BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1502
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 10, 2010

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
                                  Mike Feuer, Chair
                      AB 1502 (Eng) - As Amended:  June 16, 2010

                         PROPOSED CONSENT (FOR CONCURRENCE)
           
          SUBJECT  :  NUISANCE ABATEMENT: CIVIL ACTION

           KEY ISSUE  :  Should a county counsel be authorized to bring a  
          civil action to abate a nuisance in the same manner as is  
          currently authorized for a district attorney or a city attorney?  


                                      SYNOPSIS

          Existing law authorizes a district attorney or a city attorney  
          to bring an action to abate a public nuisance, a controlled  
          substances nuisance, or a gambling or prostitution nuisance.   
          According to the author, however, because district attorneys  
          generally only handle criminal cases and city attorneys can only  
          bring criminal or civil actions within city limits, there is  
          often no authority who can bring civil actions to abate a  
          nuisance in rural and unincorporated areas.  This bill would  
          remedy that problem by giving the county counsel that same  
          authority to bring nuisance abatement actions that is now  
          enjoyed by district attorneys and city attorneys.  The bill  
          would also require the county counsel, consistent with the  
          requirements for district attorneys and city attorneys under  
          existing law, to file a report on the use of abatement actions  
          with the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary by October  
          1, 2013.  The bill is sponsored by the Los Angeles County  
          Sheriff's Department.  There is no known opposition to the bill.  
           The bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-0  
          vote and off the Senate floor on a 34-0 vote.  

           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes a county counsel to bring a civil action to  
          abate a public nuisance, a controlled substances nuisance, or a  
          gambling or prostitution nuisance, as specified, and to submit a  
          report to the Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees on the  
          use of abatement actions by October 1, 2013.

           EXISTING LAW  :









                                                                  AB 1502
                                                                  Page  2

          1)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.  

          2)Additionally states that every building or 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.  

          3)Further provides that every building or place used for the  
            purpose of illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation,  
            prostitution, or counterfeiting is a nuisance.

          4)Generally authorizes a district attorney or city attorney to  
            bring an action to abate the above nuisances within their  
            respective jurisdictions.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.

           COMMENTS  :  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."

          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  








                                                                  AB 1502
                                                                  Page  3

          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 simply additionally add a county counsel to the list of  
          persons who can bring nuisance abatement and prevention actions  
          under specified circumstances.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (sponsor)

          Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334