CCBA-Sponsored/Supported Proposals Among Last Signed by Governor Brown

Assemblymember Lowenthal

It came at almost the very end, but Governor Jerry Brown Sunday (October 9) signed into law the final CCBA-sponsored bill on his desk: AB 433, by Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), which removes unnecessary impediments in the legal processes for obtaining a judgment relating to change of gender and, for California citizens, a revised birth certificate reflecting that change. The bill, which came out of (Resolution 04-12-2010, by the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, is co-sponsored by theTransgender Law Center, Equality California, and the CCBA (see earlier post).

The signing of AB 433 gave the CCBA an 8-2 record for sponsored or supported bills sent to the Governor in 2011, including two others signed in the final two days before the Governor's deadline.  

Assemblymember Swanson

One of those two bills, AB 1396 by the Assembly Committee on Labor & Employment (chaired by Assemblymember Sandré Swanson of Oakland, who presented the bill throughout its trip through the Legislature), was the culmination of two years of effort by the CCBA and the Beverly Hills Bar Association (Resolution 04-01-2009).  The resolution, which would re-vitalize a statute protecting California employees working on commission that had been invalidated by court decision, was introduced in 2010 by then-Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny as SB 1370, but ultimately vetoed by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  This year the CCBA worked assiduously to address and resolve business concerns with the re-introduced bill, and did so well enough to win neutrality from the California Chamber of Commerce and Civil Justice Association of California, which clearly helped achieve its enactment. (See earlier post). 

Senator Huff

The final CCBA-supported bill signed into law by Governor Brown in the final week was SB 161 by Senator Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), which allows school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools to participate in a program to train nonmedical school employees who volunteer to administer emergency anti-seizure medication to students with epilepsy. The bill is consistent with - though not as expansive as - Resolution 04-03-2010 by the Alameda County Bar Association, and was also the culmination of a multi-year effort.

The signings brought to a close a very successful year for the CCBA.  The eight bills signed into law is the second-most for the Conference since it became an independent entity in 2001, and sets the stage for an even busier 2012, when many never CCBA-sponsored bills will be introduced and a number of two-year bills sponsored by the CCBA in 2011 will get their (possibly brief) second chance at life (see CCBA program matrix).