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

•AB 141, by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, which would specifically mandate that jurors be instructed that the ban on communications about a trial extends to text messaging and other forms of electronic communication. The bill, which passed the Assembly April 14 by a vote of 60-0, was approved by the Senate July 11 by a vote of 37-0 and was and was enrolled and presented to the governor July 25.

•AB 193, by Assemblyman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, which, as amended, would bar the use of a single-family residence at which a registered sex offender resides as a polling place. The bill, which was approved by the Assembly May 2 by a vote of 73-1, passed the Senate July 11 by a vote of 37-0 and was signed by the governor July 27.

•AB 354, by Assemblyman Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach, which, as amended, would provide that a person who has taken, concealed, or disposed of property belonging to a trust, conservatee, estate, or minor by use of undue influence in bad faith or through the commission of elder or dependent adult financial abuse, as defined, shall be liable for double damages. The bill, which passed the Assembly March 25 by a vote of 71-0, passed the Senate June 10 by a vote of 39-0, was signed by the governor June 29 and chaptered by the secretary of state July 1.

•AB 362, by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, which would increase the number of signatures required to authorize a write-in challenge to an otherwise unopposed incumbent Superior Court judge. The bill, which passed the Assembly April 11 by a vote of 53-21, passed the Senate July 14 by a vote of 29-8 and was sent to the Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments.

•AB 433, by Lowenthal, which would eliminate the procedure allowing objections in superior court to a petition to issue a new birth certificate to a person who has undergone sex change surgery. The bill passed the Assembly May 5 by a vote of 55-22 and was sent to the Senate, which passed it July 14 by a vote of 23-13 and sent it back to the Assembly with amendments.

•AB 520, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which, as amended June 28, would establish procedures by which a person convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving could obtain a restricted driver’s license prior to the completion of a mandatory one-year suspension. As originally introduced, the bill would have provided that an upper term sentence may not be imposed under the Determinate Sentencing Law, except on the basis of facts in aggravation found by the trier of fact. The bill, which passed the Assembly in June, passed the Senate Public Safety Committee July 5 by a vote of 7-0 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 618, by Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Long Beach, clarifying the right of a non-English-speaking criminal defendant to the assistance of a court interpreter. The bill passed the Assembly June 1 by a vote of 51-24, and was sent to the Senate, where it was initially assigned to the Judiciary Committee, then re-referred to the Public Safety Committee, which approved it July 5 by a vote of 4-2, then re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 622, by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, which would amend civil grand jury procedures. The bill passed the Assembly June 1 by a vote of 66-8 and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which approved it July 11 by a vote of 3-2 and re-referred it to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 625, by Ammiano, which, as amended, would establish a tiered system of sex offender registration, in which some offenders would have to register for 10 years after release from custody, some for 20 years, and others for life. The bill was placed on the inactive file June 2 at the request of the author.

•AB 1067, by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, which would provide that an order denying reconsideration is not appealable. As amended April 25, the bill would clarify that while such an order is not “separately” appealable, the denial of reconsideration is reviewable upon appeal from the underlying order. The bill was signed by the governor July 11.

•AB 1082, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, dealing with powers of attorney. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 23 by a vote of 78-0, passed the Senate by a vote of 33-0 July 1 and was sent back to the Assembly, enrolled, and signed by the governor July 25.

•AB 1111, by Assembly members Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, and Holly Mitchell, D-El Segundo, which would prohibit a court from garnishing wages or levying a bank account for the enforcement and collection of fees, fines, forfeitures, or penalties imposed by a court against a person under 25 years of age who has an outstanding unpaid citation for truancy, loitering, curfew violations, or illegal lodging if the court obtains information that the person is homeless. The bill passed the Assembly May 11 by a vote of 73-0, and was sent to the Senate, where it was approved by the Committee on Public Safety July 6 by a vote of 6-1 and re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•AB 1133, by Assemblyman Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach, which would require recusal of a civil grand juror if such person was employed, within the preceding three years, by the agency that is the subject of an investigation. The bill, which passed the Assembly April 25 by a vote of 68-0, passed the Senate July 1 by a vote of 32-0, passed the Assembly with Senate amendments July 5 by a vote of 76-0, and was enrolled and presented to the governor July 25.

•SB 8, by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, which, as amended, requires auxiliaries and foundations associated with the University of California, California State University, and community colleges to comply with the California Public Records Act. There would be exemptions protecting the anonymity of donors and volunteers in all cases except in situations where there is a quid pro quo in which the donor or volunteer receives something from the university valued at over $2,500 or in which the donor or volunteer receives a no-bid contract within five years of the donation, or where a donor attempts to influence curriculum or university operations. The bill passed the Senate June 2 by a vote of 38-1 and was sent to the Assembly, where it was amended July 14 to name the bill the Richard McKee Transparency Act in memory of the recently deceased ex-president of the open government group Californians Aware.

•SB 163, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which, as amended, would make significant changes to the structure of the State Bar, while fixing dues for 2012 at the current level, minus a $10 rebate. The bill passed the Senate June 2 by a vote of 39-0 and was sent to the Assembly, where it passed the Judiciary Committee June 28 by a vote of 8-1 and was amended July 13. The most recent amendments would, in addition to granting the $10 rebate, give each member the option of having $20 of his or her 2012 and/or 2013 dues used to provide legal services to low-income persons, with those amounts to remain in the general fund if the option is not exercised.

•SB 182, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which, would require the governor to collect and release data on the sexual orientation and gender identity of judicial applicants, in addition to the data on race and gender that must be released under current law. As amended, the bill would require a departing governor to provide the data for the governor’s last year in office to his or her successor, and would require that any report indicate the number of applicants who declined to respond. The bill passed the Senate June 1 by a vote of 23-14 and was sent to the Assembly, where it passed the Judiciary Committee June 21 by a vote of 7-3 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee, which approved it July 6 by a vote of 11-5.

•SB 221, by Sen. Joseph Simitian, D-Palo Alto, which, as amended, would raise the jurisdictional limit for most small claims actions by natural persons to $10,000, while retaining the current $7,500 limit for automobile injury claims. The bill, which will sunset Jan. 1, 2015, was signed by the governor July 11.

•SB 405, by Corbett, which would create up to 10 new judgeships during the 2011-12 fiscal year in order to convert subordinate judicial officer positions in family law or juvenile law only. This would be in addition to the 16 annual conversions already authorized for the superior courts generally. The bill passed the Senate June 1 by a vote of 26-12 and passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee June 21 by a vote of 7-3, and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee, which placed it on the suspense file July 7.

•SB 651, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which would eliminate the “common residence” requirement for domestic partnerships. The bill passed the Senate June 1 by a vote of 24-15 and was sent to the Assembly, where the Judiciary Committee approved it June 28 by a vote of 6-3 and re-referred it to the Appropriations Committee, which placed it on the suspense file July 13.

•SB 671, by Sen. Curren D. Price, D-Inglewood, relating to continuing education requirements for shorthand reporters. The bill, which passed the Senate May 31 by a vote of 27-11, was sent to the Assembly and referred to the Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development, which approved it July 5 by a vote of 8-1.