•AB
27, by Assemblyman Gene Mullin, D-South San Francisco,
which would expedite the process by which a county's costs are reimbursed
after venue of a homicide trial has been transferred to that county.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Local Government Jan. 6.
•AB
108, by Assemblyman Guy S. Houston, R-Walnut Creek,
which would require an advertisement by a lawyer or law firm that
urges a person or entity to take an action that may lead to the filing
of a claim for residential construction deficiencies to disclose specified
information, including the availability of alternative dispute resolution.
A hearing on the bill was cancelled this month at the author's request.
•AB
112, by Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, D-Saratoga,
which would require a court to verify the identity of the petitioner
before granting a modification or early termination of a domestic
violence restraining order. A scheduled hearing was postponed Feb.
22 by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
•AB
120, by Cohn, which would authorize a pilot project,
in any county where local governments are willing to provide funding,
for improved recordkeeping by superior courts in domestic violence
cases. A hearing on the bill was cancelled this month at the author's
request.
•AB
176, by Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, D-Norwalk,
which would clarify the status of certain workers hired as temporary
trial court employees by providing that any such employee will be
reclassified as permanent after 180 days of employment. The bill was
referred to the committees on Public Employees, Retirement and Social
Security, and Appropriations, on Feb. 22.
•AB
182, by Assemblyman John J. Benoit, R-Riverside,
which would make a technical change in the form of a search warrant.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety Feb. 15.
•AB
192, by Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa, which
would limit public entity tort liability to $250,000 per person or
$500,000 per occurrence, and would provide that the applicability
of design immunity is a question of law rather than of fact. The bill
was referred to the Judiciary Committee Feb. 3 and is scheduled for
a hearing March 8.
•AB
202, by Assemblyman Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach,
which would specify that the filing of a petition under the California
Arbitration Law is the exclusive means by which an agreement to arbitrate
may be enforced. The bill was introduced Feb. 3 and referred to the
Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to hold a hearing on March
15.
•AB
220, by the Committee on Public Safety, which would
change the name of the "battered woman syndrome" defense
to "intimate partner battering." The bill was introduced
Feb. 3 and referred to the committees on Public Safety and Judiciary
on Feb. 22.
•AB
262, by Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, which
would provide that the Judicial Council may not require that a structure
proposed for transfer from a county to the state for court occupancy
meet a building code standard stricter than the standard adopted for
county buildings in the county proposing the transfer. The bill was
introduced Feb. 8.
•AB
265, by Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Temecula, which
would prohibit a court from modifying an order granting custody of
a child if the party who was granted custody of the child is a member
of the California National Guard and he or she has been called to
active duty, unless the court determines that modifying the order
is in the best interest of the child and the party has either died
while on active duty or is no longer able to provide adequate care
for the child. The bill was introduced Feb. 8 and referred to the
Judiciary Committee.
•AB
415, by Harman, which would repeal the
Jan. 1, 2006 sunset date of legislation allowing non-California attorneys
to appear in arbitration proceedings in this state. The bill was introduced
Feb. 15.
•AB
1322, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa,
which would amend the requirement that a judge who has had discussions
with an ADR provider regarding potential employment recuse himself
or herself, absent waiver, from matters involving the possible appointment
of an ADR neutral. The bill would provide that this is only grounds
for disqualification if the discussions were "more than casual."
The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
•AB
1529, by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento,
which would make permanent the State Bar's authority to impose annual
membership dues, increase the assessment for the Client Security Fund
by $5, substantially increase dues for inactive members, and require
members with income of more than $40,000 annually from all sources
to pay the full amount of dues even if none of that income is derived
from the practice of law. The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
•SB
16, by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, which would
make technical changes in certain criminal statutes of limitations.
The bill passed the Senate Feb. 2 by a vote of 30-0 and passed the
Assembly Feb. 22 by a vote of 72-0.
•SB
111, by Alquist, which would permit prosecution
of sex crimes against minors at any time prior to the victim's 30th
birthday, replacing the current 10-year statute of limitations as
well as the law permitting otherwise time-barred prosecutions to be
brought, in some circumstances, up to one year after a police report
is filed. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety
Feb. 10.
•SB
151, by Sen. Nell Soto, D-Ontario, which would
make attempts to corruptly influence judicial officers punishable
under Penal Code Sec. 95. The statute currently makes it a felony
to use corrupt means, including bribery, threat, intimidation, and
unauthorized communication, to influence a juror, arbitrator or referee.
The bill was introduced Feb. 7 and referred to the Committee on Public
Safety Feb. 24.
•SB
232, by Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, which would
extend to an unspecified date the July 1, 2006 sunset provision of
legislation establishing the Court Reporters Board. The bill was introduced
Feb. 15.
•SB
252, by Sen Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin, which would
prohibit the payment of money or anything of value by a party to a
proceeding to any person who served as a juror if the payment is related
to that person's jury service. The bill was introduced Feb. 15.
•SB
265, by Sen. John Campbell, R-Costa
Mesa, which would limit the number of annual holidays observed by
state employees to 12 and encourage the judiciary, which currently
observes 13 holidays each year, to follow suit. The bill was introduced
Feb. 15 and referred to the committees on Public Employees, Retirement
and Social Security and Rules Feb. 24.
•SB
444, by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Montebello, which
would increase the limit of small claims jurisdiction from $5,000
to $10,000. The bill was introduced Feb. 17.
•SB
528, by Ackerman, which would declare the Legislature's
intent to evaluate the impact of trial court unification on the judges'
retirement systems and the resulting increase in the judges' age at
the start of their judicial service. The bill was introduced Feb.
18.
•SB
529, by Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside,
which would make a technical change with respect to the attorney-client
privilege. The bill was introduced Feb. 18.
•SB
815, by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento,
which would make a technical change with respect to service by publication.
The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
