BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1502
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1502 (Eng)
As Amended June 16, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(January 27, |SENATE: |34-0 |(July 1, 2010) |
| | |2010) | | | |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |8-0 |(August 10, 2010) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| | | | | |
|(Judiciary) | | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : 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.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and
instead:
1)Authorize the county counsel of the county where a nuisance is
located to bring an action for specified nuisances.
2)Make conforming changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)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.
2)Additionally states that every building or place used for the
purpose of unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping
AB 1502
Page 2
manufacturing, or giving away any controlled substance, as
specified, and every building or place where those acts take
place, is a nuisance.
3)Further provides that every building or place used for the
purpose of illegal gambling, lewdness, assignation, prostitution,
or counterfeiting is a nuisance.
4)Generally authorizes a district attorney or city attorney to
bring an action to abate the above nuisances within their
respective jurisdictions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill dealt with drivers' licenses.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : 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 simply additionally add a county counsel to the list of
persons who can bring nuisance abatement and prevention actions
under specified circumstances.
Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0005807