California Victim Compensation Board
Item 4: Legislative Update
September 19, 2024
AB 1186 (Bonta) Restitution Fines
This bill would provide that restitution fines against both adult and juvenile offenders would be deemed uncollectible 10 years after imposition. It would also remove authority for the imposition of certain mandatory restitution fines against juvenile offenders. It would also remove the authority to have 50 percent deducted from the wages of an individual housed in a Youth Authority facility in order to fulfill unpaid restitution.
Status: On the Senate Floor
AB 2979 (Mike Fong) Income Taxation: Exclusion: Victim Compensation.
This bill excludes victim compensation and Good Samaritan payments received from CalVCB from the definition of gross income under the Revenue and Taxation Code.
Status: Signed by the Governor (Chapter 119, Statutes of 2024)
SB 179 (Committee on Budget) Budget Act of 2023: State Government
This budget trailer bill would make changes to statutes governing the Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program (FISCP). It would require CalVCB to do an additional review of FISCP claims or appeals that were denied upon a showing of good cause. A court ruling subsequent to the board’s denial on an issue forming a basis of CalVCB’s denial is presumed to be good cause for an additional review. A claimant may request an additional review no later than January 1, 2025. Claimants who are found to be qualified recipients would receive $35,000 in compensation no later than January 1, 2026. The bill also requires that the report produced by the Alliance for a Better Community be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Legislature by January 1, 2025.
Status: In the Assembly Budget Committee
SB 1481 (Caballero) Claims Against the State
This bill would appropriate $19,289,000 from the General Fund to the Attorney General in order to pay claims, judgments, or settlements against the state. Among the appropriations is $1,625,000 for payment arising from Souliotes v. California Victim Compensation Board (Los Angeles County Superior Court Case Nos. BS170608 and 21STCP03535).
Status: On the Assembly Floor
AB 997 (Gipson) Exoneration: Mental Health Services
This bill would require CalVCB to compensate mental health services for individuals with successful erroneous conviction claims.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2023
AB 2307 (Davies) CalVCB: Reimbursement: Self-Defense Courses
This bill would authorize CalVCB to reimburse up to $1,000 for self-defense courses offered, provided, or operated by a nonprofit organization, university, or law enforcement agency.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
SB 1430 (Glazer) Factual Innocence
This bill would require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue a certificate stating that an individual received either a finding of innocence from a court, or an award of compensation for erroneous conviction from CalVCB. It would also require the DOJ to annotate the individual’s criminal record with the same information.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee
AB 2432 (Gabriel) Corporations: Criminal Enhancements
This bill would create new restitution fines for corporate crimes and a new special fund, the California Crime Victims Fund (CCVF). A court may determine the amount of a restitution fine to be assessed against a corporation, commensurate with the seriousness of the offense. The minimum fine is $100,000 if a corporation is convicted of a felony and $1,000 if it is convicted of a misdemeanor. Of these collected fines, 75 percent would be deposited in the CCVF, and 25 percent would be distributed to the prosecuting jurisdiction. A court may also order a corporation to pay an additional fine, not to exceed the greater of either two times the value of the taking or loss, or $25 million, to be deposited in the CCVF. Funds in the CCVF would be appropriated to the Office of Emergency Services to support crime victim services that have traditionally been funded with federal Victims of Crime Act Victim Assistance Formula Grant funding.
Status: On the Senate Floor
AB 2730 (Lackey) Sexual Assault: Medical Evidentiary Examinations
Current law requires Cal OES to establish a protocol for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault and the collection of evidence. This bill expands the definition of a qualified health care professional who may conduct an examination for evidence of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault in consultation with a licensed physician and surgeon to include a certified nurse-midwife. It would also remove the requirement that the consulting physician and surgeon conduct examinations or provide treatment.
Status: Signed by the Governor (Chapter 113, Statutes of 2024)
AB 1832 (Blanca Rubio) Labor Trafficking Task Force
This bill would establish within the Civil Rights Department the Labor Trafficking Task Force. The bill would authorize the task force to coordinate with other relevant agencies, including CalVCB, to combat labor trafficking. The task force would also coordinate with specified entities when providing support to law enforcement agencies that investigate criminal actions related to labor trafficking, and coordinate with state or local agencies to connect survivors with available services.
Status: On the Senate Floor
AB 2020 (Bonta) Survivors of Human Trafficking Support Act
This bill would enact the Survivors of Human Trafficking Support Act. The act would require state and local law enforcement agencies to establish and maintain protocols for how to interact with people who are victims of human trafficking that include a best practice to contact and coordinate with a community-based organization.
Status: On the Senate Floor
AB 3055 (Bonta) Survivors of Human Trafficking: Identification Cards
This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to develop an assisted and expedited process for survivors of human trafficking to obtain a new or replacement identification card. The bill would also require CalVCB to post information on its internet website about obtaining an identification card using this process, obtaining a replacement social security card or replacement permanent resident card, and the Safe at Home program of the Secretary of State.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 1909 (Quirk-Silva) Criminal Fines: Collection
This bill would specify that any portion of a restitution order that remains unsatisfied after a defendant has completed diversion is enforceable by a local collection program.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
SB 1035 (Ashby) Criminal Procedure: Fines, Fees, and Restitution
This bill would change the annual interest rate on restitution orders to an adjusted rate not to exceed 10 percent. It would also change the annual interest rate charged by the Franchise Tax Board on certain delinquent payments, including fines, fees, and restitution, to no more than 1 percent.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee
AB 1803 (Jim Patterson) Criminal Procedure: Restitution
This bill would require, to the extent possible, a restitution order for a felony violation of human trafficking to include full reimbursement for noneconomic losses, including, but not limited to, psychological harm.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 1956 (Reyes) Victim Services
This bill would require the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to allocate funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fill the gap in Victims of Crime Act grant funding and to prioritize continuity and stability of crime victim services if the federal grant funding that is awarded to the office is 10 percent or more lower than the amount awarded in the prior year.
Status: Held on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations Committee