BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 164|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 164
Author: Gomez (D)
Amended: 9/2/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 9/4/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 8/24/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Claims against the state: payment
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates $2,217,255
from the General Fund, and $517,255 from the Dungeness Crab
Account, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the payment of
two settlements. Any funds appropriated in excess of the
amounts required for payment of these claims shall revert to the
respective funds.
ANALYSIS: This bill is one of several annual bills carried by
the chairs of the Appropriations Committees to provide
appropriation authority for legal settlements approved by DOJ
and the Department of Finance. These settlements were entered
into lawfully by the state upon advice of counsel. They are
binding state obligations.
This bill appropriates special fund and General Fund revenues to
DOJ to pay the following settlements:
Humphries v. County of Los Angeles, et al.
AB 164
Page 2
(United States District Court, Central District of California,
Case No. SACV 03-0697-JVS)
$1,700,000 settlement, payable from the General Fund.
The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA)
formerly provided for the reporting of child abuse allegations
that were "not unfounded" to the DOJ for inclusion in its Child
Abuse Central Index (CACI). Plaintiffs in the Humphries case
were parents of a child who accused them of child abuse, but the
courts found the allegations to be untrue and charges against
the parents were dismissed. The CANRA statutes did not include
a process for removal of exonerated individuals accused of child
abuse from the CACI, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department did not agree to remove them. Plaintiffs filed a
case against the Attorney General and the County of Los Angeles,
claiming that their constitutional due process rights had been
violated because they had been deprived the right to challenge
their inclusion in CACI. The district court dismissed their
claims, but the Ninth Circuit reversed that holding on appeal
and found that the continued listing of the plaintiffs in CACI
violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Plaintiffs are entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, and filed
a motion seeking over $3 million from the state. This claim for
$1.7 million represents a settlement for attorneys' fees
negotiated through mediation in federal court.
Kevin Marilley, et al. v. California Department of Fish and
Game.
(United States District Court, Northern District of California,
Case No.11-cv-2418)
$1,034,510 settlement, half payable from the General Fund, half
payable from the Dungeness Crab Account within the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund.
This case involved a group of commercial fishermen who were not
California residents but fished in California waters. One of
these fishermen, Kevin Marilley, filed a class action suit in
the United States District Court in May of 2011 against the
Director of the California Department of Fish and Game (later
appeals were filed against the Director of the Department of
Fish and Wildlife), alleging that California's fishing license
statutes, which charge nonresident fishermen two to three times
more than the fees assessed on resident competitors, are
unconstitutional. The fishermen and the state filed
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cross-motions for summary judgment.
The U.S. District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the
plaintiffs, finding that the differential fees violate the
Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV of the U.S.
Constitution, and concluding that the state failed to
demonstrate a substantial state interest. On December 10, 2013,
the plaintiffs moved for an award of attorney's fees and court
costs. After negotiations, and upon recommendation from DOJ,
the Department of Fish and Wildlife accepted the proposed
settlement of fees accrued by the plaintiffs though April 18,
2014, in the amount of $1,034,570. This settlement represents
the final disposition of the case, as all appeals have been
exhausted. The Department of Finance approved an appropriation
of the settlement amount to be split between the General Fund
and the Dungeness Crab Account within the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 302 (Lara, Chapter 5, Statutes of 2015) appropriated $24.1
million to specified state entities for the payment of four
settlements.
AB 1615 (Gatto, Chapter 142, Statutes of 2014) appropriated
$2.86 million to DOJ for the payment of two settlements.
AB 234 (Gatto, Chapter 449, Statutes of 2013) appropriated $20.7
million to DOJ for the payment of two settlements.
SB 371 (De Leon, Chapter 9, Statutes of 2013) appropriated $15.6
million to DOJ for the payment of two settlements.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time appropriation of $1,700,000 in 2015-16 from the
General Fund to DOJ to pay the settlement in Humphries v.
County of Los Angeles, et al.
One-time appropriation of $1,034,510 ($517,255 from the
General Fund and $517,255 from the Dungeness Crab Account in
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Page 4
the Fish and Game Preservation Fund) in 2015-16 to DOJ to pay
the settlement in Kevin Marilley, et al. v. California
Department of Fish and Game.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 8/24/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Mark McKenzie / APPR. / (916) 651-4101
9/8/15 14:55:37
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