BILL ANALYSIS
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 3081
Author: Senate Judiciary Committee
Amended: 6/21/04 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/1/04
AYES: Escutia, Morrow, Ackerman, Cedillo, Ducheny, Kuehl
NO VOTE RECORDED: Sher
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 4/19/04 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Civil discovery: statutes reorganization
SOURCE : California Law Revision Commission
DIGEST : This bill reorganizes the statutes governing
civil discovery into short sections closely tracking the
existing language and sequencing.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/21/04 prevent chaptering out
of substantive amendments to the Civil Discovery Act in AB
3078 and non-substantive reorganization of the Civil
Discovery Act in AB 3081. The amendments preserve the
content of the two bills regardless of order of chaptering.
ANALYSIS : Existing law specifies the manner and methods
of discovery in civil actions and cases.
This bill effects a non-substantive reorganization of the
sections to make the statutes more user-friendly and
facilitating amendment and sound development of the law.
CONTINUED
AB 3081
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2
Background
In 2003, the Legislature directed the California Law Review
Commission (CLRC) to study discovery in civil cases.
CLRC issued its recommendation in September 2003,
recommending no substantive changes, only a reorganization
of the statutes governing civil discovery into short
sections closely tracking the existing language and
sequencing.
The bill is double-jointed with AB 3078 and AB 3081.
This bill results form the CLRC recommendation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/21/04)
California Law Review Commission (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In its recommendaiton, the CLrC
states that the statutes governing civil discovery are
logically organized but are difficult to use due to their
length and complexity. For example, Code of Civil
Procedure Section 2025 currently consists of 22
subdivisions, 705 paragraphs, and 8,148 words.
CLRC states the "reorganization will enhance readability
for courts and practitioners, and assist them in
interpreting and following the law. Breaking the law into
shorter, more comprehensive segments will enable a person
to readily locate pertinent provisions by using a table of
contents?"
ASSEMBLY FLOOR
AYES: Aghazarian, Bates, Berg, Bermudez, Bogh, Calderon,
Campbell, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn,
Corbett, Cox, Daucher, Diaz, Dutra, Dutton, Dymally,
Firebaugh, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg, Hancock, Harman,
Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Houston, Jackson,
AB 3081
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Kehoe, Koretz, La Malfa, La Suer, Laird, Leno, Leslie,
Levine, Lieber, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal, Maddox,
Maldonado, Maze, Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi,
Nakano, Nation, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Pacheco, Pavley,
Plescia, Reyes, Richman, Runner, Salinas, Samuelian,
Simitian, Spitzer, Steinberg, Strickland, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Benoit, Correa, Keene, Matthews,
McCarthy, Parra, Ridley-Thomas, Vargas, Nunez
RJG:cm 6/21/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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