BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 387|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 387
Author: Jackson (D)
Amended: 9/4/15
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/12/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez,
Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu,
McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell,
Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak,
Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 9/10/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: State Bar: attorneys: annual membership fees:
meetings: public records
SOURCE: State Bar of California
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the State Bar of California to
collect active membership dues of up to $390 for the year 2016.
This bill also requires the State Bar to develop and implement a
specified workforce plan for its discipline system, conduct a
public sector compensation and benefits study, and conduct a
thorough analysis of its operating costs and develop a spending
plan to determine a reasonable amount for the annual membership
fee, as specified, and requires the State Bar to contract with
the California State Auditor's Office to conduct an in-depth
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Page 2
financial audit of the State Bar. The bill also makes the State
Bar subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the
California Public Records Act, as specified.
Assembly Amendments require the State Bar to implement a
workforce plan, conduct a compensation and benefits study,
develop a spending plan, contract with the State Auditor for an
in-depth fiscal audit, and make the State Bar subject to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the California Public Records
Act.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires all attorneys who practice law in California to be
members of the State Bar and establishes the State Bar for the
purpose of regulating the legal profession. Pursuant to the
State Bar Act, the annual mandatory membership fee set by the
State Bar's Board of Trustees to pay for discipline and other
functions must be ratified by the Legislature.
2)Authorizes the State Bar to collect $315 in annual membership
fees from active members for a total annual dues bill of $390
for the year 2015. The other $75 is pursuant to statutory
authorization to assess annually the following fees: $40 for
the Client Security Fund; $25 for disciplinary; and $10 to
fund the Lawyer Assistance Program.
3)Authorizes the State Bar to collect $75 in annual membership
fees from inactive members for a total annual dues bill of
$115 for the year 2015. The other $40 is pursuant to
statutory authorization to assess annually the following fees:
$10 for the Client Security Fund; $25 for disciplinary
activities; and $5 to fund the Lawyer Assistance Program.
4)Authorizes the State Bar to increase the annual membership
fees by an additional $40, to be allocated only for purposes
of providing voluntary support for nonprofit organizations
that provide free legal services to persons of limited means.
Members have the option of deducting the $40 from the annual
membership fee if they elect not to have the amount allocated
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for the purposes of legal services.
5)Provides, under the California Public Records Act, that all
records maintained by local and state governmental agencies
are open to public inspection unless specifically exempt.
6)Requires, under the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, that all
meetings of a state body be open and public, but excludes the
Judicial Branch from the Act. Requires the State Bar's Board
of Trustees to ensure that its meetings are consistent with,
and conform to, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
This bill:
1)Authorizes the State Bar to collect active membership dues of
up to $390 for the year 2016.
2)Clarifies that information contained in the State Bar's Annual
Discipline Report must include all matters affecting public
protection, including specified discipline cases and both
average and median case processing times.
3)Requires the State Bar to develop and implement a workplace
plan for its discipline system and conduct a public sector
compensation and benefits study, including a recommendation
for an appropriate backlog goal and an assessment of staffing
needed to achieve that goal. Requires the State Bar to
conduct a thorough analysis of its operating costs and develop
a spending plan to determine a reasonable amount for its
annual dues. Requires that the workforce plan and the
spending plan be submitted to the Legislature by May 15, 2016,
and be implemented by December 31, 2016.
4)Requires the State Bar's Board of Trustees to contract with
the California State Auditor to conduct a financial audit of
the State Bar, including an audit of its financial statement,
internal controls and practices, and requires that the audit
be submitted to the Board, the Chief Justice of the California
Supreme Court, and the Assembly and Senate Judiciary
Committees by May 15, 2016.
5)Subjects the State Bar to the California Public Records Act,
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with specified exceptions. Provides that identifying
information submitted by applicants to the State Bar for
admission to practice law and State Bar admissions records, as
specified, are confidential and may not be disclosed pursuant
to any state law including the California Public Records Act.
6)Subjects, effective April 1, 2016, the State Bar to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, as provided, with exemptions
for the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission and the
Committee of Bar Examiners
.
Background
The State Bar of California is a public corporation. Attorneys
who wish to practice law in California generally must be
admitted and licensed in this state and must be a member of the
State Bar. (Cal. Const., art. VI, Sec. 9.) The State Bar of
California is the largest state bar in the country. As of May
2015, the State Bar had 183,978 active members and 55,240
inactive members, which represents a slight annual increase in
both active members and inactive members. Total State Bar
membership is listed at 253,208, which includes 2,149 judge
members and 11,840 members who are "Not Eligible to Practice
Law."
The State Bar's programs are financed mostly by annual
membership dues paid by attorneys as well as other fees paid by
applicants seeking to practice law.
Comments
The author writes, "SB 387 seeks to authorize the State Bar of
California to collect membership dues for 2016. The State Bar's
current authority to collect membership dues sunsets on January
1, 2016." The author further notes that the annual bar dues
bill is the vehicle by which the Legislature performs its
historic oversight function of the State Bar.
Prior Legislation
Previous legislation on State Bar membership dues:
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AB 2746 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 429, Statutes of 2014)
SB 345 (Evans, Chapter 681, Statutes of 2013)
AB 2685 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 348, Statutes of 2012)
SB 163 (Evans, Chapter 417, Statutes of 2011)
AB 2764 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 476, Statutes of 2010)
SB 55 (Corbett, Chapter 2, Statutes of 2010)
SB 641 (Corbett, 2009) was vetoed by the Governor.
AB 3049 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 165, Statutes of 2008)
SB 686 (Corbett, Chapter 474, Statutes of 2007)
AB 1529 (Jones, Chapter 341, Statutes of 2005)
AB 145 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 75, Statutes of 2005)
SB 1490 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 384, Statutes of 2004)
AB 1708 (Committee on Judiciary, Chapter 334, Statutes of 2003)
SB 352 (Kuehl, Chapter 24, Statutes of 2001)
SB 1367 (Schiff, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2000)
SB 144 (Schiff, Chapter 342, Statutes of 1999)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the State
Auditor will incur one-time costs of around $275,000 for the
audit, to be reimbursed by the State Bar.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/9/15)
State Bar of California (source)
Service Employees International Union
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/9/15)
Center for Public Interest Law
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 9/10/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, 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, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by: Benjamin Palmer / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
9/10/15 23:28:11
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