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 bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, create the Office of Military Legal Assistance within the Military Department. The bill would require the 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.
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
27Code, to read:
(a) The Office of Military Legal Assistance is hereby
29created in the Military Department. The office shall assist current
30servicemembers in the state who require legal assistance by
31providing access to educational and informational resources and
32by providing referral services to available legal assistance
33programs, including reduced fee services, pro bono services, and
34self-help services.
P3 1(b) Subject to subdivision (a), the office may provide assistance
2in legal areas, including, but not limited to, the federal
3Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the federal Uniformed Services
4Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, consumer protection,
5and landlord-tenant
issues.
6(c) This section shall become effective only upon appropriation
7of funds by the Legislature for the purposes described in this
8section.
9(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2022, and,
10as of January 1, 2023, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
11that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2023, deletes or
12extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
O
97