CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 36Introduced by Senator Seyarto(Coauthor: Senator Ochoa Bogh)(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)March 10, 2025 Relative to Crime Victims Rights Week. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSCR 36, as introduced, Seyarto. Crime Victims Rights Week.This measure would recognize April 6, 2025, to April 12, 2025, inclusive, as Crime Victims Rights Week.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, Violent crime continues to exist in California, and crime in one part of the state, or crime against one person, affects our entire sense of well-being; andWHEREAS, Violent crime has been trending upward since 2014, with increases in 7 of the past 10 years and the states violent crime rate is up by 15.4 percent compared to 2019; andWHEREAS, All Californians are affected by crime, not just the victims of violent crime; and WHEREAS, The most effective aid that can be provided to victims of crime is to prevent crime from happening in the first place; andWHEREAS, Since 1981, National Crime Victims Rights Week has raised awareness of the special needs of crime victims; andWHEREAS, This year, the theme for this week is Kinship which asks friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, community leaders, victim service providers, criminal justice practitioners, and health professionals how we can help crime victims; andWHEREAS, This years theme of Kinship is a call-to-action to recognize that shared humanity should be at the center of supporting all survivors and victims of crime; and WHEREAS, Kinship is a state of being with survivors that drives vital connections and increases access to services, rights, and healing. Kinship is where victim advocacy begins; andWHEREAS, The respect for, and protection of, victims rights within the legal process is one of the most critical components of an effective criminal justice system; andWHEREAS, Victims and witnesses of crime require special attention to ensure that they are thoroughly informed about, and effectively participate in, the criminal justice system; andWHEREAS, To the maximum extent allowed by law, victims of violent crime should receive compensation for their losses; andWHEREAS, Each day, thousands of victims and witnesses receive assistance from victim support organizations, victim-witness assistance centers, private service providers, and state and local governments; andWHEREAS, The criminal justice system in this state must persist in its effort to better coordinate and improve the quality of services provided to victims and witnesses; andWHEREAS, California has been an innovator in the victims rights movement with the establishment of the first shelters for battered women in the nation created by Womens Advocates and Haven House in Pasadena in 1964, the first crime victim compensation program in the nation in 1965, and the founding of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1980 with the establishment of a chapter in Sacramento; and WHEREAS, California citizens enshrined victims rights in the California Constitution in 1982 through the passage of Proposition 8, the Victims Bill of Rights; andWHEREAS, California citizens reaffirmed and afforded additional rights to victims in the California Constitution and in California law in 2008 through the passage of Proposition 9, the Victims Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsys Law; andWHEREAS, Each year, the observance of National Crime Victims Rights Week focuses on the problems confronting victims of crime and the services available to support these victims; andWHEREAS, The remembrances observed during National Crime Victims Rights Week promote awareness of victims issues and acknowledge the combined efforts of citizens, the government, and the criminal justice system to improve victims services in California; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby recognizes the week of April 6, 2025, to April 12, 2025, inclusive, as Crime Victims Rights Week in California; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 36Introduced by Senator Seyarto(Coauthor: Senator Ochoa Bogh)(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)March 10, 2025 Relative to Crime Victims Rights Week. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSCR 36, as introduced, Seyarto. Crime Victims Rights Week.This measure would recognize April 6, 2025, to April 12, 2025, inclusive, as Crime Victims Rights Week.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 36
Introduced by Senator Seyarto(Coauthor: Senator Ochoa Bogh)(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)March 10, 2025
Introduced by Senator Seyarto(Coauthor: Senator Ochoa Bogh)(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)
March 10, 2025
Relative to Crime Victims Rights Week.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 36, as introduced, Seyarto. Crime Victims Rights Week.
This measure would recognize April 6, 2025, to April 12, 2025, inclusive, as Crime Victims Rights Week.
This measure would recognize April 6, 2025, to April 12, 2025, inclusive, as Crime Victims Rights Week.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
WHEREAS, Violent crime continues to exist in California, and crime in one part of the state, or crime against one person, affects our entire sense of well-being; and
WHEREAS, Violent crime has been trending upward since 2014, with increases in 7 of the past 10 years and the states violent crime rate is up by 15.4 percent compared to 2019; and
WHEREAS, All Californians are affected by crime, not just the victims of violent crime; and
WHEREAS, The most effective aid that can be provided to victims of crime is to prevent crime from happening in the first place; and
WHEREAS, Since 1981, National Crime Victims Rights Week has raised awareness of the special needs of crime victims; and
WHEREAS, This year, the theme for this week is Kinship which asks friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, community leaders, victim service providers, criminal justice practitioners, and health professionals how we can help crime victims; and
WHEREAS, This years theme of Kinship is a call-to-action to recognize that shared humanity should be at the center of supporting all survivors and victims of crime; and
WHEREAS, Kinship is a state of being with survivors that drives vital connections and increases access to services, rights, and healing. Kinship is where victim advocacy begins; and
WHEREAS, The respect for, and protection of, victims rights within the legal process is one of the most critical components of an effective criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, Victims and witnesses of crime require special attention to ensure that they are thoroughly informed about, and effectively participate in, the criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, To the maximum extent allowed by law, victims of violent crime should receive compensation for their losses; and
WHEREAS, Each day, thousands of victims and witnesses receive assistance from victim support organizations, victim-witness assistance centers, private service providers, and state and local governments; and
WHEREAS, The criminal justice system in this state must persist in its effort to better coordinate and improve the quality of services provided to victims and witnesses; and
WHEREAS, California has been an innovator in the victims rights movement with the establishment of the first shelters for battered women in the nation created by Womens Advocates and Haven House in Pasadena in 1964, the first crime victim compensation program in the nation in 1965, and the founding of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1980 with the establishment of a chapter in Sacramento; and
WHEREAS, California citizens enshrined victims rights in the California Constitution in 1982 through the passage of Proposition 8, the Victims Bill of Rights; and
WHEREAS, California citizens reaffirmed and afforded additional rights to victims in the California Constitution and in California law in 2008 through the passage of Proposition 9, the Victims Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsys Law; and
WHEREAS, Each year, the observance of National Crime Victims Rights Week focuses on the problems confronting victims of crime and the services available to support these victims; and
WHEREAS, The remembrances observed during National Crime Victims Rights Week promote awareness of victims issues and acknowledge the combined efforts of citizens, the government, and the criminal justice system to improve victims services in California; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby recognizes the week of April 6, 2025, to April 12, 2025, inclusive, as Crime Victims Rights Week in California; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.