BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1502|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1502
Author: Eng (D)
Amended: 6/16/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/10/10
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Nuisance abatement: civil action
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the county counsel to bring
a civil action to abate a public nuisance, a controlled
substances nuisance, or a gambling or prostitution
nuisance, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines a nuisance as anything
which is injurious to health, including the illegal sale of
controlled substances, or is indecent or offensive to the
senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so
as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or
property, or unlawfully obstruct the free passage or use,
in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river,
bay stream, canal, or basin of any public park, square,
street, or highway. (Civil Code Section 3479.)
Existing law additionally states that every building or
CONTINUED
AB 1502
Page
2
place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling, serving,
storing, keeping manufacturing, or giving away any
controlled substance, as specified, and every building or
place where those acts take place, is a nuisance. (Health
& Safety Code Section 11571.) Existing law further
provides that every building or place used for the purpose
of illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation, prostitution,
or counterfeiting is a nuisance. (Penal Code Sections
11225-26; Business & Professions Code Section 17800.)
Existing law generally authorizes a district attorney or
city attorney to bring an action to abate the above
nuisances within their respective jurisdictions. (Civil
Code Section 731; Health & Safety Code Section 1157; Penal
Code Section 11226.)
This bill additionally authorizes the county counsel of the
county where nuisance is located to bring an action for
each of the above nuisances. This bill also makes
conforming changes.
Background
Under existing law, a nuisance is defined to mean anything
which is injurious to health or is indecent or offensive to
the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property,
so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life
or property.
Current law also deems certain uses of buildings or places
to be a nuisance and authorizes a district attorney, city
attorney, or any citizen to bring an action to abate and
prevent the nuisance. Such uses include, among other
things, buildings or places used for the purposes of
illegal gambling or prostitution, unlawfully selling,
serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away
any controlled substance, unlawfully selling, serving, or
giving away alcoholic liquor, and manufacturing or
intentionally selling counterfeit goods.
In response to concerns about the burden of the current
nuisance abatement caseload on district attorneys and city
attorneys, and the lack of a city attorney in
unincorporated areas, this bill would additionally permit a
AB 1502
Page
3
county counsel to bring nuisance abatement and prevention
actions under specified circumstances.
Prior Legislation
AB 568 (Lieu), Chapter 453, Statutes of 2009, provides that
every nonresidential building or place used for the purpose
of willfully manufacturing, intentionally selling, or
knowingly possessing for sale any counterfeit goods is a
nuisance which damages may be recovered.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/16/10)
Los Angeles County Sheriffs' Department (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
currently when law enforcement takes action for nuisance
abatement, the District Attorney or City Attorney handles
the adjudication of these cases. The District Attorney
handles only criminal cases, while the City Attorney can
handle both criminal and civil cases. Many times, the
nuisance cases end up being civil cases where a civil
injunction is brought against the offending person. There
are a large number of these civil nuisance cases. This
represents a problem in unincorporated areas where there is
no City Attorney and the District Attorney may not have the
expertise or staff to assign the cases to. The Los Angeles
County Sheriffs' Department, the sponsor states that
enabling the county counsel to bring these cases "will help
to more efficiently and effectively adjudicate the large
number of nuisance abatement cases [thus] making life
better for everyone in the county."
RJG:do 6/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
AB 1502
Page
4