The
following bills of interest to the legal community were introduced
in February:
•AB
104,
by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, which would require the Department
of Justice and local law enforcement agencies to supply criminal history
information to city attorneys for the purpose of assisting them in
obtaining injunctions against gang activity. The bill was amended
Feb. 15 and re-referred to the Committee on Public Safety.
•AB
160,
by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, which would express
legislative intent to establish a Sentencing Commission to develop
a new sentencing structure for criminal courts. The bill was referred
to the Committee on Public Safety Feb. 20.
•AB
163 ,
by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, which would classify Los Angeles
Superior Court law clerks as permanent employees after 180 days of
employment. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Employees,
Retirement and Social Security Feb. 9. A similar bill was vetoed last
session by the governor.
•AB
171,
by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, which would make lawyers who
work in county counsel's offices eligible for the Public Interest
Attorney Loan Repayment Program, under which the state makes 3,000
grants each year to assist lawyers with repayment of their student
loans. The program is currently limited to attorneys who work for
a prosecutor's office, child support agency, or public defender's
office. The bill was referred to the Committee on Higher Education
Feb. 9.
•AB
268,
by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Industry, which would create a
hearsay exception in domestic violence, elder abuse, child abuse,
and gang-related cases for statements made by a witness has been rendered
unavailable as a result of violence or threats made by or on behalf
of the defendant. The bill was introduced Feb. 5 and referred to the
Committee on Public Safety Feb. 26.
•AB
276,
by Solorio, which would provide that a limited-term employee is a
regular trial court employee if the limited-term employee has completed
180 days of service, and if the assignment, position, or project of
the limited-term employee is an integral part of the long-term, regular
work of the trial court. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Feb. 16.
•AB
289,
by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, which would allow a judge,
when imposing sentence, to grant a protective order, valid for up
to 10 years, barring the defendant from harassing the victims of the
crime or their families. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Public Safety on Feb. 20.
•AB
357,
by Mendoza, which would allow candidates to use donated funds, not
subject to campaign contribution limits, to pay attorney fees for
recounts and related litigation. The bill was introduced Feb. 14.
•AB
360,
by Assemblyman Wilmer Carter, D-Rialto, which would make changes relating
to the juvenile justice system. The bill was introduced Feb. 14.
•AB
367,
by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, which would require the
Judicial Council to create a task force to study the collection of
court-ordered fines, fees, costs, and penalties, including public
defender costs and jail booking fees. The bill was introduced Feb.
14 and referred to the Judiciary Committee Feb. 22.
•AB
403,
by Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa, which would specify that an
attorney cannot claim attorney-client privilege where the privilege
has been waived by the holder, or by a person authorized by the holder
to waive the privilege, and would provide for the appointment of a
new personal representative for an estate if the previous personal
representative was discharged and disclosure is sought of a communication
deemed privileged in the absence of a waiver by a personal representative.
The bill was introduced Feb. 15 and referred to the Judiciary Committee
Feb. 26.
•AB
406,
by Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, which would require
the state to reimburse all of Merced County's costs for the prosecution
of Cuitlahuac Tahua Rivera, a reputed gang member charged with the
murder of a Merced police officer. The bill was introduced Feb. 15.
•AB
467,
by Assemblyman Michael Feuer, D-Los Angeles, which would state legislative
intent with regard to the access to courts of persons unable to pay
fees. The bill was introduced Feb. 20.
•AB
475,
by Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, R-Rancho Cucamonga, which would give
the arresting agency the right to notice and to present evidence at
the hearing on a motion to destroy an arrest record. The bill was
introduced Feb. 20.
•AB
476,
by Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, which would declare
an intent to enact legislation relating to the issue of criminal cases
being given precedence over civil matters and proceedings. The bill
was introduced Feb. 16.
•AB
481,
by Tran, which would allow a landlord suing in unlawful detainer to
seek a deposit of prospective rent. The bill was introduced Feb. 20.
•AB
500,
by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, which would establish procedures
by which attorneys could appear by telephone or teleconference at
any proceeding at which witnesses are not expected to testify. The
bill was introduced Feb. 20.
•AB
502,
by Calderon, which would declare legislative intent to enact legislation
creating a pilot program that enables a community-based organization
to provide legal advice and aid to victims of domestic violence who
are undocumented. The bill was introduced Feb. 20.
•AB
692,
by Assemblyman Gene Mullin, D-South San Francisco, which would require
an Internet lawyer referral service that refers clients to California
lawyers to register with the State Bar. The bill was introduced Feb.
22.
•AB
737,
by Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico, which would increase the small
claims jurisdictional limit for suits by corporations from $5,000
to $7,500, the same as for individuals, and would allow both individuals
and corporations to file an unlimited number of claims of up to $5,000,
plus two claims per year over that amount. The bill was introduced
Feb. 22.
•AB
859,
by Assemblyman George Plescia, R-San Diego, which would permit substituted
service at a defendant's residence between the hours of 7 a.m. and
9 p.m. The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
•AB
860,
by Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, which would eliminate
the right to trial by jury on prior-conviction allegations in criminal
cases. The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
•AB
863,
by Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, which would make certain
raises received by Los Angeles Superior Court employees on Oct. 1,
2005 retroactive to Aug. 1 of that year. The bill was introduced Feb.
22.
•AB
926,
by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would make technical
changes with respect to venue and subject-matter jurisdiction in civil
matters. The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
•AB
985,
by Assemblyman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, which would grant the Court
of Appeal concurrent jurisdiction to hear certain writ matters in
environmental cases as to which the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
is now exclusive. The bill was introduced Feb. 22.
•SB
40,
by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would respond
to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Cunningham v. California
by granting judges discretion to impose the lower, middle, or upper
prison term in all felony cases. The bill was amended Feb. 1 and passed
the Senate as an urgency measure on Feb. 13 by a vote of 36-1, and
was referred to the Assembly Committee on Public Safety Feb. 22 and
is scheduled for hearing March 13.
•SB
110,
by Romero, which is the Senate counterpart to AB 160. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Rules Feb. 1.
•SB
117,
by Sen. Tom Harman, R-Costa Mesa, which would make technical changes
in the private attorney general statute. The bill was referred to
the Committee on Rules Feb. 1.
•SB
118,
by Harman, which would make technical changes with regard to attorney-client
privilege. The bill was referred to the Committee on Rules Feb. 1.
•SB
122,
by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. The bill would add "homeless
status" to the list of actual or perceived characteristics qualifying
as a hate crime. The bill was referred to the committees on Public
Safety and the Judiciary Feb. 1.
•SB
241,
by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Encino, which would permit a court to appoint
counsel to represent a minor in any proceeding under the Probate Code.
The bill was introduced Feb. 14 and referred to the Judiciary Committee
Feb. 22.
•SB
256,
by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, which would add a number of sex
crimes to the list of offenses for which there is no statute of limitations.
The bill was introduced Feb. 14 and referred to the Committee on Public
Safety Feb. 22.
•SB
271,
by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, which would permit district attorneys,
and city attorneys of cities of over 375,000 people, to sue for damages
where a nuisance is created by gang activity. The bill was introduced
Feb. 15.
•SB
304,
by Romero, which would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
upon reasonable notice, to permit representatives of the news media
to interview prisoners in person, as specified. The bill was introduced
Feb. 16. Similar bills have been vetoed in the past.
•SB
353,
by Kuehl, would allow a court, when issuing a domestic violence restraining
order, to determine the right to custody of household pets. The bill
was introduced Feb. 20.
•SCA
1, by Sen. Tom McClintock,
R-Thousand Oaks, which would amend the constitutional provisions governing
eminent domain, and would among other things change the standard of
judicial review in some condemnation cases. The measure was amended
Feb. 5.
