CalVCB public hearing draws critiques over proposed rules on appeals, hearings and transparency

Jessica Shops, senior attorney for the California Victim Compensation Board, opened a public hearing on the board's proposed revisions to multiple Title 2 regulations and said the hearing would run from 1 to 3 p.m. and that public comments may be limited to five minutes per person.

Several attorneys, advocates and residents used the hearing to challenge proposed language that they say would restrict victims' rights, limit appeals and make administrative hearings more adversarial. Michael Siegel, an attorney who has practiced before the victim compensation program for decades, said he is "concerned about 1 of your regulations relating to that"—citing a provision he identified as section 647.2(c)—and warned that the provision "eliminates the right to file appeals of denials of bills or issues relating to service limitations." Siegel told the board the 90‑day rule for submitting bills is being applied without formal regulatory adoption and said that, in some claims, a claim number can take months to be assigned, making timely billing impossible.

Margaret Petros, executive director of the nonprofit Mothers Against Murder and the named plaintiff in the case she referenced, said the revisions stem…