BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1615
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          Date of Hearing:   May 21, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     AB 1615 (Gatto) - As Amended:  May 15, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Appropriations  
          Vote:        

          Urgency:     Yes                  State Mandated Local Program:   
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This urgency bill:

          1)Appropriates $2.7 million from the State Board of Chiropractic  
            Examiners' Fund to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay the  
            settlement in Arbuckle v California Board of Chiropractic  
            Examiners, et al. Any funds appropriated in excess of the  
            amounts required for payment of these claims revert to the  
            chiropractic fund.

          2)Appropriates $157,000 from the General Fund to the Department  
            of Justice to pay the judgment in Planning and Conservation  
            League v. State, et al. Any funds appropriated in excess of  
            the amounts required for the payment of this claim revert to  
            the General Fund.

           FISCAL EFFECT
           
          1)One-time special fund appropriation of $2,698,000 to DOJ to  
            pay a legal settlement. 

          2)One-time GF appropriation of $157,000 to DOJ to pay a legal  
            settlement.

           COMMENTS  
          
           1)Rationale.  This bill is one of the bills carried by the chairs  
            of the Appropriations Committees each year to provide  
            appropriation authority for legal settlements approved by DOJ  
            and the Department of Finance (DOF). These settlements were  
            entered into lawfully by the state upon advice of counsel  








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            (DOJ). They are binding state obligations.

           2)Case Background.   
                
             a)   In Arbuckle v. California Board of Chiropractic  
               Examiners, et al., (Court of Appeal, Third District,  
               California, 2013 WL 3467054) the lawsuit resulted from a  
               whistleblower complaint filed June 17, 2002.  The complaint  
               was filed by a Board of Chiropractic Examiners (Board)  
               employee, who alleged the Board chair failed to pay her  
               license renewal fee and that the Board failed to take  
               action against the chair for practicing without an active  
               license. On January 27, 2003, the State Personnel Board  
               (SPB) filed a Notice of Findings that recommended dismissal  
               of the complaint. The plaintiff failed to file a petition  
               for hearing and the Notice of Findings was adopted by the  
               SPB.   
                
                 On February 21, 2003, Arbuckle filed a civil action  
            against the Board, alleging various unlawful retaliations  
            related to the whistleblower complaint. On February 25, 2011,  
            and after several appeals, the Board was ordered to pay  
            $2,106,201 ($1,175,000 judgment, $926,452 attorneys' fees, and  
            $4,749 plaintiff's costs and disbursements), along with  
            interest (7% per year) from July 28, 2010 (the date of the  
            original jury verdict).  The estimated   interest from July  
            28, 2010 to July 31, 2014, is $591,757.45.  The Board's appeal  
            failed. All appeals for the Board have been exhausted and the  
            judgment is final.

             b)   In Planning and Conservation League v. State (Super Ct.,  
               Alameda County, 2013, No. RG12626904) $157,000 ($155,000  
               for attorneys' fees and $395 for costs, plus interest   
               accrued) represents the judgment granted in favor of the  
               Planning and Conservation League against the Controller.  
               The lawsuit involved a constitutional challenge to judicial  
               review provisions in AB 900 (Buchanan, 2011), which  
               provides for expedited judicial review of challenges to  
               "environmental leadership projects."  The judgment in the  
               case declared Public Resources Code section 21185,  
               subdivision (a)(1), enacted as part of AB 900, to be  
               facially unconstitutional.   Section 21185 required  
               California Environmental Quality Act challenges to  
               environmental leadership projects to be filed directly in  
               the Court of Appeal.  The judgment enjoins the State  








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               Controller from spending funds to implement the code  
               provision. AB 900 was amended following the ruling in the  
               Planning and Conservation League case and now allows such  
               challenges to be brought in any court with jurisdiction to  
               hear writ petitions, including superior courts.  

               Plaintiffs initially sought almost $700,000 in attorneys'  
               fees, but the court ruled the fee request was not  
               reasonable.

           3)Related Legislation  .
             
              a)   AB 234 (Gatto), Statutes of 2013, appropriated $20.7  
               million to pay for two settlements. 

             b)   SB 371 (De Leon), Statutes of 2013, appropriated $15.6  
               million to pay for two settlements


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081