Seven court related laws signed

Seven new court-related laws have been signed by the governor, and one has been vetoed.

• AB 2958 by the Committee on Judiciary – State Bar of California.
  • Establishes a regulatory sandbox of non-attorneys and paraprofessionals to practice law. Would also: 
    • Reduce the annual California State Bar license fee from $395 to $390
      • Require a 2023 state audit to evaluate the Bar’s spending of the licensing fees
      • Direct $45 of the fee to legal services
        • Direct $5 of the $45 to law-student summer internships
      • Allow licensed attorneys to pay the State Bar another $5 to support lobbying
        • Limit lobbying funding to the $5 voluntary donations from attorneys
    • Repeal the Public Interest Task Force
    • Require law-education courses addressing behavioral health
    • Require the State Bar’s considerations into allowing non-attorneys to practice law to:
      • Prioritize protecting individuals from bad actors
      • Prioritize increasing access to justice for indigent people
      • To exclude corporate ownership of law firms 
    • Require the State Bar to comply with the Information Practices Act of 1977
      • The Bar would have to disclose any breach of its data system
  • The bill passed the Assembly 74-0 and the Senate 34-1.
  • Sens. Richard Roth (D-Riverside) and Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) did not vote.
• VETOED: SB 1262 by Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) –  Courts: indexes. A veto message can be found here.
  • Would have required the clerk of the superior court to maintain a public index that would show both a criminal and civil defendants’ court records based on their driver’s license or date of birth. The law would have restored a right to search by date of birth that a ruling in the 2021 court case, All of Us or None of Us – Riverside Chapter v. Hamrick, removed. The background screening service Checkr argued that the removal of a search by date of birth increased searches by 14%, because of individuals with common names and criminal records. Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote that the All of Us decision struck a fair balance between competing interests, and that he did not want to overrule the appellate decision.
  • “This means that the number of searches requiring clerk assistance has gone from tens of thousands to more than six figures. This has created a substantial backlog for these searches, resulting in these checks taking weeks to months as opposed to a few days prior to May 2021,” Checkr wrote.
  • “This bill would override a 2021 appellate court decision and current court rules that strike a fair balance between public access to court records, public safety, and an individual’s constitutional right to privacy. While this bill may provide for a more convenient process for companies conducting commercial background checks, it would also allow any member of the public to easily access individuals ‘ sensitive personal information online,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.
  • The bill passed the Assembly 53-9 and the Senate 37-0.
  • Sens. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), Connie Leyva (D-Chino), Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), Richard Roth (D-Riverside) and Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), and Assemblymembers James Ramos (D-Highland), Jose Medina (D-Riverside), Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda), Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta), Thurston Smith (R-Hesperia), Chad Mayes (I-Rancho Mirage) and Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) voted for the bill.  
  • Assemblymembers Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), did not vote.
• AB 2369 by Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) – Domestic Violence Prevention Act: attorney’s fees and costs.
  • Changes the court procedure for determining attorney payment in a domestic violence action. Previously, for domestic violence cases, the court would order the non-prevailing party to pay for the prevailing party’s attorney’s fees. Now, the court can order the respondent to pay for the prevailing petitioner’s fees. If the respondent prevails, they will only be paid attorney’s fees by the petitioner if they prove the petition or request was frivolous and intended to abuse or intimidate. In either case, the court would only order a party to pay attorney’s fees if they find that the party has the ability to pay. 
  • “AB 2369 changes statute to reflect the state’s public policy of supporting survivors, ending abuse, and not requiring survivors to fund their abusers,” Salas said.
  • Unanimously passed both houses. 
  • Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) did not vote.
• SB 1117 by Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) – State Public Defender: grants.
  • Allows the State Public Defender to award grants to indigent defense services. “With this bill, the offices and programs providing critically important free representation to some of California’s most vulnerable can apply to both bodies (as appropriate) for support of new ideas that prevent them from reentering the justice system. Services like housing, mental health, identification, driver’s license, birth certificate, public transit passes, CalFresh, and MediCal are just some of the ways that PD offices support our community and the justice-involved. OSPD is best suited to do this work,” Becker said.
  • The bill passed the Assembly 62-11 and the Senate 29-6.
  • Sens. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), Connie Leyva (D-Chino), Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), Richard Roth (D-Riverside), and Assemblymembers James Ramos (D-Highland), Jose Medina (D-Riverside), Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), Chad Mayes (I-Rancho Mirage) and Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) voted for the bill. 
  • Sens. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), and Assemblymembers Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda), Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) and Thurston Smith (R-Hesperia) voted against the bill. 
  • Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), did not vote.
• SB 1227 by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) – Involuntary commitment: intensive treatment.
  • Allows mental health services which provide intensive, involuntary treatment for those with mental disorders to petition the court for another 30 days of intensive treatment, if the person is gravely disabled. The cap is currently at 30 days, and this bill would double the court’s ability to involuntarily commit individuals. 
  • “This bill allows for a single 30-day extension for someone already receiving these intensive services, and it would maintain the goal of providing this limited additional treatment only to those likely to recover in that time and, by doing so, avoid conservatorship. Conservatorship proceedings limit personal rights, can be very costly, and should only be used as a last resort,” Talamantes Eggman said.
  • The bill unanimously passed both houses.
• AB 2791 by Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) – Sheriffs: service of process and notices.
  • Requires sheriffs to accept an electronically signed notice issued by a state court in a civil action, including service of process and court documents for the purpose of notice. Will not require an original or wet signature on a notice for service. 
  • “Many low-income and rural litigants do not have a means of obtaining a printed copy of court documents that are filed and received electronically from the court, nor a way to transport paper documents to a distant sheriff’s department,” Bloom said.
  • The bill passed the Assembly 64-1 and the Senate 33-1.
  • Sens. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) and Richard Roth (D-Riverside), and Assemblymembers Jose Medina (D-Riverside), Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda), Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), Chad Mayes (I-Rancho Mirage) and Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) voted for the bill. 
  • Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) and Assemblymember Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) voted against the bill. 
  • Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), and Assemblymembers James Ramos (D-Highland), Thurston Smith (R-Hesperia) and Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) did not vote.
• SB 1071 by Sen. Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) – Public social services: administrative hearings: juvenile records access.
  • Allows attorneys in a California Department of Social Services administrative hearing regarding a minor to review copies of the minor’s juvenile case file.
  • The bill unanimously passed both houses.
• AB 2960 by the Committee on Judiciary – Judiciary omnibus.
  • Makes 15 small and technical changes to the California Code, including replacing “citizens” with “persons” in some cases, and granting tribes the ability to remotely appear in court in any child welfare case regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
  • The bill unanimously passed both houses.
  • Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) did not vote.