The
following bills of interest to the legal community were acted upon
in June:
•AB
5, by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would enact
the Electronic Discovery Act. The bill, which passed the Assembly
in March by a vote of 74-0, was passed by the Senate as an urgency
measure June 15 by a vote of 36-0 and was sent to the governor June
18.
•AB
27, by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, which would
increase the amount of damage required for a person to be guilty of
aggravated arson from $5.65 million to $6.5 million, and extend the
sunset date for existing provisions relating to property damage from
Jan. 1, 2010 until Jan. 1, 2014. The bill passed the Assembly June
1 by a vote of 79-0, passed the Senate Public Safety Committee June
23 by a vote of 7-0, and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.
•AB
58, by Jeffries, which would reduce to an infraction, punishable
by a fine of no more than $250, the offense of participating in a
sports betting pool, when the offender is not being paid to operate
the pool, the pool is not being operated online, and the amount at
stake is no more than $2,500. A similar bill was vetoed last year
by the governor. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote
of 71-1, passed the Senate Public Safety Committee June 9 by a vote
of 7-0 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.
•AB
83, by Assemblyman Michael Feuer, D-West Hollywood, which would
amend the existing "Good Samaritan" law by providing that
medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel who in good faith,
and not for compensation, render emergency medical care at the scene
of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting
from any act or omission. The bill would also provide that any person,
not including medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel, who
in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency medical
or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency shall
not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission,
as long as that act or omission does not constitute gross negligence
or willful or wanton misconduct. The bill, which passed the Assembly
as an urgency measure in March, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee
June 9 by a vote of 5-0, was amended in the Senate June 15, passed
the Senate June 22 by a vote of 40-0, and passed the Assembly with
the Senate amendments June 25 by a vote of 75-0.
•AB
168, by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, which would authorize
access to some sealed juvenile court files where the offender later
becomes the subject of a commitment proceeding under the Sexually
Violent Predator Act. The bill was scheduled to be heard yesterday
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
•AB
170, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, which would tighten
the rules restricting use of court reporters' rough drafts in place
of official transcripts. The bill, which passed the Assembly March
23 by a vote of 77-0, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee June 9
by a vote of 5-0 passed the Senate June 22 by a vote of 40-0, and
was sent to the governor.
•AB
250, by Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Mission Viejo, which would
require that the withdrawal of a speedy trial waiver be made in open
court. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 18 by a vote of 74-0,
passed the Senate Public Safety Committee June 16 by a vote of 6-0.
•AB
316, by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, which would, among
other things, allow a wrongfully convicted defendant two years after
being exonerated to bring a malpractice action against his or her
attorney; extend from six months to two years the time following exoneration
in which such a defendant may bring a wrongful imprisonment claim
against the state; and eliminate the defense, in connection with any
such claim against the state, that the defendant negligently contributed
to his or her arrest or conviction. The bill passed the Assembly June
1 by a vote of 79-0, was referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee
June 11, and was amended in the Senate and sent back to committee
June 16. Under the Senate amendment, self-incriminating statements
would be considered in determining whether the defendant intentionally
contributed to his own arrest and conviction unless the claimant proves
by a preponderance of the evidence that the statements were obtained
from an involuntary false confession or involuntary plea. The bill
passed the Public Safety Committee again on June 23 and was re-referred
to the Appropriations Committee.
•AB
358, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which would
permit the trial court to grant deferred entry of judgment in certain
drug cases over the objections of prosecutors. The bill passed the
Assembly June 1 by a vote of 47-32, and passed the Senate Public Safety
Committee June 23 by a vote of 5-2.
•AB
362, by Miller, which, as amended, would create a new crime, making
it a misdemeanor-punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine
of up to $1,000-to steal, damage, or destroy election campaign signs.
The bill passed the Appropriations Committee May 13 by a vote of 13-1
and passed the Assembly May 21 by a vote of 55-7. It was amended in
the Senate June 28 to add a specific intent requirement and allow
a first offense to be treated as an infraction.
•AB
375,by Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Redding/Yuba City, which would
clarify the requirements for an ex parte change or modification of
child custody based on a finding of recent sexual abuse or domestic
violence. The bill was amended in the Assembly June 1, passed the
Assembly June by a vote of 39-0, and was referred to the Senate Judiciary
Committee June 18.
•AB
459, by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, which would
allow a party to a dissolution of marriage action to waive the requirement
of financial disclosure by the other party. The bill, which is sponsored
by the Family Law Section of the State Bar and has no apparent opposition,
passed the Assembly last month and was approved by the Senate Judiciary
Committee June 9 by a vote of 5-0, was amended June 15, passed the
Senate June 22 by a vote of 40-0, and passed the Assembly as amended
in the Senate June 25 by a vote of 77-0.
•AB
461, by Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, which would reenact
the expired Economic Crimes Act of 1992, which, among other things,
limits the circumstances in which a defendant who steals more than
$50,000 may be placed on probation. The bill passed the Assembly as
an urgency measure June 1 by a vote of 78-0.
•AB
590, by Feuer, which would create a right to appointed counsel
for some indigent civil litigants under pilot programs to be established
by the Judicial Council and funded through increases in some court
fees. The bill passed the Assembly June 1 by a vote of 50-29, and
was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee June 11. A June 24
hearing was cancelled at the author's request. .
•AB
663, by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacra-mento, which would, among
other things, require the Judicial Council to set up a pilot project
for the use of interpreters in civil proceedings. The bill passed
the Assembly June 1 by a vote of 51-28, was referred to the Senate
Judiciary Committee June 11, was amended and sent back to committee
June 15, and passed the committee June 23 by a vote of 3-1 and was
re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.
•AB
680, by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, which, as amended,
would increase some fees for the services of sheriffs and marshals,
effective Jan. 1, 2011. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 28
by a vote of 64-13, was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee,
amended in the Senate June 22, and sent back to the Judiciary Committee.
•AB
940, by the Judiciary Committee, dealing
with IOLTA. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote of
73-0, passed the Senate June 22 by a vote of 40-0 and was sent to
the governor.
•AB
942, by the Judiciary Committee, which,
as amended, would require the Judicial Council to assess the need
for creation of additional judicial positions to handle family law
and juvenile cases, and would authorize conversion of subordinate
judicial officer positions, over and above those conversions previously
authorized, to judgeships in order to handle family law and juvenile
court cases. The bill passed the Assembly June 1 by a vote of 77-2.
A June 15 hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee was canceled at
the request of the author.
•AB
1046, by Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El
Cajon, which would increase the homestead exemption from execution
on a judgment to $75,000, or $100,000 if the judgment debtor or his
or her spouse who resides in the homestead is, at the time of the
sale, a member of a family unit, and one member of the family unit
is without an interest, or with only a limited interest, as specified,
in the homestead, and to $175,000 if the judgment debtor or the spouse
of the judgment debtor who resides in the homestead is, at the time
of the sale, 65 years of age or older, disabled, or 55 years of age
or older with a limited income. The bill, which passed the Assembly
May 4 by a vote of 79-0, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee June
9 by a vote of 5-0.
•AB
1090, by Assemblyman William Monning, D-Santa Cruz/Monterey, which
would expressly prohibit waivers of the ethical standards for contractual
arbitrators. The bill, which passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote
of 71-0, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee June 9 by a vote of
4-1, passed the Senate June 22 by a vote of 30-9, and was sent back
to the Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments.
•AB
1376, by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, which would
create "an independent, multijurisdictional body to provide a
nonpartisan forum for statewide policy development, information development,
research, and planning concerning criminal sentences and their effects."
The bill passed the Assembly June 2 by a vote of 50-29 and was referred
to the Senate Rules Committee June 18.
•AB
1562, which would prohibit an employer from firing an employee
on the ground that the employee's wages are being garnished, unless
there simultaneous garnishments based on more than five judgments.
The bill, which passed the Assembly May 18 by a vote of 47-30, was
referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations,
where a hearing scheduled for June 24 was cancelled at the request
of the author..
•SB
39, by Sen. John Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, which would, as amended
in the Assembly June 26, provide that disaster service workers shall
not be liable when acting within the scope of their responsibilities
under the authority of a governmental emergency organization. These
provisions would apply exclusively to any legal action filed on or
after the effective date of the bill, which would take effect immediately
as an urgency measure.
•SB
150, by Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, which would amend provisions
related to sentence enhancements to eliminate the requirement, the
validity of which is in question as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court
decision in Cunningham v. California, that when there are three possible
terms for the enhancement, the judge must select the middle term in
the absence of aggravating or mitigating factors. The bill would amend
Proposition 21, and thus requires a two-thirds majority. As amended,
the bill would have a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2011. The bill passed
the Senate June 3 by a vote of 39-0, passed the Assembly Public Safety
Committee June 23 by a vote of 7-0, and was sent to the Appropriations
Committee.
•SB
151, by Sen. Diane Ducheny,
D-San Diego, which would require the Judicial Council to conduct a
pilot program, ending on January 1, 2015, for the operation of up
to 10 court-based reentry programs for parolees who would benefit
from community drug treatment or mental health treatment. The bill
was to be voted on in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday.
•SB
154, by Benoit, which
would grant the Department of Motor Vehicles the authority, which
the Court of Appeal ruled last year it does not have under existing
law, to suspend the license of a driver convicted of operating a boat
under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As amended, the bill would
only apply to a driver who had also been convicted of driving or boating
under the influence during the previous seven years. The bill, which
passed the Senate May 26 by a vote of 39-0, passed the Assembly Public
Safety Committee June 23 by a vote of 7-0 and was sent to the Appropriations
Committee.
•SB
377, by Sen. Ellen Corbett,
D-San Leandro, which would, subject to appropriations, authorize creation
of 50 new superior court judgeships. The bill was to be voted on in
the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday.
•SB
399, by Sen. Leland
Yee, D-San Francisco, would permit a trial court to review a life-without-parole
prison sentence after 10 years, if the defendant was a minor when
the crime was committed and certain other requirements are met. The
bill passed the Senate June 2 by a vote of 23-15 and was amended in
the Assembly June 25.
•SB
641, by Corbett, which
would, among other things, extend the State Bar's dues authority to
2010 with no increase in dues. As amended, the bill would also raise
the competitive bidding threshold for information technology contracts
from $50,000 to $100,000 and state a preference that IT work be done
in-house. The bill, which passed the Senate May 26 by a vote of 39-0,
passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee June 23 by a vote of 10-0.
•SB
786, by Yee, which would
provide that where a public entity prevails under the anti-SLAPP statute
in an action for violation of the Ralph M. Brown or Bagley-Keene open
meetings laws or the California Public Records Act, the entity is
not entitled to an award of attorney fees unless the action was frivolous.
The bill, which passed the Senate May 28 by a vote of 34-0, passed
the Assembly Judiciary Committee June 23 by a vote of 9-1.
