AB 2085, as amended, Irwin. Military and veterans: legal aid.
Existing law establishes the California Military Department, which includes the Office of the Adjutant General, the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, the California Cadet Corps, and the Naval Militia.
This billbegin delete wouldend deletebegin insert would, upon appropriation by the Legislature,end insert create the Office of Military Legal Assistance within the Military Department. The bill would require thebegin delete Office of Military Legal Assistance to facilitate the delivery of legal assistance programs, pro bono services, and self-help services to current and former military personnel in the state, and to function as a clearinghouse for the coordination of attorneys offering pro bono legal services to military members needing legal representation. The bill would additionally authorize the Military Department to apply for and accept grants, gifts, donations, bequests, and devises on behalf of the Office of Military Legal Assistance, and to deposit those in the Military Legal Assistance Account, established in the California Military Department Support Fund. The bill would provide that the Military Legal Assistance Account is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the Office of Military Legal Assistance.end deletebegin insert
office to assist current servicemembers in the state who require legal assistance by providing access to educational and informational resources and by providing referral services to available legal assistance programs, including reduced fee services, pro bono services, and self-help services. The bill would, subject to the provisions described above, authorize the office to provide assistance in legal areas including, but not limited to, the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, consumer protection, and landlord-tenant issues. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2022, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2023.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares both of the
2following:
3(a) Attorneys in California are needed to assist active duty
4servicemembers and reservists with legal matters. Military
5personnel are often presented with legal challenges due to the
6requirements of their service, such as frequent relocation,
7interrupted employment, financial need, and strain on family life,
8among others.
9(b) While some legal services are provided to servicemembers
10through their respective service’s Judge Advocates General (JAG),
11there is a gap in service for a variety of legal issues, particularly
12in
civil law, because JAGs are prohibited from representing
13servicemembers in civilian court in almost all cases. The primary
14legal areas with which servicemembers require assistance include
15the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
16Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, family law, consumer
17fraud, property and landlord issues, naturalization and immigration,
18creditor and debtor issues, and predatory lending.
Section 51 of the Military and Veterans Code is
20amended to read:
The Military Department includes the office of the Adjutant
22General, the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve,
23the California Cadet Corps, the Naval Militia, and the Office of
24Military Legal Assistance.
Section 59.5 is added to the Military and Veterans
2Code, to read:
(a) The Office of Military Legal Assistance is hereby
4created in the Military Department. Thebegin delete Office of Military Legal begin insert officeend insert shall
5Assistanceend deletebegin delete facilitate the delivery ofend deletebegin insert assist current
6servicemembers in the state who require legal assistance by
7providing access to educational and informational resources and
8by providing referral services to availableend insert legal assistance
9programs,begin insert
including reduced fee services,end insert pro bono services, and
10self-helpbegin delete services to current and former military personnel in the begin insert services.end insert
11state.end delete
12(b) The Office of Military Legal Assistance shall function as a
13clearinghouse for the coordination of attorneys offering pro bono
14legal services to military service members needing legal
15representation.
16(c) The department may apply for and accept grants, gifts,
17donations, bequests, and devises on behalf of the Office of Military
18Legal Assistance, which shall be deposited in the Military Legal
19
Assistance Account, as hereby established in the California Military
20Department Support Fund. Notwithstanding Section 412.5, funds
21in the Military Legal Assistance Account are available, upon
22appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of carrying out
23the functions of the office pursuant to this section.
24
(b) Subject to subdivision (a), the office may provide assistance
25in legal areas, including, but not limited to, the federal
26Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the federal Uniformed Services
27Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, consumer protection,
28and landlord-tenant issues.
29
(c) This section shall become effective only upon appropriation
30of funds by the Legislature for the purposes described in this
31section.
32
(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2022, and,
33as of January 1, 2023, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
34that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2023, deletes or
35extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
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