The following bills of interest to the legal community were introduced in July:

•AB 104, by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, which, as amended, 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 or drug activity. The bill, which passed the Assembly in May by a vote of 73-0, passed the Senate July 9 by a vote of 40-0, with the Assembly concurring in Senate amendments the same day, and was signed by the governor July 20.

•AB 159 , by Assemblyman David Jones, D-Sacramento, which, as amended, would create an unspecified number of new superior court judgeships and an unspecified number of Court of Appeal judgeships, subject to appropriations, and convert 162 commissioner and referee positions into judgeships over time, with no more than 16 such positions to be converted in any one year. The bill, which passed the Assembly June 6 by a vote of 78-1, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee July 16 by a vote of 5-0 and referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 160, by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, which, as amended, would create a Sentencing Commission which would adopt sentencing guidelines, to take effect in July 2009 unless rejected by the Legislature. The bill, which passed the Assembly June 6 by a vote of 43-36, was approved by the Senate Committee on Public Safety July 16 by a vote of 3 to 2 and sent to Appropriations Committee.

•AB 171, by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, which, as amended, would create an expanded Assumption Program for Loans for Law in the Public Interest to replace 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 current program is limited to attorneys who work for a prosecutorís office, child support agency, or public defender's office; the expanded program would add those working for a legal services agency or a county counselís office. The bill, which passed the Assembly in April by a vote of 44-30, was amended in the Senate July 3.

•AB 357, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, 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, which passed the Assembly April 26 by a vote of 74-0, was referred on May 9 to the Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amend­ments, where a July 3 hearing was postponed at the request of the author.

•AB 367, by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would require the Judicial Council to establish standards for the collection of court-ordered fines, fees, costs, and penalties, including public defender costs and jail booking fees. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 21 by a vote of 76-0, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee July 10 by a vote of 13-0, passed the Senate July 16 by a vote of 36-0, passed the Assembly in a July 20 vote to concur in Senate amendments, and is awaiting action by the governor.

•AB 403, by Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Costa Mesa, which, as amended, would require the California Law Revision Commission to study whether, and when, the attorney-client privilege should survive the death of the holder and report by 2009. The bill was amended in the Senate July 18.

•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, which passed the Assembly May 10 by a vote of 73-1, was sent to third reading in the Senate July 11.

•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, which passed the Assembly May 3 by a vote of 73-0, was sent to third reading in the Senate July 3.

•AB 553, by Assemblyman Edward Hernandez, D-West Covina, which would give the Public Employment Relations Board exclusive authority to seek injunctive relief in the event of a job action by state employees. The bill, which passed the Assembly June 5 by a vote of 46-32, is scheduled for third reading in the Senate July 28.

•AB 860, by Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, which, as amended, would eliminate the right to trial by jury on prior-conviction allegations in some criminal cases. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 24 by a vote of 41-26, was set to be heard by the Senate Public Safety Committee on July 10 but the hearing was cancelled at the request of the author.

•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, which passed the Assembly May 23 by a vote of 42-31,was scheduled for third reading in the Senate July 28.

•AB 985, by Assemblyman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, which would grant the Court of Appeal jurisdiction to hear certain writ matters in environmental cases and establish venue for such matters. The bill failed in the Assembly June 4 by a vote of 30-36, but reconsideration was subsequently granted and the bill was sent to the inactive file.

•AB 1043, by Assemblywoman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, which would make void and unenforceable as against public policy any provision in an employment contract that requires an employee, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, to use a forum other than California, or to agree to a choice of law other than California law, in any dispute with an employer regarding employment-related issues that arise in California. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 17 by a vote of 44-32, was set for third reading in the Senate July 28.

•AB 1090, by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, which, as amended, would require that candidates, including judicial candidates, seeking to use a ballot designation support that designation by filling out a worksheet prescribed by the secretary of state. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 29 by a vote of 77-0, was amended in the Senate July 16.

•AB 1126, by Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-El Monte, which would expedite discovery in unlawful detainer cases. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 3 by a vote of 70-0, passed the Senate July 9 by a vote of 40-0 and was signed by the governor July 20.

•AB 1211, by Assemblyman Curren Price Jr., D-Inglewood, which would clarify responsibility for the payment of deposition costs in civil actions. The bill, which was approved in the Assembly April 26 by a vote of 74-0, and the Senate May 31 by a vote of 39-0, was signed by the governor July 20 after the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments.

•AB 1248, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would make various changes with regard to civil procedure, court fees, and funding. An amended version of the bill passed the Assembly June 4 by a vote of 77-1, was amended in the Senate July 19.

•AB 1264, by Eng, which, as amended April 10, would make certain changes with regard to delay reduction rules. The amendments eliminated the original provision that would have prohibited courts from requiring, as part of local ìfast-trackî rules, that a summons and complaint be served in less than 90 days. The amended version of the bill passed the Assembly May 10 by a vote of 72-0, the bill passed the Senate with amendments by a vote of 40-0 July 9, and the Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments July 20.

•AB 1539, by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, which, as amended, would extend procedures for humanitarian release, currently limited to certain prisoners with terminal illnesses, to those who are permanently medically incapacitated and whose release is deemed not to threaten public safety. The bill passed the Assembly June 7 by a vote of 41-35 and passed the Senate Public Safety Committee July 3 by a vote of 3-1.

•AB 1557, by Assemblyman Michael Feuer, which would limit peremptory challenges to six per side in all misdemeanor cases. Current law allows 10 peremptory challenges per side in trials for offenses punishable by more than 90 days in jail. The bill was sent to third reading July 19.

•AB 1660, by Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Redding, which, as amended, would allow a victim or a designated victimís representative to be present at all criminal proceedings open to the general public. The bill passed the Assembly June 7 by a vote of 63-11 and was referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee, where a scheduled July 10 hearing was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 1723, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, a State Bar proposal that would establish specific requirements for attorneys establishing accounts under the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program and for banks offering such accounts. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote of 65-7, was set for third reading in the Senate July 28.

•SB 11, by Sen. Carol Migden, D-San Francisco, which would eliminate the limitation of domestic partnerships to same-sex couples and couples in which one of the parties is over the age of 62 years and receiving Social Security benefits. The bill passed the Senate June 4 by a vote of 23-15.

•SB 39 , by Migden, which would broaden public access to case files of children who are dependent or are wards of the juvenile court when those children have died as a result of abuse and neglect. The bill, which passed the Senate May 17 by a vote of 38-0, was sent to the Assembly Appropriations suspense file July 18.

•SB 110, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would establish a 20-member sentencing commission chaired by the chief justice, with power to determine the sentences for infractions and crimes, subject to rejection by a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature. The bill passed the Senate June 6 by a vote of 24-15 and was approved by the Assembly Committee on Public Safety July 3.

•SB 241, by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Encino, which, as amended, would allow a court, where the parents of a ward or minor conservatee, or the estate, lack the ability to pay the fees of appointed counsel, to order payment of all or part of those fees by the county or to appoint the public defender to furnish such representation. The bill, which passed the Senate June 4 by a vote of 27-10, was sent to the Assembly Appropriations suspense file July 18.

•SB 271, by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, which, as amended, would permit district attorneys and city attorneys, regardless of cityís population, to sue for damages where a nuisance is created by gang activity. The bill, which passed the Senate April 16 by a vote of 36-0, and passed the Assembly June 25 by a vote of 77-0, was signed by the governor July 6.

•SB 353, by Kuehl, which would allow a court, when issuing a domestic violence restraining order, to determine the right to custody of household pets. The bill, which passed the Senate May 10 by a vote of 31-7, passed the Assembly July 12 by a vote of 77-1 and was sent to the Senate for concurred in amendments.

•SB 559, by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, which would protect property from full value reassessment due to the death of the surviving ownerís domestic partner prior to 2006. Such protection already exists where the partner died on or after Jan. 1, 2006. The bill passed the Senate June 4 by a vote of 24-13 passed the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee July 5 by a vote of 6-3.

•SB 639, by Sen. Tom Harman, R-Costa Mesa, which would amend existing provisions with respect to enforcement of foreign money judgments. The bill, which passed the Senate May 17 by a vote of 38-0, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee July 3 by a vote of 10-0 and the full Assembly July 12 by a vote of 80-0, and was sent to the Senate for concurrence in Assembly amendments.

•SB 686, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which, as amended, would authorize the State Bar to levy dues for 2008 at the current rate, and would authorize an additional fee of $10 per member per year from 2008 through 2010 to upgrade the State Bar's computers, while deleting the authorization for a $10 annual fee for construction or leasing of the State Bar headquarters. The bill, which passed the Senate May 24 by a vote of 31-4 and was amended in the Assembly June 13 to delete a provision that would have granted a rebate of building fund collections for 2007, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee July 16 by a vote of 9-0.