BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2767|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 2767
          Author:   Assembly Judiciary Committee
          Amended:  6/15/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/10/10
          AYES:  Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno, Walters
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8
          
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  70-0, 5/17/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Civil law:  omnibus bill

           SOURCE  :     Business Law Section of the State Bar
                      California Law Revision Commission
                      California Teamsters Union
                      Executive Committee of the Family Law Section  
          of the State 
                        Bar
                      Judicial Council


           DIGEST  :    This bill enacts assorted changes in various  
          provisions of law.  Specifically, those assorted changes,  
          among other things, correct a drafting error relating to a  
          Judicial Council report on homestead exemptions; clarify  
          the treatment of unclaimed restitution money by a court;  
          correct a drafting error relating to nonprofit religious  
          corporations; clarify the ability to copy paternity files  
          under certain circumstances; and make various changes  
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          necessitated by trial court restructuring.

           ANALYSIS  :    This bill is the Assembly Judiciary's  
          Committee omnibus bill.  To be considered for inclusion,  
          each provision must be non-controversial and not be so  
          substantive as to be more appropriate for a stand-alone  
          bill.  If a non-controversial provision later becomes  
          controversial, that provision will be removed from the  
          bill.
          
          Existing law requires the Legislature to protect, by law, a  
          certain portion of the homestead and other property from  
          forced sale.  (Section 1.5 of Article XX of the California  
          Constitution)  

          Existing law contains both an automatic and a declared  
          homestead exemption that serves to protect a portion of  
          equity in a debtor's home from creditors.  (Sections  
          704.710 et seq. and 704.910 et seq. of the Code of Civil  
          Procedure [CCP])  Existing law sets the amount of the  
          homestead exemption as follows:

           $75,000, unless the judgment debtor or spouse of the  
            judgment debtor who resides in the homestead is a person  
            described below;

           $100,000 if the judgment debtor or spouse of the judgment  
            debtor who resides in the homestead at the time of sale  
            is a member of the family unit, and there is at least one  
            member of the family unit who owns no interest in the  
            homestead or whose only interest in the homestead is a  
            community property interest with the judgment debtor; or

           $175,000 if the judgment debtor or spouse of the judgment  
            debtor who resides in the homestead at the time of sale  
            is either (1) a person 65 years of age or older, (2) a  
            person physically or mentally disabled and as a result of  
            that disability is unable to engage in substantial  
            gainful employment, as specified, or (3) a person 55  
            years of age or older with a limited gross annual income,  
            as specified.  (CCP Section 704.730)

          Existing law requires the Judicial Council, on April 1,  
          2010, and at each three-year interval ending on April 1  

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          thereafter, to submit to the Legislature the amount by  
          which the dollar amounts of the above homestead exemptions  
          may be increased based upon the change in the annual  
          California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers,  
          for the most recent three-year period, as specified.  Those  
          increases shall not take effect unless they are approved by  
          the Legislature.  (CCP Section 703.150)

          This bill, instead, requires the Judicial Council to submit  
          those amounts by April 1, 2013, and at each three-year  
          interval ending on April 1 thereafter.

          Existing law states that any money, excluding restitution  
          to victims, that has been deposited with a superior court,  
          or that a superior court is holding in trust, in a court  
          bank or trust account, that remains unclaimed for three  
          years shall become the property of the superior court if,  
          after published notice, the money is not claimed or no  
          verified compliant is filed and served.  (Section 68084.1  
          of the Government Code)

          This bill provides that any money representing restitution  
          collected on behalf of victims that remains unclaimed for  
          three years shall be deposited into either the State  
          Restitution Fund for the purpose of providing victim  
          services or into the general fund of a county that  
          administers a victim services program for the provision of  
          victim services.

          Existing law provides that a paternity hearing or trial may  
          be held in closed court, and that all papers and records,  
          other than the final judgment, are subject to inspection  
          only in exceptional cases upon an order of the court for  
          good cause shown.  (Section 7643(a) of the Family Code)

          Existing law provides that papers and records pertaining to  
          the action that are part of the permanent record are  
          subject to inspection by the parties to the action, their  
          attorneys, and by agents acting pursuant to written  
          authorization.  An attorney must obtain consent prior to  
          authorizing an agent to inspect the permanent record, as  
          specified.  (Section 7643(b) of the Family Code)

          This bill clarifies that inspection pursuant to the above  

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          provisions includes copying.

          Existing law provides that where the appellate division of  
          the superior court grants a writ of review directed to the  
          superior court, the superior court is an inferior tribunal,  
          as specified.  (CCP Sections 1085 and 1103)

          This bill replaces "writ of review" with "writ of mandate"  
          in Section 1085, and "writ of prohibition" in Section 1103.  


          Existing law provides that any number of offices of a  
          nonprofit religious corporation may be held by the same  
          person unless the articles or bylaws provide otherwise,  
          except that the secretary, the treasurer, or the chief  
          financial officer may serve concurrently as the president  
          or chair of the board.  (Section  9213 of the Corporations  
          Code)

          This bill clarifies that the secretary, treasurer, or chief  
          financial officer may not serve concurrently as the  
          president or chair of the board.

          Existing law specifies how interpreters' and translators'  
          fees shall be paid in criminal, coroners', and civil cases.  
           (Section 68092 of the Government Code [GOV])

          This bill makes technical, clarifying changes, including  
          moving fees for coroners' cases to a standalone section.

          Existing law provides for the deposit of moneys, including  
          bail, coming into possession of a judge or officer of a  
          court and deposited in a bank account by the court, as  
          provided. (GOV Sections 53647.5 and 53679)

          This bill makes technical, clarifying changes to these  
          provisions.

          Existing law defines subordinate judicial officer as an  
          officer appointed to perform subordinate judicial duties,  
          as authorized, including, but not limited to, a court  
          commissioner, probate commissioner, referee, traffic  
          referee, and juvenile referee.  (GOV Section 71601)


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          This bill adds child support commissioner and juvenile  
          hearing officer to the definition of subordinate judicial  
          officer and makes another technical, clarifying change to  
          the definition.

          Existing law authorizes the Commission on Peace Officer  
          Standards and Training to amend rules establishing minimum  
          standards relating to physical, mental, and moral fitness  
          that govern the recruitment of various law enforcement  
          officers.  (Section 13510 of the Penal Code) 

          This bill makes technical, clarifying changes to those  
          provisions.

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

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/29/10)

          Business Law Section of the State Bar (co-source)
          California Law Revision Commission (co-source)
          California Teamsters Union (co-source)
           Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State  
            Bar (co-source)
          Judicial Council (co-source)


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,  
            Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng,  
            Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines,  
            Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,  
            Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,  
            Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,  
            Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,  
            Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bass, Tom Berryhill, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Furutani, Norby, Silva, Torlakson, Yamada,  
            Vacancy


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          RJG:mw  6/29/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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