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).

Mixed Week for CCBA Program

The past week was filled with both highs and lows for the Conference of California Bar Association's (CCBA) legislative program. On the high side, four CCBA-sponsored or co-sponsored bills passed their final legislative test and are being prepared to be sent to Governor Brown for signature or veto.

On the low side, one key component of the CCBA program (AB 308 - Ammiano) and another highly visible bill supported by the Conference (SB 490 - Hancock) were held in committee and now must wait for next year.

The bills that are being sent to Governor Brown included:

• AB 433 by Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal would conform state law to the medical standard applied by the U.S. state department and current medical understanding of gender transition to simplify the existing process by which a transgender person obtains appropriate identification document. The bill, which is consistent with CCBA Resolution 04-12-2010 sponsored by the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, passed the Senate on a vote of 23-13, and received concurrence in Senate amendments from the Assembly, 51-26. 
• AB 1147 by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada would maximize the efficient use of resources by requiring social workers to include information about what age- and developmental-appropriate services teen mothers in foster care minor received, pursuant to existing law, in reports the social workers are already required to prepare. The bill is based on CCBA Resolution 03-04-2010, sponsored by the Women Lawyers of Sacramento. 
• AB 1384 by Assemblymember Steven Bradford would authorize a court, after one year, to expunge non-vehicular infractions and misdemeanors (with specified exceptions) from a person’s record in its discretion and in the interests of justice. The bill would complete the enactment of Resolution 06-06-2009 by the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the major provisions of which were enacted last year in AB 2582 (Adams). 
• AB 1023, the annual Maintenance of the Codes bill carried this year by Assembly Judiciary Committee Vice-Chair Don Wagner, includes CCBA Resolution 10-01-2010 by the Bar Association of Northern San Diego County, which makes an important technical correction in the law relating to SLAPP suits.

Of the two bills that were held in committee, AB 308, was the biggest disappointment, given the time and effort expended in seeking its passage.  The bill (CCBA Resolution 01-13-2010 by the LACBA) would mandate the creation of new protocols and procedures to better ensure the accuracy of eyewitness identifications in criminal matters.  It was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee due to cost concerns, after the Department of Justice increased its projected cost of the bill to $1.2 million - nearly five times the estimated cost of virtually duplicate measures considered by the Legislature in earlier years. (See earlier post).

SB 490, Senator Loni Hancock's bill to require a public vote on whether California's death penalty should be abolished, stayed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee at the request of the author, who determined that she didn't have the votes to enact the bill (see story in San Jose Mercury News). The decision came only a day after Governor Brown suggested in news stories that he would be supportive of letting the people vote on the question, though without commenting directly on SB 490.  However, it was clear to Sen. Hancock in the all-important process of counting the votes that there simply weren't enough members of the Legislature willing to commit to expending the money to put the issue on the ballot, given polls showing that as many as seven in 10 Californians still support capital punishment for the most heinous of crimes.  The CCBA supported the measure based on its consistent support of resolutions calling for the abolition of the death penalty, most recently 01-01-2010 by the Bar Association of San Francisco. (See earlier post).

CCBA Bills Clear Senate Judiciary Committee

The second-house phase of the legislative process began this week, as Senate policy committees started serious consideration of Assembly bills and vice-versa. Three bills sponsored by the Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA) were among the bills first to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee at its June 7 hearing, and all three were approved and passed to the Senate Floor, where they should be heard next week.

Only one of the three measures generated any controversy: AB 433, by Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), which would remove 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 is co-sponsored by the Transgender Law Center, Equality California and the CCBA (Resolution 04-12-2010, by the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom), was approved on a vote of 4-1.

AB 454 by Assemblymember Jim Silva (based on Resolution 05-07-2009 by the Women Lawyers of Sacramento), which would require that the party protected by a civil protective or restraining order be given prior notice, as specified, of any hearing to modify or terminate the order by personal service, was approved by the committee on a unanimous 5-0 vote.

And AB 354, also by Assemblymember Silva, was approved on the committee's Consent Calendar. AB 354 (based on Resolution 06-04-2010 by the Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills bar associations), would provide that when a person has taken, concealed, or disposed of the real or personal property of a conservatee, minor, estate of a decedent, or trust by the use of undue influence in bad faith or through the commission of elder or dependent adult financial abuse, the person is liable for twice the value of the property recovered in a conservatorship, guardianship, estate, or trust proceeding.

All three measures are currently on track to obtain all necessary votes and be sent to Governor Brown for signature before the Legislature is scheduled to break for its summer recess in July.