BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1502|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1502
          Author:   Eng (D)
          Amended:  6/16/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/10/10
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno, Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  Not relevant


           SUBJECT  :    Nuisance abatement:  civil action

           SOURCE  :     Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the county counsel to bring  
          a civil action to abate a public nuisance, a controlled  
          substances nuisance, or a gambling or prostitution  
          nuisance, as specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law defines a nuisance as anything  
          which is injurious to health, including the illegal sale of  
          controlled substances, or is indecent or offensive to the  
          senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so  
          as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or  
          property, or unlawfully obstruct the free passage or use,  
          in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river,  
          bay stream, canal, or basin of any public park, square,  
          street, or highway.  (Civil Code Section 3479.)

          Existing law additionally states that every building or  
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          place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling, serving,  
          storing, keeping manufacturing, or giving away any  
          controlled substance, as specified, and every building or  
          place where those acts take place, is a nuisance.  (Health  
          & Safety Code Section 11571.)  Existing law further  
          provides that every building or place used for the purpose  
          of illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation, prostitution,  
          or counterfeiting is a nuisance.  (Penal Code Sections  
          11225-26; Business & Professions Code Section 17800.) 

          Existing law generally authorizes a district attorney or  
          city attorney to bring an action to abate the above  
          nuisances within their respective jurisdictions. (Civil  
          Code Section 731; Health & Safety Code Section 1157; Penal  
          Code Section 11226.)

          This bill additionally authorizes the county counsel of the  
          county where nuisance is located to bring an action for  
          each of the above nuisances.  This bill also makes  
          conforming changes.

           Background
           
          Under existing law, a nuisance is defined to mean anything  
          which is injurious to health or is indecent or offensive to  
          the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property,  
          so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life  
          or property. 

          Current law also deems certain uses of buildings or places  
          to be a nuisance and authorizes a district attorney, city  
          attorney, or any citizen to bring an action to abate and  
          prevent the nuisance.  Such uses include, among other  
          things, buildings or places used for the purposes of  
          illegal gambling or prostitution, unlawfully selling,  
          serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away  
          any controlled substance, unlawfully selling, serving, or  
          giving away alcoholic liquor, and manufacturing or  
          intentionally selling counterfeit goods.  

          In response to concerns about the burden of the current  
          nuisance abatement caseload on district attorneys and city  
          attorneys, and the lack of a city attorney in  
          unincorporated areas, this bill would additionally permit a  







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          county counsel to bring nuisance abatement and prevention  
          actions under specified circumstances.

           Prior Legislation

           AB 568 (Lieu), Chapter 453, Statutes of 2009, provides that  
          every nonresidential building or place used for the purpose  
          of willfully manufacturing, intentionally selling, or  
          knowingly possessing for sale any counterfeit goods is a  
          nuisance which damages may be recovered.


           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/16/10)

          Los Angeles County Sheriffs' Department (source)


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          currently when law enforcement takes action for nuisance  
          abatement, the District Attorney or City Attorney handles  
          the adjudication of these cases.  The District Attorney  
          handles only criminal cases, while the City Attorney can  
          handle both criminal and civil cases.  Many times, the  
          nuisance cases end up being civil cases where a civil  
          injunction is brought against the offending person.  There  
          are a large number of these civil nuisance cases. This  
          represents a problem in unincorporated areas where there is  
          no City Attorney and the District Attorney may not have the  
          expertise or staff to assign the cases to.  The Los Angeles  
          County Sheriffs' Department, the sponsor states that  
          enabling the county counsel to bring these cases "will help  
          to more efficiently and effectively adjudicate the large  
          number of nuisance abatement cases [thus] making life  
          better for everyone in the county."


          RJG:do  6/16/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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