BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2487
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
Charles Calderon, Chair
AB 2487 (Berg) - As Amended: March 28, 2008
Majority vote. Fiscal committee.
SUBJECT : Domestic violence: restitution: collection
SUMMARY : Provides that any final judgment awarding damages,
costs, or fees for the civil tort of domestic violence may be
referred by the court to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for
collection, as specified. Specifically, this bill provides
that:
1)Any final judgment awarding damages, costs, or fees under
Civil Code Section 1708.6, which governs the tort of domestic
violence, may be referred by the court to FTB for collection
at the time the judgment is entered or upon petition by the
plaintiff.
2)Final judgments awarded to victims of domestic violence under
Civil Code Section 1708.6 that are referred by the court for
collection may be treated as restitution orders under existing
law.
EXISTING LAW provides that:
1)A person is liable for the tort of domestic violence if the
plaintiff proves both of the following elements:
a) The infliction of injury upon the plaintiff resulting
from abuse, as defined in Penal Code Section 13700(a); and,
b) The abuse was committed by a person having a
relationship with the plaintiff as defined in Penal Code
Section 13700(b) (e.g., a spouse, former spouse, or
co-habitant).
2)A person who commits an act of domestic violence upon another
is liable to that person for damages, including general
damages, special damages, and punitive damages.
AB 2487
Page 2
3)Fines, state or local penalties, forfeitures, restitution
fines, restitution orders, or any other amounts imposed by a
California superior court upon a person for criminal offenses
may, no sooner than 90 days after payment becomes delinquent,
be referred by the superior court, the county, or the state,
to FTB for collection.
4)Restitution orders may be referred to FTB only by a government
entity, as agreed upon by FTB, provided that the government
entity:
a) Has the authority to collect on behalf of the state or
the victim;
b) Shall be responsible for distributing the restitution
order collections, as appropriate;
c) Shall ensure, in making the referrals and distributions,
that it coordinates with any other related collection
activities that may occur by superior courts, counties, or
other state agencies; and,
d) Shall ensure compliance with laws relating to the
reimbursement of the State Restitution Fund.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill would not impact state income tax
revenues.
Proposition 98 Fiscal Effect : None
COMMENTS :
1)The author notes that, "According to the United States
Department of Justice, domestic violence continues to invade
the public and private lives of women, men, and children,
impacting families, friends, co-workers, and communities.
These behaviors - whether physical, sexual, emotional,
economic, or psychological - continue to occur in all homes
regardless of education, income-level, or geography." The
author also notes that, every year, almost 6% of California's
women suffer physical injuries from domestic violence. In
1998, roughly 916,000 children were exposed to intimate
partner violence at home. The author notes that, "AB 2487
would enable [FTB] to collect civil judgments on behalf of
victims of domestic violence."
AB 2487
Page 3
2)Proponents note that this bill will enable victims of domestic
violence to collect monetary damages for their pain and
suffering and will ensure that perpetrators of domestic
violence are held accountable for their actions.
3)FTB notes:
a) "FTB currently collects debts referred from courts of 43
counties and maintains an inventory of approximately 1.1
million cases. Non-tax debt collection is accomplished
primarily through the use of wage garnishments and bank
levies. In August, 2004, SB 246 (Stats. 2004, Ch. 380)
made FTB's Court Ordered Debt (COD) program permanent and
requires FTB to expand participation to all 58 counties and
superior courts. To meet this requirement, FTB initiated
the Court Ordered Debt Expansion (CODE) project to develop
and implement a scalable collection and billing system.
CODE is in development and is expected to be functional by
August, 2009. CODE is expected to administer an inventory
of approximately 8 million cases from potentially 190
different courts."
b) "The provisions of this bill would use the resources of
the state to collect debts owed to private individuals, and
would place those private debts in the same priority for
payment as debts owed to the state or county."
4)Committee staff note that:
a) Under existing law, superior courts may refer fines or
penalties imposed for criminal offenses to FTB for
collection. This bill, however, would enable courts to
refer judgments in private civil actions, which appears to
be unprecedented. Moreover, existing law provides that
criminal fines may be referred to FTB no sooner than 90
days after payment of the fine becomes delinquent. This
bill, however, would provide that civil judgments for
domestic violence would be referable "at the time the
judgment is entered or upon petition by the plaintiff."
b) This bill appears to conflict with AB 2487 (Spitzer),
which was introduced in the current Legislative Session,
and which also seeks to amend the same Revenue and Taxation
Code statute.
AB 2487
Page 4
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : M. David Ruff / REV. & TAX. / (916)
319-2098