ARTICLE 3. Eligibility for Compensation [13955. - 13956.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 3.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13955. Section 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 (9) or (10) 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 fiancé or fiancée, 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 they 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, former Section 262, 271, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 287, 288, former Section 288a, Section 288.5, 289, or 653.2 of, or subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 311.4 of, the Penal Code. (B) Felony violations of subdivision (a) of Section 187 of, Section 203, 206, 207, 209, 209.5, 210, 220, 264.1, 269, 288.7, or 646.9 of, or any crime punishable pursuant to Section 667.61 or 667.71 of, or attempted violations of Section 187 of, the Penal Code. (C) 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. (D) Section 261.5 of the Penal Code, and criminal charges were filed. (E) 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.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13956. Section 13956.

Notwithstanding Section 13955, a person shall not be eligible for compensation under the following conditions: (a) An application may be denied, in whole or in part, if the board finds that denial is appropriate because of the nature of the victim’s or other applicant’s involvement in the events leading to the crime, or the involvement of the person whose injury or death gives rise to the application. (1) Factors that may be considered in determining whether the victim or derivative victim was involved in the events leading to the qualifying crime include, but are not limited to: (A) The victim or derivative victim initiated the qualifying crime, or provoked or aggravated the suspect into initiating the qualifying crime. (B) The qualifying crime was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conduct of the victim or derivative victim. (C) The victim or derivative victim was committing a crime that could be charged as a felony and reasonably lead to the victim being victimized. However, committing a crime shall not be considered involvement if the victim’s injury or death occurred as a direct result of a crime committed in violation of Section 261, 273.5, or former Section 262 of, or for a crime of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 of, the Penal Code. (2) If the victim is determined to have been involved in the events leading to the qualifying crime, factors that may be considered to mitigate or overcome involvement include, but are not limited to: (A) The victim’s injuries were significantly more serious than reasonably could have been expected based on the victim’s level of involvement. (B) A third party interfered in a manner not reasonably foreseeable by the victim or derivative victim. (C) The board shall consider the victim’s age, physical condition, and psychological state, as well as any compelling health and safety concerns, in determining whether the application should be denied pursuant to this section. The application of a derivative victim of domestic violence under 18 years of age or derivative victim of trafficking under 18 years of age shall not be denied on the basis of the denial of the victim’s application under this subdivision. (b) (1) An application shall be denied if the board finds that the victim or, if compensation is sought by, or on behalf of, a derivative victim, either the victim or derivative victim failed to cooperate reasonably with a law enforcement agency in the apprehension and conviction of a criminal committing the crime. In determining whether cooperation has been reasonable, the board shall consider the victim’s or derivative victim’s age, physical condition, and psychological state, cultural or linguistic barriers, any compelling health and safety concerns, including, but not limited to, a reasonable fear of retaliation or harm that would jeopardize the well-being of the victim or the victim’s family or the derivative victim or the derivative victim’s family, and giving due consideration to the degree of cooperation of which the victim or derivative victim is capable in light of the presence of any of these factors. A victim of domestic violence shall not be determined to have failed to cooperate based on the victim’s conduct with law enforcement at the scene of the crime. Lack of cooperation shall also not be found solely because a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence, or human trafficking delayed reporting the qualifying crime. (2) An application for a claim based on domestic violence shall not be denied solely because a police report was not made by the victim. The board shall adopt guidelines that allow the board to consider and approve applications for assistance based on domestic violence relying upon evidence other than a police report to establish that a domestic violence crime has occurred. Factors evidencing that a domestic violence crime has occurred may include, but are not limited to, medical records documenting injuries consistent with allegations of domestic violence, mental health records, or that the victim has obtained a permanent restraining order. (3) An application for a claim based on a sexual assault shall not be denied solely because a police report was not made by the victim. The board shall adopt guidelines that allow it to consider and approve applications for assistance based on a sexual assault relying upon evidence other than a police report to establish that a sexual assault crime has occurred. Factors evidencing that a sexual assault crime has occurred may include, but are not limited to, medical records documenting injuries consistent with allegations of sexual assault, mental health records, or that the victim received a sexual assault examination. (4) An application for a claim based on human trafficking as defined in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code shall not be denied solely because a police report was not made by the victim. The board shall adopt guidelines that allow the board to consider and approve applications for assistance based on human trafficking relying upon evidence other than a police report to establish that a human trafficking crime has occurred. That evidence may include any reliable corroborating information approved by the board, including, but not limited to, the following: (A) A Law Enforcement Agency Endorsement issued pursuant to Section 236.5 of the Penal Code. (B) A human trafficking caseworker, as identified in Section 1038.2 of the Evidence Code, has attested by affidavit that the individual was a victim of human trafficking. (5) (A) An application for a claim by a military personnel victim based on a sexual assault by another military personnel shall not be denied solely because it was not reported to a superior officer or law enforcement at the time of the crime. (B) Factors that the board shall consider for purposes of determining if a claim qualifies for compensation include, but are not limited to, the evidence of the following: (i) Restricted or unrestricted reports to a military victim advocate, sexual assault response coordinator, chaplain, attorney, or other military personnel. (ii) Medical or physical evidence consistent with sexual assault. (iii) A written or oral report from military law enforcement or a civilian law enforcement agency concluding that a sexual assault crime was committed against the victim. (iv) A letter or other written statement from a sexual assault counselor, as defined in Section 1035.2 of the Evidence Code, licensed therapist, or mental health counselor, stating that the victim is seeking services related to the allegation of sexual assault. (v) A credible witness to whom the victim disclosed the details that a sexual assault crime occurred. (vi) A restraining order from a military or civilian court against the perpetrator of the sexual assault. (vii) Other behavior by the victim consistent with sexual assault. (C) For purposes of this subdivision, the sexual assault at issue shall have occurred during military service, including deployment. (D) For purposes of this subdivision, the sexual assault may have been committed off base. (E) For purposes of this subdivision, a “perpetrator” means an individual who is any of the following at the time of the sexual assault: (i) An active duty military personnel from the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard. (ii) A civilian employee of any military branch specified in clause (i), military base, or military deployment. (iii) A contractor or agent of a private military or private security company. (iv) A member of the California National Guard. (F) For purposes of this subdivision, “sexual assault” means an offense included in Section 261, 264.1, 286, 287, formerly 288a, or Section 289 of the Penal Code, as of January 1, 2015. (c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 13955, a person who is convicted of a violent felony listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code shall not be granted compensation until that person has been discharged from probation or has been released from a correctional institution and has been discharged from parole, or has been discharged from postrelease community supervision or mandatory supervision, if any, for that violent crime. Compensation shall not be granted to an applicant pursuant to this chapter during any period of time the applicant is held in a correctional institution or while an applicant is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Section 290 of the Penal Code. (2) A person who has been convicted of a violent felony listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code may apply for compensation pursuant to this chapter at any time, but the award of that compensation may not be considered until the applicant meets the requirements for compensation set forth in paragraph (1). (d) (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.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026