The
following bills of interest to the legal community were acted upon
in May:
•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 was set for hearing yesterday
in 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 passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee
May 7 by a vote of 16-0, passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote of 71-1,
and is set for hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee June
9.
•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, was amended in the Senate May 6 and
re-referred to the Judiciary Committee..
•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
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 passed the Assembly May 18 by a vote of 74-0.
•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 was set for hearing yesterday
in 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, passed the Assembly
Public Safety Committee May 12 by a vote of 5-2.
•AB
362, by Miller, which, as amended, would create a new crime, 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.
•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 has a hearing scheduled in the
Senate Judiciary Committee June 9.
•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 was set for hearing yesterday
in the Appropriations Committee.
•AB
578, by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-Lodi, which would codify
the procedure for requiring a party claiming privilege with respect
to a request for production or inspection in a civil case to produce
a privilege log. The bill passed the Assembly 78-0 May 11 and was
referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
•AB
663, by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, 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 was set
for hearing yesterday before the Assembly 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 Judiciary Committee approved the bill
May 12 by a vote of 8-2 and the Assembly amended it May 19.
•AB
940, by the Assembly Judiciary Committee,
dealing with IOLTA. The bill passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote
of 73-0 and is scheduled for hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee
June 9.
•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 passed the Assembly May 4
by a vote of 79-0 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
May 14. A hearing before that committee is scheduled for June 9.
•AB
1090, by Assemblyman William Monning, D-Santa Cruz/Monterey, which
would expressly prohibit waivers of the ethical standards for contractual
arbitrators. The bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee May
5 by a vote of 10-0, passed the Assembly May 14 by a vote of 71-0,
and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee May 21. A hearing
is scheduled for June 9. .
•SB
39, by Sen. John Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, which would, as amended,
provide that medical, law enforcement, and emergency personnel who
in good faith, and not for compensation render emergency care at the
scene of an emergency shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting
from any act or omission, and 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 was amended May 13 to provide that it
would only apply in suits filed on or after its effective date.
•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 was to
be voted on in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday.
•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 passed
the Senate May 26 by a vote of 39-0 and was sent to the Assembly.
•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
393, by Sen. Tom Harman,
R-Costa Mesa, which, as amended, would reduce the interest rate on
judgments, and on personal injury awards that exceed the plaintiffís
rejected offer of settlement, from 10 percent to 2 percent above the
federal short-term rate. The bill was amended in the Senate May 4.
•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 was amended in the Senate May 5 and again on May 11, and was
to be voted on in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday.
•SB
641, by Corbett, which
would, among other things, extend the State Barís 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 was amended in the Senate May 6 and
returned to the Judiciary Committee, which approved it May 19 by a
vote of 5-0. The bill was amended again May 20, passed the Senate
May 26 by a vote of 39-0, and was sent to the Assembly.
•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 passed the Judiciary Committee May 19 by a vote of 5-0.
