BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1082
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
SB 1082 (Corbett) - As Amended: June 21, 2012
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Protection of Victims: Address Confidentiality
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE SAFE AT HOME
PROGRAM BE CLARIFIED TO MAKE THE PROGRAM MORE EFFECTIVE AND
EFFICIENT?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
The Secretary of State (SOS) administers the "Safe at Home"
address confidentiality program to protect victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as reproductive
health care providers, employees, volunteers and patients. This
bill, sponsored by the SOS, clarifies some terms of the program
to make it more effective and efficient. In particular, this
bill requires applicants seeking enrollment in the Safe at Home
program live in California. The bill also authorizes a minor
program participant to renew his or her participation upon
reaching 18 years of age. Additionally, this bill modifies the
permissible grounds for early termination of a participant's
certification in the program by the SOS, while extending the
time to appeal, from five days to 30 days, an intended
termination. Lastly, the bill permits the SOS, in its
discretion, to handle or forward packages for program
participants.
This non-controversial bill is supported by, among others, the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and the
California State Sheriffs' Association. There is no known
opposition to this measure.
SUMMARY : Clarifies provisions of the Safe at Home program.
Specifically, this bill , among other things:
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1)Requires that an applicant to the Safe at Home program be
domiciled in California, as defined. Allows the SOS to refuse
to renew a program participant's certification if the
participant has abandoned his or her domicile in this state.
2)Permits a minor program participant who reaches 18 years of
age during his or her enrollment to renew as an adult
following the renewal procedures established by the SOS.
Permits the SOS to terminate a certification if the program
participant has reached 18 years of age during his or her
certification term and has not renewed his or her
certification within 60 days of reaching 18 years of age.
3)Requires the SOS to provide notice of any intended
termination, for any grounds, and provides that a program
participant has 30 days in which to appeal the intended
termination under procedures established by the SOS.
4)Specifies that a Safe at Home program participant's records
must be held confidential for a period of three years, not
only after termination of certification, but also after
withdrawal of certification.
5)Requires that an applicant to the Safe at Home program must
provide the names and last known addresses of the applicant's
minor children, along with the children's other parent, as
well as all court orders related to the minor children.
Requires the SOS to notify the other parent of the new address
for service, unless there is a court order prohibiting
contact.
6)Provides that the SOS may, in its discretion, refuse to handle
or forward packages regardless of size or type of mailing.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Safe at Home address confidentiality program
within the SOS's office in order to enable state and local
agencies to both accept and respond to requests for public
records without disclosing the changed name or address of a
victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Permits any such adult victim, or parent or guardian acting on
behalf of a minor or incapacitated person, to apply through a
community-based victims' assistance program to have an address
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designated by the SOS as his or her substitute mailing
address. (Government Code Section 6205 et seq. Unless
otherwise stated, all further statutory references are to that
code.)
2)Similarly, allows reproductive health care providers,
employees, volunteers, and patients to apply to the address
confidentiality program through a community-based victims'
assistance program, as specified. (Section 6215 et seq.)
3)Defines "domicile" as the place in which a person's habitation
is fixed, wherein the person has the intention of remaining,
and to which, whenever he or she is absent, the person has the
intention of returning. At a given time, a person may have
only one domicile. (Elections Code Section 349.)
4)Requires that the SOS certify a successful applicant as a
program participant for four years following the date of
filing, unless the certification is withdrawn or invalidated
before that date, except reproductive health care services
facilities volunteers shall be certified until six months from
the last date of volunteering with the facility. Provides
that the SOS shall establish a renewal procedure. (Sections
6206(c), 6215.2(e).)
5)Allows a participant to withdraw from the Safe at Home
program. Provides the SOS with the authority to cancel a
program participant's certification for specified reasons.
(Sections 6206.5, 6206.7, 6215.3, 6215.4.)
6)Provides that the address confidentiality manager shall send
written notification of an intended termination and provides
the participant five business days to appeal the termination.
(Sections 6206.7(c), 6215.4(c).)
7)Provides that the SOS shall forward all first class mail and
all mail sent by a governmental agency to the appropriate
program participant, but shall not handle or forward packages
regardless of size or type of mailing. (Sections 6207(d);
6215.5(d).)
COMMENTS : This bill, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary
of State, seeks to better clarify the mandates of the Safe at
Home program. According to the author:
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Senate Bill 1082 clarifies inconsistencies in the law and
makes Safe at Home (SAH) services more efficient and more
effective. . . . While the SAH program services thousands of
survivors, several clarifications are needed to allow the
program to be run effectively. For example, existing law
requires adults to apply to the SAH program through a
community-based enrollment agency, and it does not
specifically provide for the case of a minor turning 18 years
old and wishing to continue in the program. Existing law also
prevents SAH staff from forwarding packages, regardless of
size or type of mailing. The lack of definition for a package
is frustrating for staff and burdensome for program
participants who may wish to have large mail-service legal
documents or bank checks forwarded.
The SOS explains that "�s]ince its inception in 1999, the Safe
at Home Program has helped protect the identities of nearly
6,260 survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual
assault, as well as reproductive health care doctors, nurses,
volunteers, and patients. SB 1082 provides important
clarifications in the law to help to ensure the further success
of this essential program."
Domicile Requirement : This bill requires that an applicant for
the Safe at Home program reside in California in order to be
eligible for the program. If a program participant was
domiciled in California at the time of application, but
subsequently left the state, the bill also provides the SOS the
ability to refuse to renew a program participant's certification
if the adult program participant or the parent or guardian
acting on behalf of the minor or incapacitated person has
abandoned his or her domicile in this state.
Minors Who Reach Adulthood While Enrolled in the Program :
Current law allows adults, and minors through their adult parent
or guardian, to enroll in the Safe at Home program and allows
the SOS to create a renewal process. However, existing law is
silent as to a process to allow an enrolled minor, upon reaching
the age of majority, to continue in the program.
According to proponents of the bill, in the absence of specific
language allowing for minors to continue in the program proposed
by this bill, existing law has resulted in a situation where a
minor is forced to apply to the program through a
community-based enrollment agency on turning 18. This bill
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eliminates any vagueness about the process by specifying that a
minor who is registered in the Safe at Home program may continue
to be in the program upon reaching the age of majority by
renewing his or her certification following the renewal process
created by the SOS under the office's existing authority.
Handling of Program Participants' Mail : This bill retains
existing law's requirement that the SOS forward first class and
any governmental mail, but allows the SOS to "refuse to handle
or forward any other mail" in his or her discretion, regardless
of the size or type of mailing. Thus, the bill provides the SOS
the authority to handle or forward packages or large envelopes
to a victim, whereas the SOS is currently prohibited from doing
so altogether under existing law.
Currently, because the SOS is prohibited from handling or
forwarding any non-first class or non-government agency packages
to the victim, important documents or items such as checks or
prescriptions may not ever reach the program participant. In
support of this provision, the California Partnership to End
Domestic Violence writes that "this legislation allows
participants to have large mail-service legal documents or bank
checks forwarded to them," but does not increase the mandates on
the SOS.
Appeal of Intended Terminations : Current law requires that the
SOS provide a program participant with notice of an intended
termination and permits the participant to appeal the
termination within five business days unless the underlying
reason for the early termination was that the participant
provided false information in the application process in order
to qualify for the program or used the program for subterfuge to
avoid detection of illegal or criminal activity or apprehension
by law enforcement. This bill extends the time in which to
appeal the intended termination from 5 business days to 30 days.
Moreover, this bill requires that the SOS provide prior notice
and opportunity to appeal an intended termination regardless of
the grounds upon which the termination is based.
Related Pending Legislation : AB 2483 (Blumenfield) amends a
requirement that an application alleging stalking as the basis
for enrollment in the Safe at Home program provide specific
attached evidence, to make the production of such evidence
permissive, not mandatory. That bill passed out of both this
committee and the full Assembly on consent.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Secretary of State (sponsor)
American Association of University Women
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Communities United Institute
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Police Officers Research Association of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334