BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1082
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1082 (Corbett) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
Policy Committee:
JudiciaryVote:10-0 (Consent)
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill makes several relatively minor modifications to the
Safe at Home program, which is administered by the Secretary of
State (SOS). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that a program applicant be domiciled in California,
and 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 who reaches age 18 during his or her
enrollment in the program to renew as an adult following
procedures established by the SOS, and permits the SOS to
terminate a program certification if the participant has
reached age 18 during his or her certification term and has
not renewed the certification within 60 days.
3)Requires the SOS to provide notice of any intended termination
and provides a program participant 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 a program applicant to 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, and requires the SOS to notify
SB 1082
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable costs to the SOS to implement the Safe at Home
program modifications.
COMMENTS
Purpose . The Secretary of State (SOS), who is sponsoring this
bill, indicates that since its enactment in 1999 and subsequent
expansions, the Safe at Home address confidentiality 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. According to the author, "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."
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081