CalVCB board authorizes rulemaking to clarify hearing rules, expand income-loss verification

The California Victim Compensation Board on Jan. 16 authorized staff to begin the formal rulemaking process to amend multiple California Code of Regulations provisions that govern hearings and income/support-loss verification for victim compensation claims.

Senior attorney Janine Karlberg told the board the proposal affects 26 regulations and is intended both to clarify which hearing rules apply to which types of proceedings and to expand the kinds of evidence CalVCB may accept to prove income or support loss.

The proposed changes follow an August 5, 2024 Alameda County Superior Court order invalidating a CalVCB hearing regulation (identified in the meeting record as 647.21.1). Karlberg said the ruling required CalVCB to immediately stop holding documentary-only hearings without first offering oral hearings and presented an opportunity to revise and modernize the entire hearing scheme. "The ruling presented CalVCB an opportunity to review all of its hearing procedures and revise out of date regulations as well," Karlberg said.

Why it matters: The package would explicitly require that applicants facing a staff recommendation of denial be offered an oral hearing and would consolidate and liberalize the rules that determine when income or support-loss benefits may be awarded. Under the draft changes to section 649.32, CalVCB would recognize additional categories of eligible claimants (including applicants with documented job offers and certain gig-economy workers) and would expand the types of documentation staff may use to verify income loss.

Key details from the proposal: For wage-earning claimants, Karlberg said staff could verify employment and earnings using one of three methods: tax returns, Employment Development Department (EDD) records, or direct verification from an employer. The change departs from the prior requirement that mandated obtaining returns only from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), a practice Karlberg said had resulted in denials for non‑California residents and recently employed people.

Karlberg said self-employed claimants would still routinely rely on tax returns but that the draft regulation would allow tax returns from other jurisdictions, or verification from tax preparers or accountants, to reduce denials caused by rigid proof rules.

Public comment at the hearing supported the overall direction and urged wider changes. Jobanis Tanoian, a Burbank resident, told the board he supported the reforms and asked staff to consider additional liberalizations across regulations governing burden of proof, third‑party verification, and examples of qualifying threats, particularly to expand coverage for domestic‑violence and other interpersonal victimizations.

The board voted unanimously to authorize the executive officer to begin the notice-and-comment rulemaking process. The motion passed on a roll call of Member Becton (Aye), Member Johnson (Aye), and Chair Ravel (Aye). Staff will publish the proposed rule language, open a 45‑day comment period and return to the board after considering public input.

What happens next: After publication in the Notice Register, the public will have at least 45 days to submit written comments and to request a hearing. Staff told the board they will share notice broadly with stakeholders and county victim witness offices and return with any recommended revisions following the comment period.

Ending: Board members praised the effort to simplify and modernize rules and encouraged advocates to review and comment on the proposed regulations during the public comment window.