Bill Text: CA AB2160 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Crime victims: compensation for pecuniary loss.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB2160 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2160-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2160 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonta
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Sections 13953, 13955, 13957,
and 13957.5 13957.5, and 13957.9 of the
Government Code, relating to crime victims, and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2160, as amended, Bonta. Crime victims: compensation for
pecuniary loss.
Existing law governs the procedure by which crime victims may
obtain compensation from the Restitution Fund, a continuously
appropriated fund. Existing law establishes eligibility for
compensation when prescribed requirements are met and authorizes the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to grant
compensation from the fund for pecuniary loss when the board
determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation,
including expenses for psychiatric, psychological, or other mental
health counseling-related services if the services were provided by
specific individuals. Existing law establishes requirements and sets
specific monetary caps for certain payments or reimbursements
relating to relocation. Existing law governs the award of
compensation by the board for loss of income and support.
This bill would expand eligibility for compensation to include a
victim or derivative victim that sustained emotional injury as a
direct result of specific crimes relating to obscene matter. The bill
would authorize the grant of compensation for expenses for
psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health counseling-related
services if the services were provided by a person who is licensed
by the state to provide those services, or who is properly supervised
by a person who is so licensed, subject to the board's approval and
subject to limitations and restrictions as imposed by the board. The
bill would revise eligibility for relocation reimbursement or
payments and increase monetary caps. The bill would revise those loss
of income and support provisions to additionally authorize the grant
of compensation for specific costs incurred by victims.
Existing law requires that an application for compensation based
on any of specified crimes involving sex with a minor be filed any
time prior to the victim's 28th birthday.
The bill would instead require that the application be filed
anytime prior to the victim's 40th birthday for crimes committed by
certain dates, as specified, and be filed within 10 years after
commission for all other crimes.
Existing law requires a victim or derivative victim seeking
compensation to have sustained one or more specified physical or
emotional injuries, or pecuniary losses, as a direct result of the
crime.
Existing law includes among those injuries emotional injury to a
victim who is a minor incurred as a direct result of the
nonconsensual distribution of pictures or video of sexual conduct in
which the minor appears.
This bill would delete this provision and instead would include
among the compensable injuries emotional injury that occurred due to
a violation of provisions prohibiting intentional distribution of
certain specified private images of another person, as specified.
Existing law, until January 1, 2017, authorizes the board to grant
from the fund for pecuniary losses, as specified, reimbursement for
outpatient psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health
counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or derivative
victim. Existing law specifically authorizes the board to reimburse a
victim of statutory rape for outpatient mental health counseling
expenses, up to a specified amount.
The bill would repeal the January 1, 2017, repeal date, thereby
extending the board's authority to grant reimbursement for those
outpatient mental health counseling-related expenses indefinitely.
The bill would remove the board's specific authorization to reimburse
a victim of statutory rape for outpatient mental health counseling
expenses.
By expanding the authorizations for use of moneys in the
Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would
make an appropriation. Because an application for reimbursement
is required to be submitted under penalty of perjury, this bill would
expand the definition of a crime and thus impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13953 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
13953. (a) An application for compensation shall be filed within
three years of the date of the crime, three years after the victim
attains 18 years of age, or three years of the time the victim or
derivative victim knew or in the exercise of ordinary diligence could
have discovered that an injury or death had been sustained as a
direct result of crime, whichever is later. An application based on
any crime eligible for prosecution under Section 801.1 of the Penal
Code may be filed any time prior to the victim's 28th
birthday. within the period that prosecution is
authorized by Section 801.1 of the Penal Code.
(b) The board may for good cause grant an extension of the time
period in subdivision (a). In making this determination, the board
shall consider all of the following:
(1) Whether the victim or derivative victim incurs emotional harm
or a pecuniary loss while testifying during the prosecution or in the
punishment of the person accused or convicted of the crime.
(2) Whether the victim or derivative victim incurs emotional harm
or a pecuniary loss when the person convicted of the crime is
scheduled for a parole hearing or released from incarceration.
(c) The period prescribed in this section for filing an
application by or on behalf of a derivative victim shall be tolled
when the board accepts the application filed by a victim of the same
qualifying crime.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 13955 of
the Government Code is amended to read:
13955. Except as provided in Section 13956, a person shall be
eligible for compensation when all of the following requirements are
met:
(a) The person for whom compensation is being sought is any of the
following:
(1) A victim.
(2) A derivative victim.
(3) (A) A person who is entitled to reimbursement for funeral,
burial, or crime scene cleanup expenses pursuant to paragraph (8) or
(9) of subdivision (a) of Section 13957.
(B) This paragraph applies without respect to any felon status of
the victim.
(b) Either of the following conditions is met:
(1) The crime occurred in California. This paragraph shall apply
only during those time periods during which the board determines that
federal funds are available to the state for the compensation of
victims of crime.
(2) Whether or not the crime occurred in California, the victim
was any of the following:
(A) A resident of California.
(B) A member of the military stationed in California.
(C) A family member living with a member of the military stationed
in California.
(c) If compensation is being sought for a derivative victim, the
derivative victim is a resident of California, or any other state,
who is any of the following:
(1) At the time of the crime was the parent, grandparent, sibling,
spouse, child, or grandchild of the victim.
(2) At the time of the crime was living in the household of the
victim.
(3) At the time of the crime was a person who had previously lived
in the household of the victim for a period of not less than two
years in a relationship substantially similar to a relationship
listed in paragraph (1).
(4) Is another family member of the victim, including, but not
limited to, the victim's fianc� or fianc�e, and who witnessed the
crime.
(5) Is the primary caretaker of a minor victim, but was not the
primary caretaker at the time of the crime.
(d) The application is timely pursuant to Section 13953.
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the injury or death
was a direct result of a crime.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), no act involving the operation
of a motor vehicle, aircraft, or water vehicle that results in injury
or death constitutes a crime for the purposes of this chapter,
except when the injury or death from such an act was any of the
following:
(A) Intentionally inflicted through the use of a motor vehicle,
aircraft, or water vehicle.
(B) Caused by a driver who fails to stop at the scene of an
accident in violation of Section 20001 of the Vehicle Code.
(C) Caused by a person who is under the influence of any alcoholic
beverage or drug.
(D) Caused by a driver of a motor vehicle in the immediate act of
fleeing the scene of a crime in which he or she knowingly and
willingly participated.
(E) Caused by a person who commits vehicular manslaughter in
violation of subdivision (b) of Section 191.5, subdivision (c) of
Section 192, or Section 192.5 of the Penal Code.
(F) Caused by any party where a peace officer is operating a motor
vehicle in an effort to apprehend a suspect, and the suspect is
evading, fleeing, or otherwise attempting to elude the peace officer.
(f) As a direct result of the crime, the victim or derivative
victim sustained one or more of the following:
(1) Physical injury. The board may presume a child who has been
the witness of a crime of domestic violence has sustained physical
injury. A child who resides in a home where a crime or crimes of
domestic violence have occurred may be presumed by the board to have
sustained physical injury, regardless of whether the child has
witnessed the crime.
(2) Emotional injury and a threat of physical injury.
(3) Emotional injury, where the crime was a violation of any of
the following provisions:
(A) Section 236.1, 261, 262, 271, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 288, 288a,
288.5, 289, 311.1, 311.2, 311.3, 311.4, or 653.2 of
653.2 of, or paragraph (4) of subdivision (j) of
Section 647 of, the Penal Code.
(B) Section 270 of the Penal Code, where the emotional injury was
a result of conduct other than a failure to pay child support, and
criminal charges were filed.
(C) Section 261.5 of the Penal Code, and criminal charges were
filed.
(D) Section 278 or 278.5 of the Penal Code, and criminal charges
were filed. For purposes of this paragraph, the child, and not the
nonoffending parent or other caretaker, shall be deemed the victim.
(4) Injury to, or the death of, a guide, signal, or service dog,
as defined in Section 54.1 of the Civil Code, as a result of a
violation of Section 600.2 or 600.5 of the Penal Code.
(5) Emotional injury to a victim who is a minor incurred as a
direct result of the nonconsensual distribution of pictures or video
of sexual conduct in which the minor appears.
(g) The injury or death has resulted or may result in pecuniary
loss within the scope of compensation pursuant to Sections 13957 to
13957.7, inclusive.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 13957 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
13957. (a) The board may grant for pecuniary loss, when the board
determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation, as
follows:
(1) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2,
reimburse the amount of medical or medical-related expenses incurred
by the victim for services that were provided by a licensed medical
provider, including, but not limited to, eyeglasses, hearing aids,
dentures, or any prosthetic device taken, lost, or destroyed during
the commission of the crime, or the use of which became necessary as
a direct result of the crime.
(2) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2,
reimburse the amount of outpatient psychiatric, psychological, or
other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by the
victim or derivative victim, including peer counseling services
provided by a rape crisis center as defined by Section 13837 of the
Penal Code, and including family psychiatric, psychological, or
mental health counseling for the successful treatment of the victim
provided to family members of the victim in the presence of the
victim, whether or not the family member relationship existed at the
time of the crime, that became necessary as a direct result of the
crime, subject to the following conditions:
(A) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of
their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000):
(i) A victim.
(ii) A derivative victim who is the surviving parent, grandparent,
sibling, child, grandchild, spouse, fianc�, or fianc�e of a victim
of a crime that directly resulted in the death of the victim.
(iii) A derivative victim, as described in paragraphs (1) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section 13955, who is the primary
caretaker of a minor victim whose claim is not denied or reduced
pursuant to Section 13956 in a total amount not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) for not more than two derivative victims.
(B) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of
their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed
five thousand dollars ($5,000):
(i) A derivative victim not eligible for reimbursement pursuant to
subparagraph (A), provided that mental health counseling of a
derivative victim described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of
Section 13955, shall be reimbursed only if that counseling is
necessary for the treatment of the victim.
(ii) A minor who suffers emotional injury as a direct result of
witnessing a violent crime and who is not eligible for reimbursement
of the costs of outpatient mental health counseling under any other
provision of this chapter. To be eligible for reimbursement under
this clause, the minor must have been in close proximity to the
victim when he or she witnessed the crime.
(C) The board may reimburse a victim or derivative victim for
outpatient mental health counseling in excess of that authorized by
subparagraph (A) or (B) or for inpatient psychiatric, psychological,
or other mental health counseling if the claim is based on dire or
exceptional circumstances that require more extensive treatment, as
approved by the board.
(D) Expenses for psychiatric, psychological, or other mental
health counseling-related services may be reimbursed only if the
services were provided by a person who is licensed by the state to
provide those services, or who is properly supervised by a person who
is so licensed, subject to the board's approval and subject to
limitations and restrictions as imposed by the board.
(3) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.5,
authorize 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 or derivative victim's injury or the
victim's death. If the victim or derivative victim requests that the
board give priority to reimbursement of loss of income or support,
the board may not pay medical expenses, or mental health counseling
expenses, except upon the request of the victim or derivative victim
or after determining that payment of these expenses will not decrease
the funds available for payment of loss of income or support.
(4) Authorize a cash payment to or on behalf of the victim for job
retraining or similar employment-oriented services.
(5) Reimburse the expense of installing or increasing residential
security, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000). Installing or
increasing residential security may include, but need not be limited
to, both of the following:
(A) Home security device or system.
(B) Replacing or increasing the number of locks.
(6) Reimburse the expense of renovating or retrofitting a victim's
residence, or the expense of modifying or purchasing a vehicle, to
make the residence or the vehicle accessible or operational by a
victim upon verification that the expense is medically necessary for
a victim who is permanently disabled as a direct result of the crime,
whether the disability is partial or total.
(7) (A) Authorize a cash payment or reimbursement not to exceed
four thousand five hundred dollars ($4,500) to a victim for expenses
incurred in relocating, if the expenses are determined by law
enforcement to be necessary for the personal safety of the victim, by
a mental health treatment provider to be necessary for the emotional
well-being of the victim, or by a doctor of medicine or doctor of
osteopathic medicine to be a medical necessity for the victim.
(B) The cash payment or reimbursement made under this paragraph
shall only be awarded to one claimant per crime giving rise to the
relocation. The board may authorize more than one relocation per
crime if necessary for the personal safety or emotional well-being of
the claimant. However, the total cash payment or reimbursement for
all relocations due to the same crime shall not exceed four thousand
five hundred dollars ($4,500). For purposes of this paragraph a
claimant is the crime victim, or, if the victim is deceased, a person
who resided with the deceased at the time of the crime.
(C) When a relocation payment or reimbursement is provided to a
victim of sexual assault or domestic violence and the identity of the
offender is known to the victim, the victim shall agree not to
inform the offender of the location of the victim's new residence and
not to allow the offender on the premises at any time, or shall
agree to seek a restraining order against the offender. A victim may
be found ineligible for relocation or may be required to repay the
relocation payment or reimbursement to the board if he or she
violates the terms set forth in this paragraph.
(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), the board may
increase the cash payment or reimbursement for expenses incurred in
relocating to an amount greater than four thousand five hundred
dollars ($4,500), if the board finds this amount is appropriate due
to the unusual, dire, or exceptional circumstances of a particular
claim.
(E) If a security deposit is required for relocation, the board
shall be named as the recipient and receive the funds upon expiration
of the victim's rental agreement.
(8) When a victim dies as a result of a crime, the board may
reimburse any individual who voluntarily, and without anticipation of
personal gain, pays or assumes the obligation to pay any of the
following expenses:
(A) The medical expenses incurred as a direct result of the crime
in an amount not to exceed the rates or limitations established by
the board.
(B) The funeral and burial expenses incurred as a direct result of
the crime, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars
($7,500). The board shall not create or comply with a regulation or
policy that mandates a lower maximum potential amount of an award
pursuant to this subparagraph for less than seven thousand five
hundred dollars ($7,500).
(9) When the crime occurs in a residence or inside a vehicle, the
board may reimburse any individual who voluntarily, and without
anticipation of personal gain, pays or assumes the obligation to pay
the reasonable costs to clean the scene of the crime in an amount not
to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000). Services reimbursed
pursuant to this subdivision shall be performed by persons registered
with the State Department of Public Health as trauma scene waste
practitioners in accordance with Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section
118321) of Part 14 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.
(10) When the crime is a violation of Section 600.2 or 600.5 of
the Penal Code, the board may reimburse the expense of veterinary
services, replacement costs, or other reasonable expenses, as ordered
by the court pursuant to Section 600.2 or 600.5 of the Penal Code,
in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(11) An award of compensation pursuant to paragraph (5) of
subdivision (f) of Section 13955 shall be limited to compensation to
provide mental health counseling and shall not limit the eligibility
of a victim for an award that he or she may be otherwise entitled to
receive under this part. A derivative victim shall not be eligible
for compensation under this provision.
(b) The total award to or on behalf of each victim or derivative
victim may not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000), except
that this award may be increased to an amount not exceeding seventy
thousand dollars ($70,000) if federal funds for that increase are
available.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 13957.5 of
the Government Code is amended to read:
13957.5. (a) In authorizing compensation for loss of income and
support pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section
13957, the board may take any of the following actions:
(1) Compensate the victim for loss of income directly resulting
from the injury, except that loss of income may not be paid by the
board for more than five years following the crime, unless the victim
is disabled as defined in Section 416(i) of Title 42 of the United
States Code, as a direct result of the injury.
(2) Compensate an adult derivative victim for loss of income,
subject to all of the following:
(A) The derivative victim is the parent or legal guardian of a
victim, who at the time of the crime was under the age of 18 years
and is hospitalized as a direct result of the crime.
(B) The minor victim's treating physician verifies that the
presence of the victim's parent or legal guardian at the hospital is
necessary for the treatment of the victim.
(C) Reimbursement for loss of income under this paragraph may not
exceed the total value of the income that would have been earned by
the adult derivative victim during a 30-day period.
(3) Compensate an adult derivative victim for loss of income,
subject to all of the following:
(A) The derivative victim is the parent or legal guardian of a
victim who at the time of the crime was under the age of 18 years.
(B) The victim died as a direct result of the crime.
(C) The board shall pay for loss of income under this paragraph
for not more than 30 calendar days from the date of the victim's
death.
(4) Compensate a derivative victim who was legally dependent on
the victim at the time of the crime for the loss of support incurred
by that person as a direct result of the crime, subject to both of
the following:
(A) Loss of support shall be paid by the board for income lost by
an adult for a period up to, but not more than, five years following
the date of the crime.
(B) Loss of support shall not be paid by the board on behalf of a
minor for a period beyond the child's attaining the age of 18 years.
(5) Compensate adult derivative victims of deceased victims for a
maximum of five consecutive calendar days of income loss due to the
grief suffered over a deceased victim.
(6) An adult victim of domestic violence who suffers a loss of
financial support from the offender may receive up to five hundred
dollars ($500) per week for a maximum of five weeks immediately
following the crime. The victim and offender shall have resided
together at the time of the qualifying crime and no longer reside
together, and the victim shall not have received compensation for
income loss during this five week period.
(7)
(6) Compensate adult direct victims for income loss
when it is necessary for them to miss work due to:
(A) Medical or mental health appointments for injuries directly
related to the qualifying crime.
(B) Attending meetings with the District Attorney's Office or
other prosecutorial agency, or attending criminal court proceedings,
directly related to the qualifying crime. The claimant's attendance
must be verified in writing by a court employee or an employee at the
prosecutorial office.
(C) Incidental appointments directly related to the qualifying
crime. Income loss for incidental crime related appointments shall
not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(8)
(7) Compensate adult derivative victims for income loss
when it is necessary for them to miss work due to taking a minor
direct victim to an appointment described by subparagraphs (A), (B),
and (C) of paragraph (7). (6).
(9)
(8) Notwithstanding the limitations set forth by
paragraph (1), income loss resulting from appointments described by
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (7)
(6) may be paid for any date following the qualifying
crime.
(10)
(9) Compensate child care costs for adult direct
victims or adult derivative victims when they are necessary due to
appointments as described by subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of
paragraph (7). (6).
(11)
(10) Compensate transportation costs for adult direct
victims or adult derivative victims associated with appointments as
described by subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph
(7). (6). Mileage reimbursement shall be paid at
the rate set forth by the Department of Human Resources for state
employees.
(b) The total amount payable to all derivative victims pursuant to
this section as the result of one crime shall not exceed seventy
thousand dollars ($70,000).
SEC. 5. Section 13957.9 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
13957.9. (a) In addition to the authorization provided in
Section 13957 and subject to the limitations set forth in Section
13957.2, the board may grant for pecuniary loss, when the board
determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation,
reimbursement of the amount of outpatient psychiatric, psychological,
or other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by the
victim or derivative victim, including peer counseling
services provided by violence peer counseling services
provided by a service organization for victims of violent crime, and
including family psychiatric, psychological, or mental health
counseling for the successful treatment of the victim provided to
family members of the victim in the presence of the victim, whether
or not the family member relationship existed at the time of the
crime, that became necessary as a direct result of the crime, subject
to the following conditions:
(1) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of
their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000):
(A) A victim.
(B) A derivative victim who is the surviving parent, sibling,
child, spouse, fianc�, or fianc�e of a victim of a crime that
directly resulted in the death of the victim.
(C) A derivative victim, as described in paragraphs (1) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section 13955, who is the primary
caretaker of a minor victim whose claim is not denied or reduced
pursuant to Section 13956 in a total amount not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) for not more than two derivative victims.
(2) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of
their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed
five thousand dollars ($5,000):
(A) A derivative victim not eligible for reimbursement pursuant to
paragraph (1), provided that mental health counseling of a
derivative victim described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of
Section 13955, shall be reimbursed only if that counseling is
necessary for the treatment of the victim.
(B) A victim of a crime of unlawful sexual intercourse with a
minor committed in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 of
the Penal Code. A derivative victim of a crime committed in violation
of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 of the Penal Code shall not be
eligible for reimbursement of mental health counseling expenses.
(C)
(B) A minor who suffers emotional injury as a direct
result of witnessing a violent crime and who is not eligible for
reimbursement of the costs of outpatient mental health counseling
under any other provision of this chapter. To be eligible for
reimbursement under this clause, the minor must have been in close
proximity to the victim when he or she witnessed the crime.
(3) The board may reimburse a victim or derivative victim for
outpatient mental health counseling in excess of that authorized by
paragraph (1) or (2) or for inpatient psychiatric, psychological, or
other mental health counseling if the claim is based on dire or
exceptional circumstances that require more extensive treatment, as
approved by the board.
(4) Expenses for psychiatric, psychological, or other mental
health counseling-related services may be reimbursed only if the
services were provided by either of the following individuals:
(A) A person who would have been authorized to provide those
services pursuant to former Article 1 (commencing with Section 13959)
as it read on January 1, 2002.
(B) A person who is licensed by the state to provide those
services, or who is properly supervised by a person who is so
licensed, subject to the board's approval and subject to the
limitations and restrictions the board may impose.
(b) The total award to or on behalf of each victim or derivative
victim may not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000), except
that this amount may be increased to seventy thousand dollars
($70,000) if federal funds for that increase are available.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
(1) "Service organization for victims of violent crime" means a
nonprofit and charitable organization that meets both of the
following criteria:
(A) Its primary mission is to provide services to victims of
violent crime.
(B) It provides programs or services to victims of violent crime
and their families, and other programs, whether or not a similar
program exists in an agency that provides additional services.
(2) "Violence peer counseling services" means counseling by a
violence peer counselor for the purpose of rendering advice or
assistance for victims of violent crime and their families. Any
violence peer counseling services that fall under the scope of
practice of the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act (Chapter
13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code), the Educational Psychologist Practice Act (Chapter
13.5 (commencing with Section 4989.10) of Division 2 of the Business
and Professions Code), the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act
(Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 4991) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code), and the Licensed Professional
Clinical Counselor Act (Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 4999.10)
of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code), which are not
performed in an exempt setting as defined in Sections 4980.01,
4996.14, and 4999.22 of the Business and Professions Code, shall only
be performed by a licensee or a registrant of the Board of
Behavioral Sciences or other appropriately licensed professional,
such as a licensed psychologist or board
certified psychiatrist.
(3) "Violence peer counselor" means a provider of supportive and
nonpsychotherapeutic peer counseling services who is employed by a
service organization for victims of violent crime, whether
financially compensated or not, and who meets all of the following
requirements:
(A) Possesses at least six months of full-time equivalent
experience in providing peer support services acquired through
employment, volunteer work, or as part of an internship experience.
(B) Completed a training program aimed at preparing an individual
who was once a mental health services consumer to use his or her life
experience with mental health treatment, combined with other
strengths and skills, to promote the mental health recovery of other
mental health services consumers who are in need of peer-based
services relating to recovery as a victim of a violent crime.
(C) Possesses 40 hours of training on all of the following:
(i) The profound neurological, biological, psychological, and
social effects of trauma and violence.
(ii) Peace-building and violence prevention strategies, including,
but not limited to, conflict mediation and retaliation prevention
related to gangs and gang-related violence.
(iii) Post-traumatic stress disorder and vicarious trauma,
especially as related to gangs and gang-related violence.
(iv) Case management practices, including, but not limited to,
ethics and victim compensation advocacy.
(D) When providing violence peer counseling services, is
supervised by a marriage and family therapist licensed pursuant to
Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code, a licensed educational psychologist
licensed pursuant to Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 4989.10)
of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, a clinical social
worker licensed pursuant to Chapter 14 (commencing with Section
4991) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, or a
licensed professional clinical counselor licensed pursuant to Chapter
16 (commencing with Section 4999.10) of Division 2 of the Business
and Professions Code. For the purposes of this subparagraph, a
licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed educational
psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, or licensed
professional clinical counselor shall be employed by the same service
organization as the violence peer counselor.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
