End of the Month

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

•AB 126, by Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, which would require the governor to disclose the names of all persons outside his administration whom he has consulted with respect to potential judicial appointments, and would require members of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation to undergo two hours of annual anti-bias training. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee May 3 by a vote of 7-2 and was re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations, which passed it May 11 by a vote of 11-5. The full Assembly passed it May 23 by a vote of 48-27.

•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 assigned to the Senate Public Safety and Judiciary committees May 12.

•AB 144, by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, which would make it a crime to openly carry an unloaded firearm, subject to exceptions. The bill was amended May 2, expanding it to the open carry of firearms in moving vehicles and making it a crime to allow a person to bring a firearm into a motor vehicle, subject to exceptions, and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee, which passed it May 4 by a vote of 12-5. The bill passed the full Assembly May 16 by a vote of 46-29 and was sent to the Senate and referred to the Public Safety Committee.

•AB 173, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, which would extend the statute of limitations for suits to enforce insurance policies on the lives of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The bill passed the Assembly April 14 by a vote of 61-0 and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee May 12.

•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 was approved by the Assembly May 2 by a vote of 73-1 and sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments.

•AB 238, by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, which would codify the procedure for claiming privilege in discovery disputes. As amended, the bill provides that the party claiming privilege may be required to provide “to provide sufficient factual information in its response for other parties to evaluate the merits of that claim, including, if necessary, a privilege log.” As originally proposed, the bill would have allowed the opposing party to demand a privilege log in every instance. The bill passed the Assembly April 25 by a vote of 68-0 and was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee May 12.

•AB 239, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which would increase state oversight of local crime laboratories. The Public Safety Committee approved the bill May 3 by a vote of 7-0.

•AB 433, by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, 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, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

•AB 520, by Ammiano, which would provide 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 passed the Committee on Public Safety May 3 by a vote of 4-3 and was re-referred to the Appropriations Committee, where it was placed on the suspense file.

•AB 559, by Assemblywoman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, which, as amended April 4, would provide that recovery of costs by a prevailing plaintiff is mandatory, rather than discretionary, where the plaintiff recovers less than the general jurisdiction threshold, in an action under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The bill passed the Assembly May 26 by a vote of 47-26.

•AB 618, by Assemblyman Warrant Furutani, D-Long Beach, clarifying the right of a non-English-speaking criminal defendant to the assistance of a court interpreter. The bill was amended in the Assembly May 10, re-referred to the Appropriations Committee, and placed on the suspense file.

•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 approved by the Public Safety Committee May 3 by a vote of 4-3.

•AB 934, by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, which would limit the application of the litigation privilege; it would expressly invalidate the holdings in Action Apartment Ass’n v. City of Santa Monica (2007) 41 Cal.4th 1232 and Feldman v. 1100 Park Lane Associates (2008) 160 Cal.App.4th.

•AB 990, by Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, dealing with court transcripts. The bill was assigned to the Judiciary Committee, where a May 10 hearing was cancelled at the request of the author.

•AB 1017, by Ammiano, to reduce the penalty for marijuana cultivation. The bill passed the Public Safety Committee May 3 by a vote of 4-3 and was re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations, which approved it May 18 by a vote of 9-7.

•AB 1067, by Huber, 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 passed the Assembly May 2 by a vote of 73-0 and was sent to the Senate.

•AB 1082, by Gatto, dealing with powers of attorney. The bill was amended in the Assembly May 17, and passed the Assembly May 23 by a vote of 78-0

•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.

•AB 1208, by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Industry, which would provide for greater administrative and judicial autonomy of the trial courts. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee May 3 by a vote of 7-2 and amended in the Assembly May 10 and again on May 18. The amendments would, among other things, allow trial courts to retain their unspent appropriated funds from year-to-year without the approval of the Judicial Council.

•SB 5, by Sen. Tom Harman, R-Costa Mesa, which, as amended, would provide that the proponent of an initiative measure may intervene as a matter of right to defend its constitutionality. As originally introduced, the bill would have required the attorney general to defend the constitutionality of initiative measures. The bill was re-referred to the Judiciary Committee following its amendment by the Senate and was rejected by the committee May 4 by a vote of 3-2.

•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 $2500 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 was amended May 26 and re-referred to the Appropriations Committee.

•SB 9, by Yee, which would permit a trial court, under certain circumstances, to review and reduce a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole where the offender was a juvenile at the time of the crime. The bill passed the Appropriations Committee May 26 by a vote of 6-2.

•SB 163, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would fix State Bar dues for 2012 at the current level. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee May 11 by a vote of 5-0.

•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 Appropriations Committee May 26 by a vote of 6-3.

•SB 221, by Sen. Joseph Simitian, D-Palo Alto, which would raise the jurisdictional limit for most small claims actions by natural persons to $10,000. As amended May 2, the bill retains the current $7,500 limit for automobile injury claims.. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee May 5 by a vote of 5-0 and was amended again on May 19, setting a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2015.

•SB 326, by Yee, which, as amended, would require the Judicial Council—within 18 months—to enact a rule providing for “case-initiating” documents in civil and criminal courts in counties that have implemented the Central Case Management System to be made available to the public on the day of filing. The bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee May 3 by a vote of 5-0, then amended May 10.

•SB 428, by Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Westlake Village, which would make omnibus changes to criminal law. The bill was amended May 17 and passed the Appropriations Committee May 26 by a vote of 8-0.

•SB 462, by Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, which, as amended, would establish requirements for the establishment of ADR programs as a means of reducing litigation fees incurred by school districts, special education local plan areas, and parents concerning special education disagreements. The bill was sent to the suspense file by the Appropriations Committee May 16.

•SB 503, by Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, which would specify that the option of a judge who belongs to the Judges Retirement System II, and who previously served as a subordinate judicial officer, to purchase retirement credits for the period of SJO service is limited to a one-time election. The bill passed the Senate May 9 by a vote of 40-0 and was sent to the Assembly, where it was referred to the Committee Public Employment, Retirement, and Social Security.

•SB 603, by Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, which would have extended “vexatious litigant” sanctions to cases brought by counsel. The bill failed in the Judiciary Committee May 10 by a vote of 3-2, but the committee voted 5-0 to permit reconsideration.

•SB 651, by Leno, which would eliminate the “common residence” requirement for domestic partnerships. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee May 3 by a vote of 3-2 and was sent to the suspense file by the Appropriations Committee May 16.

•SB 671, by Sen. Curren D. Price, D-Inglewood, relating to continuing education requirements for shorthand reporters. The bill was amended May 17.

•SB 848, by Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Riverside, which would separate the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s Div. Two into a new appellate district. The bill was rejected by the Judiciary Committee May 3 by a vote of 3-2.

•SB 890, by Leno, which would regulate the business of buying delinquent consumer debt and establish specific procedures applicable to court actions by persons engaged in such business. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee May 10 by a vote of 3-2.

•SB 927, by Sen. Sharon Runner, R-Palmdale, which would authorize certain persons who are participating in criminal or juvenile proceedings involving a sibling of a dependent child to inspect the case file. The bill was amended May 2 and re-referred to the Judiciary Committee, where a hearing scheduled for May 5 was cancelled at the request of the author.