BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 384
Author: Gaines (R) and DeSaulnier (D), et al.
Amended: 8/4/14
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/5/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Monning, Torres
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/30/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 9/4/13
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Pavley, Roth,
Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Padilla, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 8/7/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : California Memorial Scholarship Program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends, until July 1, 2016, the deadline
for execution of agreements by those eligible to participate in
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the California Memorial Scholarship Program (CMSP).
Assembly Amendments 1) change the deadline for execution of
agreements by those eligible to participate in the CMSP from
July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2016; 2) require the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB) use various
methods to identify those persons, as specified; 3) require the
VCGCB after creating a new list of eligible persons for the
program notify these persons or, in the case of minors, the
parents or guardians of these persons, of their eligibility for
scholarships under the program, as specified; and 4) add a
coauthor.
ANALYSIS : Existing provisions in the California Constitution
state that all persons who suffer losses as a result of criminal
activity shall have the right to restitution from the
perpetrators of these crimes. Restitution shall be ordered in
every case unless compelling and extraordinary reasons exist to
the contrary. The Legislature shall adopt provisions to
implement this section during the calendar year following
adoption of this section.
Existing law:
1.States legislative intent that a victim of crime who incurs
any economic loss as a result of the commission of a crime
shall receive restitution directly from any defendant
convicted of that crime.
2.Directs the court to order a defendant to make restitution to
the victim or victims of the defendant's crime. The court
shall order full restitution for the losses caused by the
defendant's crime unless the court finds and states compelling
and extraordinary reasons for not doing so.
3.Creates the Victims of Crime Program, administered by the
VCGCB, to reimburse victims of crime for the pecuniary losses
they suffer as a direct result of criminal acts.
Indemnification is made from the Restitution Fund, which is
continuously appropriated to the VCGCB for these purposes.
4.Creates the California Memorial Scholarship Program
administered by the Scholarshare Investment Board (SIB) to
provide scholarships for surviving dependents of California
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residents killed as a result of injuries sustained during the
Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
5.Provides that the VCGCB will identify all persons who are
eligible for scholarships under the California Memorial
Scholarship Program by July 1, 2003.
6.Provides that persons eligible, or the parent or guardian of
an eligible person, shall inform the SIB of their decision on
whether to participate in the program and shall execute
agreements no later than July 1, 2005.
This bill:
1.Requires the VCGCB to conduct outreach, as specified, and to
identify and confirm those eligible to participate in the CMSP
due to their being a dependent of a California resident killed
in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
2.Requires the VCGCB to notify in writing, by July 1, 2015,
those identified as eligible for scholarships under the
program.
3.Requires the SIB to service the scholarships for program
participants.
4.Extends, from July 1, 2015 to July 1, 2026, the deadline by
which a program participant must use their scholarship funds.
Comments
According to the author:
Per the recent Auditor's report on the specialty license
plate program, there have been inexcusable errors in the
implementation of the Memorial Scholarship Program which
provides educational scholarships to eligible dependents of
victims of the 9/11 attacks. In 2002 the Memorial License
Plate was created with the accompanying fund and
scholarship program, with specific instructions to the
Victim's Compensation Board to identify and notify
potential scholarship recipients of their eligibility and
invite them to participate in the program. There was a
deadline set out for not only notification, but then a
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follow-up date for which the students or their
parents/guardians had to notify the Board of their
acceptance of the scholarship and participation in the
program.
The Victim's Compensation Board did not meet their
statutory deadline for notification- in fact they far
surpassed it, only leaving a quarter of the time allotted
for students to not only realize they were eligible, but
then decide to participate. The Board also did not do the
outreach that was instructed to be done to inform
potentially eligible dependents.
It is because of this lack of adherence to statute that the
authors of this bill want to re-open the Memorial
Scholarship Program and give eligible students who may not
have had the time or notification the first time around,
the ability to participate in a scholarship that was put in
place specifically to assist them. This bill will give a
new window of time for the Victim's Compensation Board to
identify, outreach, and sign up eligible participants for
this scholarship program utilizing revenues still being
received from the specialty memorial license plates.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Special fund costs for the scholarships, which are up to
$5,000 per recipient, depends on the number of
participants, but given the limited pool of eligible
persons, will likely not exceed $50,000 in any fiscal year.
Administrative costs to the VCGCB and the SIB will be minor
and absorbable.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 8/7/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
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Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Fox, Vacancy
PQ:nl 8/8/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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