BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2085
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Jacqui Irwin, Chair
AB 2085
(Irwin) - As Amended April 4, 2016
SUBJECT: Military and veterans: legal aid
SUMMARY: Creates the Office of Military Legal Assistance within
the Military Department upon appropriation by the Legislature.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires 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.
2)Authorizes 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.
3)Makes these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2022, and would
repeal them as of January 1, 2023.
AB 2085
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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.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW: Each armed service of the United States
has a legal assistance program with a governing regulation
promulgated by the service.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: According to the author:
Attorneys in California are needed to assist active duty
servicemembers and reservists with legal matters. Military
personnel are often presented with legal challenges due to the
requirements of their service, such as frequent relocation,
interrupted employment, financial need, and strain on family
life, among others.
While some legal services are provided to servicemembers
through their respective service's Judge Advocates General
(JAG), there is a gap in service for a variety of legal
issues, particularly in civil law, because JAGs are prohibited
from representing servicemembers in civilian court in almost
all cases. The primary legal areas with which servicemembers
require assistance include the Uniformed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief
Act, family law, consumer fraud, property and landlord issues,
naturalization and immigration, creditor and debtor issues,
AB 2085
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and predatory lending.
Army Regulation AR 27-3 is a good example of the governing
military legal assistance program regulation. AR 27-3 states in
pertinent part:
The mission of the legal assistance program is to assist those
eligible for legal assistance with their personal legal
affairs in a timely and professional manner by -
(1) Meeting their needs for information on personal legal
matters.
(2) Resolving their personal legal problems whenever
possible. ?
The mission of the legal assistance program is based on the
following military needs:
(1) Readiness. Because Active Army and RC soldiers and
emergency-essential DOD civilian employees must be prepared
for immediate mobilization and deployment, their personal
legal affairs must be in order at all times. ... Possessing
the capability to deliver legal assistance on short notice
to great numbers during a brief period of time is essential
to readiness.
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(2) Morale. Fostering the high morale of soldiers and their
families is an important aspect of readiness. High morale
is enhanced by providing soldiers and their families
information, advice, and assistance responsive to their
personal legal needs and problems.
(3) Discipline. Personal legal difficulties may cause low
morale and disciplinary problems and may adversely affect
combat readiness. Prompt legal assistance in resolving
these difficulties is an effective preventive law measure.
(4) Quality force. Providing legal assistance is part of
the Army's ongoing effort to maintain a quality of life
that will attract quality people. The Army must take care
of its own if it is to recruit and retain a quality force.
Under 27-3 legal assistance may be provided for: Ministerial
services, legal counseling, legal correspondence, legal
negotiation, legal document preparation, legal document filing,
and pro se assistance. However, the regulation authorizes in
court representation of clients only in very limited
circumstances. Thus, in civilian court, it is very unlikely
that a military member will have JAG representation.
Related Legislation: In 2015, Nevada enacted SB 60, similar
legislation to this bill, which created the Office of Military
Legal Assistance in the Nevada Attorney General's Office.
AB 2085
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on File.
Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared by:John Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-3550