an annual basis, using the Consumer
Price Index for the San Francisco metropolitan area. AB
2010 contained a sunset of January 1, 2010, and required a
report on each county's program to the Legislature by July
1, 2009. SB 635 (Wiggins), Chapter 356, Statutes of 2009,
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extended the sunset for the pilot program in Solano County
for an additional year to January 1, 2011.
Last year, SB 1222 (Wolk), Chapter 520, Statutes of 2010,
extended Solano County's pilot program originally created
by AB 2010 until January 1, 2012. The introduced version
of the bill had a sunset of January 1, 2014. When this
bill was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it was
amended to shorten this sunset because there were concerns
about the amount of revenue raised and the proposed use of
the funds.
The Family Justice Center (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 Family Justice Center model as a
best practice in the field of domestic violence. According
to the OVW, documented and public 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 and their children. (Casey Gwinn and Gael
Strack, Hope for Hurting Families: Creating Family Justice
Centers Across America, Volcano Press, 2006)
Prior Legislation
SB 1222 (Wolk), Chapter 520, Statutes of 2010. (See
Background above)
AB 1770 (Galgiani), Chapter 578, Statutes of 2010,
established a similar domestic violence prevention funding
pilot program in Stanislaus County.
AB 73 (Hayashi), Chapter 215, Statutes of 2009, deleted the
sunset for the pilot programs in Alameda and the City of
Berkeley.
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AB 2231 (Hayashi), 2008, would have extended the sunset
date for pilot programs in Alameda and Solano Counties, and
the City of Berkeley that authorizes increased fees in
specified vital records and marriage licenses from January
1, 2010, to January 1, 2015. The bill was vetoed by the
Governor.
AB 1712 (Hancock), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2005,
authorized the City of Berkeley to increase the fees for
certified copies of birth certificates, fetal death
records, and death records by up to $2.
AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004,
authorized Alameda and Solano Counties to increase the fees
for marriage licenses, and for certified copies of marriage
certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and
death records.
SB 425 (Torlakson), Chapter 90, Statutes of 2001,
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/5/11)
LIFT3 Support Group
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Solano County District Attorney
Solano County Probation Department
Superior Court of California, County of Solano
Triad Family Services
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the fees collected by the Solano County Board of
Supervisors through this pilot program are an important
source of domestic violence program funding for the county,
and are deposited into a fund to be used for a Solano
County Family Justice Center. The author's office explains
that Solano County would like to continue this effort.
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RJG:mw 4/5/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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