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