Bill Text: CA AB1852 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Vital records: fees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2012-09-30 - Consideration of Governor's veto pending. [AB1852 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB1852-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1852 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 9, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 13, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Campos
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Blumenfield,
Hill, Ma, Mitchell, Williams, and Yamada)
(Coauthor: Senator Evans)
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to add Section 103627.8 to the Health and Safety Code, and
to amend Sections 18966, 18968, and 18969 of, and to add Section
18309.10 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to domestic
violence.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1852, Campos. Vital records: fees.
Existing law requires the collection of fees for providing
certified copies of vital records, including marriage certificates,
birth certificates, fetal death records, and death records. Existing
law provides for the establishment of county domestic violence
program special funds for the purpose of funding local domestic
violence programs. Certain fees payable at the time a certified copy
of any of the above-referenced vital records is issued may be
collected by the county clerks for deposit into these funds.
Additionally, existing law authorizes certain counties, upon making
certain findings and declarations, to authorize an increase in fees
for certified copies of certain vital records, as specified. Existing
law requires the revenue from the fee increase to be allocated for
purposes relating to domestic violence prevention, intervention, and
prosecution.
Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to designate
a local voluntary commission, whose duties primarily relate to
services for children or human services, and requires the county
board of supervisors, if the local voluntary commission is
designated, to establish a county children's trust fund. Existing law
establishes the State Children's Trust Fund, of which money may be
allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State
Department of Social Services for the purpose of funding child abuse
and neglect prevention and intervention programs.
This bill would authorize a county board of supervisors and
certain city councils, upon making findings and declarations
regarding the need for governmental oversight and coordination of the
multiple agencies dealing with domestic violence and child abuse, to
authorize an increase in the fees for certified copies of certain
vital records up to a maximum of $5 per license or record and to
annually adjust that amount for inflation, as specified. This bill
would require the fees to be allocated, as specified, by the county
or city for purposes relating to the prevention and intervention of
domestic violence and child abuse. This bill would require proceeds
from the fee increase from birth certificates to be deposited into
the county children's trust fund or the State Children's Trust Fund,
as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Domestic violence is costly, both in human and organizational
terms. The results of domestic violence have many "hidden" costs,
including job turnover, loss of productivity, school absenteeism, and
low school performance, in addition to the high cost of law
enforcement, civil and criminal justice, health services, mental
health services, substance abuse treatment, human services, and
community-based services.
(b) Domestic violence affects people of all economic and education
levels, age groups, ethnic groups, and other social and community
characteristics. Domestic violence is characterized by a predictable,
escalating cycle that can result in the injury or death of victims,
including children.
(c) Domestic violence puts children at risk. According to the
National Woman Abuse Prevention Project in Washington, D.C., children
in homes where domestic violence occurs are physically abused or
seriously neglected at a rate significantly higher than the national
average in the general population.
(d) Child abuse and neglect have lifelong impacts on affected
children and society. Child abuse and neglect hinder brain
development in, and cause behavioral and emotional challenges for,
affected children. Studies have also shown that individuals with
adverse childhood experiences may demonstrate higher rates of health
problems, including obesity, alcoholism, depression, cancer, and
heart disease, as adults.
(e) Domestic violence is learned and generational. Studies show
that boys who witness family violence are more likely to batter their
female partners as adults than boys raised in nonviolent homes.
Girls who witness their mothers' abuse have higher rates of being
battered as adults.
(f) Family violence encompasses all types of violent crime
committed by an offender who is related to the victim either
biologically or legally through marriage or adoption.
(g) Domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and family
violence require a multifaceted intervention that engages civil,
criminal, health, and social service sectors working together to
align objectives, protocols, policies, and activities of each sector.
SEC. 2. Section 103627.8 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
103627.8. (a) (1) A county board of supervisors, upon making
findings and declarations supporting the need for governmental
oversight and coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with
domestic violence and child abuse, may authorize an increase in the
fees for certified copies of marriage certificates, birth
certificates, fetal death records, and death records, up to a maximum
increase of five dollars ($5).
(2) A city council of a city with a local registrar, upon making
findings and declarations supporting the need for governmental
oversight and coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with
domestic violence and child abuse, may authorize an increase in the
fees for certified copies of birth certificates, fetal death records,
and death records, up to a maximum increase of five dollars ($5).
(b) Effective July 1 of each year, a county board of supervisors
and a city council of a city with a local registrar may authorize an
increase in these fees by an amount equal to the increase in the
Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco metropolitan area for the
preceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest half-dollar ($0.50).
The fees shall be disposed of pursuant to the provisions of Section
18309.10 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(c) In addition to any other fees prescribed by law, an applicant
for a certified copy of a marriage certificate, birth certificate,
fetal death record, or death record in a county or city shall pay the
fees specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) to the local registrar,
county recorder, or county clerk, as applicable, as established by
the county board of supervisors or the city council of a city with a
local registrar.
SEC. 3. Section 18309.10 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18309.10. (a) (1) A county board of supervisors shall direct the
local registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to deposit fees
collected pursuant to Section 103627.8 of the Health and Safety Code
into a special fund.
(2) The county may retain up to 4 percent of the fund for
administrative costs associated with the collection and segregation
of the additional fees and the deposit of these fees into the special
fund.
(3) Proceeds from the fee increase collected pursuant to Section
103627.8 of the Health and Safety Code shall be used as follows:
(A) (i) Sixty percent of the proceeds from the fee increase from
marriage certificates, fetal death records, and death records shall
go to nonprofit, community-based organizations that serve domestic
violence victims and their families, including, but not limited to,
organizations that serve underserved communities, including the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, ethnic and racial
communities, the disabled community, teens, and the elderly.
(ii) Forty percent of the proceeds from the fee increase from
marriage certificates, fetal death records, and death records shall
be used for governmental oversight and coordination of domestic
violence and family violence prevention and intervention efforts,
including law enforcement, mental health, public health, substance
abuse, victim advocacy, community education, and housing services, in
order to increase the effectiveness of prevention and early
intervention of domestic and family violence.
(B) (i) All proceeds from the fee increase from birth certificates
shall be deposited into the county children's trust fund,
established pursuant to Section 18966, and shall go to
community-based organizations and other agencies in the county for
the purpose of increasing the effectiveness and prevention and early
intervention of child abuse and neglect.
(ii) If a county does not have a county children's trust fund, the
proceeds from the fee increase from birth certificates shall be
transferred by the local registrar or county recorder to the
Treasurer for deposit in the State Children's Trust Fund.
(b) (1) A city council of a city with a local registrar shall
direct the local registrar to deposit fees collected pursuant to
Section 103627.8 of the Health and Safety Code into a special fund.
(2) The city may retain up to 4 percent of the fund for
administrative costs associated with the collection and segregation
of the additional fees and the deposit of these fees into the special
fund.
(3) Proceeds from the fee increase collected pursuant to Section
103627.8 of the Health and Safety Code shall be used as follows:
(A) (i) Sixty percent of the proceeds from the fee increase from
fetal death records and death records shall go to nonprofit,
community-based organizations that serve domestic violence victims
and their families, including, but not limited to, organizations that
serve underserved communities, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender community, ethnic and racial communities, the
disabled community, teens, and the elderly.
(ii) Forty percent of the proceeds from the fee increase from
fetal death records and death records shall be used for governmental
oversight and coordination of domestic violence and family violence
prevention and intervention efforts, including law enforcement,
mental health, public health, substance abuse, victim advocacy,
community education, and housing services, in order to increase the
effectiveness of prevention and early intervention of domestic and
family violence.
(B) (i) All proceeds from the fee increase from birth certificates
shall be deposited into the county children's trust fund,
established pursuant to Section 18966, and shall go to
community-based organizations and other agencies in the county for
the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of prevention and early
intervention of child abuse and neglect.
(ii) If a county does not have a county children's trust fund, the
fee increase from birth certificates shall be transferred by the
local registrar or county recorder to the Treasurer for deposit in
the State Children's Trust Fund.
SEC. 4. Section 18966 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18966. When a county board of supervisors designates a commission
pursuant to Section 18965, the board of supervisors shall establish
a county children's trust fund. The children's trust fund shall
consist of the fees for birth certificates, collected pursuant to
Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code, proceeds from a fee
increase from birth certificates, collected pursuant to Section
103627.8 of the Health and Safety Code, grants, gifts, or bequests
from private sources to be used for child abuse and neglect
prevention and intervention programs, any funds appropriated by local
governmental entities to the trust fund, and any funds appropriated
to the county for the trust fund by the Legislature. The local
registrar or county recorder may, however, retain a percentage, not
to exceed 10 percent, of the surcharge collectible pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code, in
order to defray the costs of collection.
The county treasurer shall transmit moneys collected from birth
certificate fees for the county children's trust fund, pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 103625 of the Health and Safety Code,
collected with respect to the birth certificate of a child whose
mother was a resident of another county at the time of the birth to
the treasurer of the county of the mother's residence at the time of
the birth if the county to receive the funds has established a
program pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 18965) of
Chapter 11 of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code and does not have a licensed health facility that provides
maternity services within its jurisdiction.
SEC. 5. Section 18968 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18968. In any county where the board of supervisors does not
designate a commission to carry out the purposes of this article,
pursuant to Section 18965, except for a percentage of the receipts
necessary for purposes of collection, the amount collected for the
surcharge upon birth certificates pursuant to Section 103625 of the
Health and Safety Code and the amount collected from the proceeds
from the fee increase from birth certificates pursuant to Section
103627.8 of the Health and Safety Code shall be transferred by the
local registrar or county recorder to the Treasurer for deposit in
the State Children's Trust Fund.
SEC. 6. Section 18969 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18969. (a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a fund
which shall be known as the State Children's Trust Fund. The fund
shall consist of funds received from a county pursuant to Section
18968, funds collected by the state and transferred to the fund
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 103625 of the Health and
Safety Code and Article 2 (commencing with Section 18711) of Chapter
3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, funds
received from the county pursuant to Section 18309.10, grants, gifts,
or bequests made to the state from private sources to be used for
innovative and distinctive child abuse and neglect prevention and
intervention projects and money appropriated to the fund for this
purpose by the Legislature. The State Registrar may retain a
percentage of the fees collected pursuant to Section 10605 of the
Health and Safety Code, not to exceed 10 percent, in order to defray
the costs of collection.
(b) Money in the State Children's Trust Fund, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, shall be allocated to the State Department of
Social Services for the purpose of funding child abuse and neglect
prevention and intervention programs. The department may not supplant
any federal, state, or county funds with any funds made available
through the State Children's Trust Fund.
(c) The department may establish positions as needed for the
purpose of implementing and administering child abuse and neglect
prevention and intervention programs that are funded by the State
Children's Trust Fund. However, the department shall use no more than
5 percent of the funds appropriated pursuant to this section for
administrative costs.
(d) No State Children's Trust Fund money shall be used to supplant
state General Fund money for any purpose.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Children's
Trust Fund provide for all of the following:
(1) The development of a public-private partnership by encouraging
consistent outreach to the private foundation and corporate
community.
(2) Funds for large-scale dissemination of information that will
promote public awareness regarding the nature and incidence of child
abuse and the availability of services for intervention. These public
awareness activities shall include, but not be limited to, the
production of public service announcements, well designed posters,
pamphlets, booklets, videos, and other media tools.
(3) Research and demonstration projects that explore the nature
and incidence and the development of long-term solutions to the
problem of child abuse.
(4) The development of a mechanism to provide ongoing public
awareness through activities that will promote the charitable tax
deduction for the trust fund and seek continued contributions. These
activities may include convening a philanthropic roundtable,
developing literature for use by the State Bar for dissemination, and
whatever other activities are deemed necessary and appropriate to
promote the trust fund.
SEC. 7. This act shall not be construed to affect any other law
that authorizes a county or city to increase fees for certified
copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death
records, and death records.
