BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 556
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
556 (De León)
As Amended May 4, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 38-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Quirk, Melendez, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |14-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
SB 556
Page 2
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Defines "application processing time" for the approval
or denial of a victim's compensation claim by the California
Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP). Specifically, this bill:
1)States that, for purposes of processing victim compensation
applications under the CalVCP, "time of processing
applications" means "the period of time, including all
calendar days, that begins when the board first receives an
application and ends when a determination is made to approve
or deny the application and notice of that determination is
sent to the applicant."
2)Requires the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
(board) to annually post on its Internet Web site its current
average time of processing applications, the number of
applications approved and denied, and the number of incomplete
applications received.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the board to operate the CalVCP.
2)Provides than an application for compensation shall be filed
with the board in the manner determined by the board.
3)States that, except as provided by specified sections of the
Government Code, a person shall be eligible for compensation
when all of the following requirements are met:
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a) The person form whom compensation is being sought any of
the following:
i) A victim.
ii) A derivative victim.
iii) A person who is entitled to reimbursement for
funeral, burial or crime scene clean-up expenses pursuant
to specified sections of the Government Code.
b) Either of the following conditions is met:
i) The crime occurred within California, whether or not
the victim is a resident of California. This only
applies when the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (VCGCB) determines that there are
federal funds available to the state for the compensation
of crime victims.
ii) Whether or not the crime occurred within the State
of California, the victim was any of the following:
(1) A California resident.
(2) A member of the military stationed in
California.
(3) A family member living with a member of the
military stationed in California.
c) If compensation is being sought for derivative victim,
the derivative victim is a resident of California, or the
resident of another state who is any of the following:
i) At the time of the crimes was the parent,
grandparent, sibling, spouse, child or grandchild of the
victim.
ii) At the time of the crime was living in the household
of the victim.
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iii) At the time of the crime was a person who had
previously lived in the house of the victim for a person
of not less than two years in a relationship
substantially similar to a previously listed
relationship.
iv) Another family member of the victim including, but
not limited to, the victim's fiancé or fiancée, and who
witnessed the crime.
v) Is the primary caretaker of a minor victim, but was
not the primary caretaker at the time of the crime.
d) And other specified requirements.
4)Authorizes the board to reimburse for pecuniary loss for the
following types of losses:
a) The amount of medical or medical-related expenses
incurred by the victim, subject to specified limitations.
b) The amount of out-patient psychiatric, psychological or
other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by
the victim, as specified, including peer counseling
services provided by a rape crisis center.
c) The expenses of non-medical remedial care and treatment
rendered in accordance with a religious method of healing
recognized by state law.
d) Compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of
support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs
as a direct result of the victim's injury or the victim's
death, subject to specified limitations.
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e) Cash payment to, or on behalf of, the victim for job
retraining or similar employment-oriented services.
f) The expense of installing or increasing residential
security, not to exceed $1,000, with respect to a crime
that occurred in the victim's residence, upon verification
by law enforcement to be necessary for the personal safety
of the victim or by a mental health treatment provider to
be necessary for the emotional well-being of the victim.
g) The expense of renovating or retrofitting a victim's
residence or a vehicle to make them accessible or
operational, if it is medically necessary.
h) Expenses incurred in relocating, as specified, if the
expenses are determined by law enforcement to be necessary
for the personal safety or by a mental health treatment
provider to be necessary for the emotional well-being of
the victim.
5)Requires the board to approve or deny applications, based on
recommendations by the board staff, within an average of 90
calendar days and no later than 180 calendar days of
acceptance by the board.
6)Requires the board, if it fails to meet the 90-day average, to
report to the Legislature on a quarterly basis its progress
and current average processing time.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable cost to the board.
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COMMENTS: According to the author, "Through the California
Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP), California has been
helping victims by covering the cost of bills and expenses
resulting from certain violent crimes. Many times, these
expenses include medical treatment, mental health services, and
lost income. A person seeking assistance must first submit an
application to the program to determine eligibility. However,
for reasons such as leaving a box unchecked on whether the
victim intends to file a civil suit or not signing the form,
some applications get held up in the process for extended
lengths of time. For these and other minor deficiencies, many
eligible victims are stuck with paying bills out of pocket or
otherwise unable to receive treatment or services.
"To curb delays, the Legislature required that CalVCP approve or
deny applications within an average of 90 day and that the
program report to the Legislature whenever the 90-day-average
standard was not being met. CalVCP's current method of
calculating application processing time, however, starts only
when a completed application is received, leaving the time an
application is first received, but not fully filled out, outside
of the official processing time. This method is not a true
reflection of how long it takes the program to process
applications and may be masking issues of lengthy processing
times that hinder crime victims in their efforts towards
rehabilitation and moving on with their lives.
"SB 556 will help ensure that crime victims receive the
financial assistance they are owed in a timely manner by
clarifying the start and end times that CalVCP uses in
processing applications to determine eligibility and requiring
this data be made available on the program's website."
SB 556
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Analysis Prepared by:
Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0001218