BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1028|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1028
Author: Bonta (D)
Amended: 5/13/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 7/7/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/2/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Judicial officers: oaths and affirmations
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill permits a former judge or justice who is
retired by the Supreme Court for disability to administer oaths
and affirmations, if certified by the Commission on Judicial
Performance (CJP). This bill also permits former judges and
justices certified before January 1, 2016, to continue to
administer oaths and affirmations until January 1, 2017, before
needing to reapply for certification pursuant to these
provisions.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that every executive and judicial officer and every
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Member of the Legislature may administer and certify oaths.
2)Provides that every court, every judge, or clerk of any court,
every justice, and every notary public, and every officer or
person authorized to take testimony in any action or
proceeding, or to decide upon evidence, has the power to
administer oaths or affirmations.
3)Provides that a former judge or justice of a court in this
state who retired or resigned from office, other than a judge
who was retired by the Supreme Court for disability, may
administer oaths or affirmations, if the judge or justice
requests and receives a certification from the CJP that there
was no formal disciplinary proceeding pending at the time of
retirement or resignation.
This bill:
1)Provides that a former judge or justice of a court in this
state who retired or resigned from office shall have the power
to administer oaths and affirmations, if both of the following
conditions are met: (a) the former judge or justice requests
and receives a certification from the CJP; and (b) a formal
disciplinary proceeding was not pending at the time of the
retirement or resignation.
2)Provides that a former judge or justice of a court of record
in this state who retired or resigned from office may apply to
the CJP to receive a certification to administer oaths and
affirmations, and, requires the CJP to supply the required
forms to an applicant upon request.
3)Requires a certification application to be accompanied by a
medical certification, and, if an applicant's medical
certification indicates that the applicant does not have a
medical condition that would impair his or her ability to
administer oaths and affirmations, would require the CJP to
issue a certification to the applicant to administer oaths and
affirmations. A certification is valid for a period of five
years from the date of issuance, as specified.
4)Provides that, if an applicant's medical certification
indicates that the applicant has a medical condition that may
impair his or her ability to administer oaths and
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affirmations, but does not do so at the time the medical
certification is submitted with the application, the CJP must
issue a certification to administer oaths and affirmation, but
the certification shall only be valid for a period of two
years from the date of issuance.
5)Provides that a former judge or justice of a court of record
who received a certification from the CJP before January 1,
2016, to administer oaths and affirmations may continue to
exercise this power until January 1, 2017, at which time he or
she shall reapply for certification.
6)Allows the CJP to charge a regulatory fee not to exceed $15
for each submitted certification application to cover its
costs, including costs to review the medical certification.
7)Provides that a law, rule, or regulation regarding the
confidentiality of proceedings of the CJP shall not be
construed to prohibit the CJP from issuing a certificate.
Background
Under existing law, every court, judge, justice, and clerk has
the power to administer oaths or affirmations. With respect to
former judges or justices of a court who have retired from
office, those individuals can administer oaths or affirmation if
the former judge or justice requests, and, the CJP certifies
that there was no formal disciplinary proceeding pending at the
time of retirement or resignation. In that case, the CJP is
required to issue the certification.
However, existing law does not allow a judge or justice who was
retired by the Supreme Court for disability to similarly be
certified to administer oaths or affirmations. As there are
different ways in which a judge or justice may retire for
disability, the Attorney General's December 20, 2012, opinion
No. 10-804 concludes:
[A] judge who has voluntarily retired for disability with the
approval of the Commission on Judicial Performance and the
Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court may not be
certified to administer oaths under Code of Civil Procedure
section 2093(c) and Government Code section 1225. However,
pursuant to a separate statutory scheme, a judge who has
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voluntarily retired for disability, but who is later found by
the Commission on Judicial Performance to be capable of
judicial service and is assigned to a court by the Chair of
the Judicial Council, may administer oaths while sitting on
assignment.
In order to provide greater flexibility for retired judges and
justices to administer oaths and affirmations, this bill allows
all retired judges and justices to administer oaths (including
those who retired for disability), if the judge or justice
submits an application for certification and a medical
certification, as specified.
Comments
As stated by the author:
In the 70's and 80's there was abuse of the judges' disability
retirement system. Two particular cases led to a backlash in
the Legislature. An L.A. judge lost re-election based on his
reputation as an absentee judge. Before his term expired, he
retired on disability and collected a pension. Another judge
convicted of a crime of moral turpitude retired for disability
and collected his pension while in prison. These cases led
the Legislature to revoke benefits and privileges entitled to
judges retired by disability. []
In 1986, SB 1789 (Davis) allowed retired judges to administer
oaths and affirmations but excluded judges retired from
disability. The bill was sourced from former judges who wished
to continue to administer oaths and affirmations. []
Proposition 190 was passed by the voters in 1994, approving
more than a dozen significant changes to the commission. In
addition to mandating open hearings in all cases involving
formal charges, the amendment conferred the authority for
censure and removal determinations upon the commission, rather
than the Supreme Court, and transferred the authority for
promulgating rules governing the [CJP] from the Judicial
Council to the [CJP]. The membership of the [CJP] was
increased to eleven members and its composition changed to
three judges, two lawyers and six citizens. []
The changes made to oversight of judges by Proposition 190, as
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well as earlier ballot initiatives, made the earlier action by
the Legislature to revoke the entitlements of judges retired
by disability unnecessary. In 1999 Senator Perata and the
Judicial Council cooperated on SB 976 which restored some of
these benefits and privileges. However, the bill did not
allow former judges retired from disability to administer
oaths and affirmations.
This bill would permit a former judge or justice who is
retired by the Supreme Court for disability to administer
oaths and affirmations, if certified by the [CJP].
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
California Judges Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/2/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
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,
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,
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Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Grove
Prepared by:Benjamin Palmer / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/18/15 16:54:22
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