BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2085


                                                                    Page  1





          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          2085 (Irwin)


          As Amended  May 31, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Veterans        |9-0  |Irwin, Chávez,        |                    |
          |Affairs         |     |Achadjian, Alejo,     |                    |
          |                |     |Brown, Daly, Frazier, |                    |
          |                |     |Mathis, Salas         |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Jones, Obernolte,     |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Wagner, Weber, Wood   |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 









                                                                    AB 2085


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          SUMMARY:  Creates the Office of Military Legal Assistance within  
          the Military Department upon appropriation by the Legislature.   
          Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Creates the Office of Military Legal Assistance in the  
            Military Department.   


          2)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.


          3)States that the office may 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.


          4)Predicates the bill's effect on appropriation of funds by the  
            Legislature.


          5)Contains a sunset clause.


          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:  According to the Appropriations Committee:









                                                                    AB 2085


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          Cost in the $800,000 range for eight positions to serve any one  
          of the 175,000 servicemembers in California.  Nevada has an  
          office under its Attorney General to provide service to active  
          members and veterans; it is staffed with two positions to assist  
          16,000 active members and an unknown number of veterans. 


          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, 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 - 








                                                                    AB 2085


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               (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. 


               (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  








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               of its own if it is to recruit and retain a quality force.


          Under AR 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.




          Analysis Prepared by:                     John Spangler / V.A. /  
          (916) 319-3550   FN: 0003081