California Government Code 13957.5 – (a) In authorizing compensation for loss of income and support …
(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.
Terms Used In California Government Code 13957.5
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Board: means the California Victim Compensation Board. See California Government Code 13951
- Crime: includes an act of terrorism, as defined in Section 2331 of Title 18 of the United States Code, committed against a resident of the state, whether or not the act occurs within the state. See California Government Code 13951
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Derivative victim: means an individual who sustains pecuniary loss as a result of injury or death to a victim. See California Government Code 13951
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
- Victim: means an individual who sustains injury or death as a direct result of a crime as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 13955. See California Government Code 13951
(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 18 years of age and is hospitalized as a direct result of the crime.
(B) The minor victim’s treating physician certifies in writing 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 18 years of age.
(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 18 years of age.
(5) (A) If the qualifying crime is a violation of § 236.1 of the Penal Code, and the victim has not been and will not be compensated from any other source, compensate the victim for loss of income or support directly resulting from the deprivation of liberty during the crime based upon the value of the victim’s labor as guaranteed under California law at the time that the services were performed for the number of hours that the services were performed, for up to 40 hours per week.
(B) On or before July 1, 2020, the board shall adopt guidelines that allow it to rely on evidence other than official employment documentation in considering and approving an application for that compensation. The evidence may include any reliable corroborating information approved by the board, including, but not limited to, a statement under penalty of perjury from the applicant, a human trafficking caseworker as defined in § 1038.2 of the Evidence Code, a licensed attorney, or a witness to the circumstances of the crime.
(C) Compensation for loss of income paid by the board pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per year that the services were performed, for a maximum of two years.
(D) If the victim is a minor at the time of application, the board shall distribute payment under this paragraph when the minor reaches 18 years of age.
(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).
(c) (1) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2024, only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024-25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if an appropriation is made to backfill the Restitution Fund to support the actions in this section. If those conditions are met, this section is repealed January 1, 2025.
(2) The amendments made by the act adding this subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2023.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 771, Sec. 6. (AB 160) Effective September 29, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, by its own provisions. Conditionally inoperative July 1, 2024, as prescribed by its own provisions. Conditionally repealed January 1, 2025, as prescribed by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 7 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 771.)