BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 285| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 285 Author: Gallagher (R) Amended: 7/2/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/14/15 AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/26/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Professions and vocations: registration SOURCE: California Association of Legal Document Assistants DIGEST: This bill, until January 1, 2021, repeals all secondary county registration requirements for unlawful detainer assistants (UDAs) and legal document assistants (LDAs), establishes a 15-hour continuing legal education requirement for UDA and LDA registration and renewal, provides additional oral and written client disclosures, and provides that the venue for any disputes involving a UDA or LDA would be in the county of the client's primary residence. This bill also authorizes a county clerk to assign the same registration number to a UDA, LDA, process server, and professional copier renewing his or her registration as long as the registration has not lapsed for three or more years. ANALYSIS: AB 285 Page 2 Existing law: 1) Prescribes registration, business practices, client disclosures, and education requirements for LDAs and UDAs. 2) Defines an LDA as a person, corporation, partnership, association, or other entity that employs or contracts with any person, unless otherwise exempt, who provides or assists in providing, for compensation, any self-help service to another person who is self-represented in a legal matter. 3) Prohibits LDAs from providing any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a client about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms, or strategies. 4) Defines a UDA to mean an individual who, for compensation, renders assistance or advice in the prosecution or defense of an unlawful detainer claim or action. 5) Requires UDAs and LDAs to be registered with the county clerk in the county in which their principal place of business is located and in any other county in which they perform acts for which registration is required. 6) Requires an LDA or UDA applicant to provide specified information, including his or her name, age, address, telephone number, felony and misdemeanor convictions, and liability in civil actions, and requires the county clerk to retain the registration application for three years following the expiration date of the application. 7) Requires LDA or UDA applicants to pay a $175 fee to the county clerk at the time he or she files an application for initial registration, including a primary or secondary registration or renewal of registration, and requires the LDA or UDA registration applicant to include with the registration application a $25,000 bond (for individuals) or, if the applicant is a partnership or corporation, a bond for $25,000 for one to four LDAs or UDAs, $50,000 for five to nine assistants, or $100,000 for 10 or more assistants. 8) Makes a certificate of registration effective for two AB 285 Page 3 years, until the date the bond expires, or until the total number of LDAs and UDAs employed by a partnership or corporation exceeds the number allowed for the amount of the bond in effect, whichever occurs first. 9) Requires the county clerk to maintain a register of LDAs, and a register of UDAs, assign a unique number to each LDA, or UDA, and issue an identification card to each one; upon renewal of registration, the same number is assigned, provided there is no lapse in the period of registration. 10) Requires a registered LDA or UDA to include his or her name, business address, telephone number, registration number, and county of registration in any solicitation or advertisement, and on any papers or documents prepared or used by the registrant, including, but not limited to, contracts, letterhead, business cards, correspondence, documents, forms, claims, petitions, checks, receipts, money orders, and pleadings. 11) Requires the registrant's name, business address, telephone number, registration number, expiration date of the registration, and county of registration to appear on the written contract required to be provided to a client, as well as on any Internet Web site maintained by the registrant, and in any solicitation, advertisement, document, or correspondence prepared or used by the registrant in electronic form. 12) Requires every LDA or UDA who enters into a contract or agreement with a client to provide services, prior to providing any services, to provide the client with a written contract containing specified provisions. 13) Specifies that the failure of an LDA or UDA to provide the required contract information makes the contract or agreement for services voidable at the option of the client; upon the voiding of the contract, the LDA or UDA is required to immediately return in full any fees paid by the client. 14) Provides the client the right to rescind the contract within 24 hours of the signing of the contract, and the client may cancel the contract by giving the LDA or the UDA any written statement to the effect that the contract is AB 285 Page 4 canceled. 15) Makes it unlawful for any LDA or UDA, in the first in-person or telephonic solicitation of a prospective client of legal document or unlawful detainer assistant services, to enter into a contract or agreement for services or accept any compensation unless the LDA or UDA states orally, clearly, affirmatively and expressly, specified information. 16) Makes it unlawful, if the first contact between an LDA or UDA and a prospective client is initiated by the prospective client, for the LDA or UDA to enter into a contract or agreement for services or accept any compensation unless the LDA or UDA states orally, clearly, affirmatively and expressly, during that first contact, and before offering any contract or agreement for services to the prospective client, specified information. 17) Prescribes registration and registration renewal requirements for process servers, and defines a process server as any natural person that makes, for compensation, more than 10 services of process in California during a calendar year, and any corporation that derives compensation from service of process within California. 18) Prescribes registration and registration renewal requirements for professional photocopiers, and defines a professional photocopier to mean any person who, for compensation, obtains or reproduces documents pertaining to personal medical information, personal identifying information, or business records. 19) Requires process servers and professional photocopiers to register with the county clerk of the county in which they reside or have a principal place of business. 20) Requires the county clerk to retain a certificate of registration of a process server for a period of three years following the expiration date of the certificate or retain an application for registration of a professional photocopier for three years following the expiration date of the application. This bill: AB 285 Page 5 1) Repeals the requirement for an LDA or UDA to also register in any other county in which he or she performs acts for which registration is required (secondary registration), make conforming changes in several code sections, and, require the LDA or UDA to register in any county in which he or she maintains a branch office. 2) Requires the registrant, to be eligible to renew registration, to complete 15 hours of continuing legal education courses, as specified, during the two-year period preceding renewal. 3) Repeals the requirement that the application for registration indicate whether the registration was primary or secondary, and, instead, requires an application for renewal of registration to include a statement by the applicant that he or she has completed the 15-hour legal education courses prescribed under this bill. 4) Requires a registered LDA or UDA to provide his or her name, business address, telephone number, registration, and county of registration in on any printed papers or documents prepared or used by the registrant, but no longer requires the expiration date of the registration to be provided in any solicitation or advertisement, or on any printed papers or documents. 5) Requires the venue for an action arising out of a dispute between an LDA or UDA and his or her client to be the county in which the client has his or her primary residence, and requires a written contract entered into on or after January 1, 2016, between an LDA or UDA and a client to contain a statement that the venue for an action arising out of a dispute between an LDA or UDA and his or her client shall be the county in which the client has his or her primary residence. 6) Makes it unlawful for any LDA or UDA, in the first contact with a prospective client, to enter into a contract or agreement for services or accept any compensation unless the LDA or UDA orally states to the prospective client specified information, including the county in which the LDA or UDA is registered and his or her registration number and expiration AB 285 Page 6 date of the registration. 7) Makes it unlawful for an LDA or UDA, after he or she makes the required oral consumer notification statements, to enter into a contract or agreement for services or accept any compensation unless the LDA or UDA also provides the client with a written notice to consumer, and requires the LDA or UDA to ask the prospective client to sign and date the notice. 8) Requires, if the first contact between the LDA or UDA and the client is not in person, the written notice to consumer to be provided to the prospective client at the first in person meeting or mailed to the prospective client before entering into a contract or agreement for services or accepting any compensation. 9) Requires the LDA's or UDA's notice to consumer and written contract entered into between an LDA or UDA and a client to include the contact information of the County Clerk's office where the LDA or UDA is registered, including the address, phone number, and Internet Web site, if available. 10) Makes the LDA or UDA responsible for translating the notice to consumer into the language principally used in any oral sales presentation or negotiation. 11) Makes the above provisions regarding LDAs and UDAs effective only until January 1, 2021, unless a later enacted statute is enacted before that date to delete or extend that sunset. 12) Authorizes the county clerk to assign the same registration number upon renewal of LDA, UDA, process service, and professional photocopier registration, provided the applicant is renewing registration in the same county in which he or she was previously registered and there is no lapse of three or more years in the period of registration. Background LDAs and UDAs provide, for compensation, self-help assistance to members of the public who are representing themselves in legal matters. LDAs and UDAs are prohibited from providing legal AB 285 Page 7 advice or opinion, but they are permitted to prepare legal documents; provide attorney-authored general information and published legal documents; and file and serve documents at the direction of the client. LDAs and UDAs are subject to comprehensive registration, bonding, and business practice requirements to ensure that clients are protected from unscrupulous legal document preparers. LDAs and UDAs are required to register in the county of their primary place of business (primary registration) and in each additional county in which they provide services (secondary registration). County clerks are responsible for reviewing the applications of and registering LDAs and UDAs. Among their duties, clerks are responsible for ensuring that registrants receive identification cards and comply with the prerequisites for registration. Clerks are also responsible for maintaining a register, assigning a number, and issuing identification cards to process servers (individuals who serve legal documents) and professional photocopiers (services that receive or copy personal medical information, personal identifying information, or business records, including legal documents). This bill repeals the secondary county registration requirements of LDAs and UDAs and requires additional education and client disclosures. This bill also authorizes county clerks to assign the same registration number to LDAs, UDAs, process servers, and professional photocopiers if the registration has not lapsed for three or more years. Comments The author writes: AB 285 brings common-sense changes to the registration requirements of Legal Document Assistants to modernize the profession and bring it in line with similar businesses and professions. Legal Document Assistants are key providers of crucial legal services to underserved populations. It is important to make these changes to clear up unnecessary and onerous requirements, while leaving crucial consumer protections in place. Prior Legislation AB 285 Page 8 AB 620 (Perez, Chapter 458, Statutes of 2009) provided county clerks with flexibility to issue identification cards that take advantage of new security features, and clarified rules pertaining to identification cards for corporations and partnerships of legal document assistants, unlawful detainer assistants, process servers, and professional photocopiers. It also required that applications for professional photocopiers be signed under penalty of perjury, as is already required for related professions. AB 935 (Committee on Business & Professions, Chapter 402, Statutes of 2007), among other things, established a three-year retention period for applications and certificates of registration of process servers, professional copiers, unlawful detainer assistants, and legal document assistants filed with the county clerk. AB 1698 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 1018, Statutes of 2002) repealed the legal document assistant pilot program regulations and replaced it with a permanent and more comprehensive set of regulations. SB 1418 (Rosenthal, Chapter 1079, Statutes of 1998) established a four-year pilot project regulating the business and registration of legal document assistants, with a sunset date of January 1, 2003. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified8/17/15) California Association of Legal Document Assistants (source) A Legal Bridge A People's Choice Affordable Wills & Trusts ASAP Legal, Inc. California Document Preparers Judicial Self-Help Center Quality Document Preparation Center National Federation of Independent Business Responsive Law Center AB 285 Page 9 Siskiyou Legal Document Services 33 Individuals OPPOSITION: (Verified8/17/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/26/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, 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, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, 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 NO VOTE RECORDED: Bloom, Chávez, Harper, Mathis Prepared by:Tara Welch / JUD. / (916) 651-4113 8/18/15 17:19:42 **** END ****