BILL NUMBER: SCR 13 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Morrow
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 13--Relative to the California
Law Revision Commission.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 13, as introduced, Morrow. California Law Revision
Commission: studies.
Under existing law, the California Law Revision Commission is
required to study, and is limited to studying, those topics approved
for its study by concurrent resolution of the Legislature.
This measure would grant approval to the commission to continue
its study of designated topics that the Legislature previously
authorized or directed the commission to study. The measure would
also delete one topic that the Legislature previously approved for
study by the commission and would authorize the study of one new
topic.
Fiscal committee: yes.
WHEREAS, The California Law Revision Commission is authorized to
study only topics set forth in the calendar contained in its report
to the Governor and the Legislature that are thereafter approved for
study by concurrent resolution of the Legislature, and topics that
have been referred to the commission for study by concurrent
resolution of the Legislature; and
WHEREAS, The commission, in its annual report covering its
activities for 2000 and 2001, recommends continued study or
modification of 19 topics, all of which the Legislature has
previously authorized or directed the commission to study; and
WHEREAS, The commission, in its annual report covering its
activities for 2000 and 2001, recommends removal of one topic, which
the Legislature has previously authorized or directed the commission
to study and which the commission either has completed study of or
found to be no longer appropriate for commission study; and
WHEREAS, The commission, in its annual report covering its
activities for 2000 and 2001, recommends addition of one new topic to
its calendar; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature approves for continued study
by the California Law Revision Commission the topics listed below,
all of which the Legislature has previously authorized or directed
the commission to study, as modified:
(1) Whether the law should be revised that relates to creditors'
remedies, including, but not limited to, attachment, garnishment,
execution, repossession of property (including the claim and delivery
statute, self-help repossession of property, and the Commercial Code
provisions on repossession of property), confession of judgment
procedures, default judgment procedures, enforcement of judgments,
the right of redemption, procedures under private power of sale in a
trust deed or mortgage, possessory and nonpossessory liens,
insolvency, and related matters;
(2) Whether the California Probate Code should be revised,
including, but not limited to, the issue of whether California should
adopt, in whole or in part, the Uniform Probate Code, and related
matters;
(3) Whether the law should be revised that relates to real and
personal property including, but not limited to, a marketable title
act, covenants, servitudes, conditions, and restrictions on land use
or relating to land, powers of termination, escheat of property and
the disposition of unclaimed or abandoned property, eminent domain,
quiet title actions, abandonment or vacation of public streets and
highways, partition, rights and duties attendant upon assignment,
subletting, termination, or abandonment of a lease and related
matters:
(4) Whether the law should be revised that relates to family law,
including, but not limited to, community property, the adjudication
of child and family civil proceedings, child custody, adoption,
guardianship, freedom from parental custody and control, and related
matters, including other subjects covered by the Family Code;
(5) Whether the law relating to offers of compromise should be
revised;
(6) Whether the law relating to discovery in civil cases should be
revised;
(7) Whether the acts governing special assessments for public
improvement should be simplified and unified;
(8) Whether the law relating to the rights and disabilities of
minors and incompetent persons should be revised;
(9) Whether the Evidence Code should be revised;
(10) Whether the law relating to arbitration, mediation, and other
alternative dispute resolution techniques should be revised;
(11) Whether there should be changes to administrative law;
(12) Whether the law relating to the payment and the shifting of
attorney's fees between litigants should be revised;
(13) Whether the Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act,
or parts of that uniform act, and related provisions should be
adopted in California;
(14) Recommendations to be reported pertaining to statutory
changes that may be necessitated by court unification;
(15) Whether the law of contracts should be revised, including the
law relating to the effect of electronic communications on the law
governing contract formation, the statute of frauds, the parol
evidence rule, and related matters;
(16) Whether the law governing common interest housing
developments should be revised to clarify the law, eliminate
unnecessary or obsolete provisions, consolidate existing statutes in
one place in the codes, establish a clear, consistent, and unified
policy with regard to formation and management of these developments
and transaction of real property interests located within them, and
to determine to what extent they should be subject to regulation;
(17) Whether the statutes of limitation for legal malpractice
actions should be revised to recognize equitable tolling or other
adjustment for the circumstances of simultaneous litigation, and
related matters;
(18) Whether the law governing disclosure of public records and
the law governing protection of privacy in public records should be
revised to better coordinate them, including consolidation and
clarification of the scope of required disclosure and creation of a
single set of disclosure procedures, to provide appropriate
enforcement mechanisms, and to ensure that the law governing
disclosure of public records adequately treats electronic
information, and related matters;
(19) Whether the law governing criminal sentencing should be
revised, nonsubstantively, to reorganize and clarify the sentencing
procedure statutes in order to make them more logical and
understandable; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature approves removal of the topic
listed below from the calendar of the California Law Revision
Commission:
Whether the laws within various codes relating to environmental
quality and natural resources should be reorganized in order to
simplify and consolidate relevant statutes, resolve inconsistencies
between the statutes, and eliminate obsolete and unnecessarily
duplicative statutes; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature approves for study the California
Law Revision Commission the new topic listed below:
Whether the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with
Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code) and the Mitigation
Fee Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66000) Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 66010), Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
66012), Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 66016), and Chapter 9
(commencing with Section 66020) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the
Government Code) should be revised to improve their organization,
resolve inconsistencies, fill gaps, clarify and rationalize
provisions, codify accepted practices and procedures, and related
matters; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit a copy of this
resolution to the California Law Revision Commission.