BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1103|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1103
Author: Papan (D)
Amended: 6/19/01 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/12/01
AYES: Escutia, Ackerman, Haynes, Kuehl, O'Connell, Peace,
Sher
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/10/01 (Passed on Consent) - See
last page for vote
SUBJECT : Law library boards of trustees
SOURCE : California Law Revision Commission
DIGEST : This bill makes various changes to the law
governing county law library boards of trustees. It
authorizes the appointment of non-lawyers as well as
lawyers who are not residents of the county to serve on the
boards of trustees. It also revises provisions governing
the total number of members of the boards.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that if a county has
three or fewer superior court judges, each of those judges
serves as an ex officio member of the law library board of
trustees. When there are three or fewer superior court
judges, the judges may at their option choose one judge to
serve as trustee and appoint two additional trustees who
are members of the county bar.
CONTINUED
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This bill would allow the judges to appoint residents of
the county or members of the state bar to serve as
trustees.
Existing law provides that if a county has four or more
superior court judges, those judges will select three
judges to serve on the board of trustees.
This bill would require the judges to select four or five
judges to serve on the board of trustees.
Existing law permits a judge who is serving on the board of
trustees to designate a member of the county bar to act for
the judge as trustee.
This bill would permit judges to designate a resident of
the county or a member of the state bar to serve as
trustee.
Existing law provides that the chair of the county board of
supervisors is an ex officio member of the board of
trustees. At the request of the chair of the board of
supervisors, the board of supervisors may appoint a member
of the county bar to serve as trustee in place of the
chair.
This bill would permit the board of supervisors to appoint
a resident of the county or a member of the state bar to
serve as trustee in place of the chair.
Existing law provides that the county board of supervisors
shall appoint as many additional trustees as are necessary
to bring the board of trustees to six or seven total
members, depending on the number of municipal court judges
serving on the board of trustees. Existing law also
provides procedures governing the service of municipal
court judges on the board of trustees.
This bill would eliminate the provisions governing
municipal court judges' service on the board of trustees as
well as the link between municipal court judges and the
overall size of the board of trustees. Instead, this bill
would provide that the board of supervisors shall appoint
as many additional trustees as are necessary to bring the
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total number of trustees to six or seven.
Existing law requires that the additional trustees
appointed by the board of supervisors be members of the
county bar.
This bill would permit the board of supervisors to appoint
members of the state bar to serve as additional trustees.
This bill would also limit the number of trustees who are
not judges of the county, members of the state bar, or
members of the board of supervisors, to no more than two.
Existing law permits the county board of supervisors to
reduce the size of the board of trustees to no fewer than
three if the board of supervisors finds that there is an
insufficient number of members of the county bar eligible
to serve on the board of trustees.
This bill would provide that in any county where there are
no more than three superior court judges, the board of
supervisors, with the concurrence of the majority of the
incumbent superior court judges, may reduce the size of the
board of trustees to no fewer than three.
Existing law contains special statutory provisions
governing the boards of trustees for the Los Angeles County
and San Diego county law libraries. Various aspects of
this bill would not apply to those counties.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/01)
California Law Revision Commission (source
Council of California Law Librarians
Northern California Association of Law Libraries
Orange County Public Law Library Board of Trustees
San Diego Area Law Libraries
Southern California Association of Law Libraries
San Mateo County Board of Law Library Trustees
Superior Court Judge Quentin Kopp, San Mateo County
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill's supporters argue that
it will make needed improvements to the governance of
county law libraries. According to the bill's supporters,
some boards of trustees have had problems meeting quorum
requirements at their meetings. The bill's provisions
expanding the size of the boards of trustees are intended
to make it easier to meet quorum requirements. The bill
also preserves the flexibility needed by smaller counties
to reduce the size of the board of trustees if necessary.
The bill's supporters also argue that there are several
benefits to expanding eligibility to serve on the boards of
trustees to non-lawyer county residents and non-resident
lawyers. As to the former, they note that the general
public represents a large class of law library patrons.
Supporters argue that expanding board membership to
non-lawyers would help make the law libraries more
responsive to their non-lawyer patrons.
As to the latter, the bill's supporters also emphasize
county law libraries are experiencing a funding shortfall.
They believe that expanding board membership to county
residents and non-resident lawyers may make it easier to
develop non-governmental financial support for the
libraries.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Bates, Bogh, Briggs,
Calderon, Bill Campbell, John Campbell, Canciamilla,
Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Chan, Chavez, Cogdill, Cohn,
Corbett, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz, Dickerson, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Frommer, Goldberg, Harman, Havice,
Hollingsworth, Jackson, Keeley, Kehoe, Kelley, Koretz, La
Suer, Leach, Leonard, Leslie, Longville, Lowenthal,
Maddox, Maldonado, Matthews, Migden, Mountjoy, Nakano,
Nation, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Robert Pacheco, Rod
Pacheco, Papan, Pavley, Pescetti, Reyes, Richman, Runner,
Salinas, Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Vargas, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wright, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel, Hertzberg
RJG:sl 6/19/01 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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