BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2394|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2394
Author: Brownley (D)
Amended: 6/14/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 8/2/10
AYES: Kehoe, Ashburn, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno, Price,
Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alquist, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/20/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Civil process and notices: ministerial
officers
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Levying Officer
Electronic Transactions Act, whereby a levying officer
could use electronic methods to create, generate, send,
receive, store, display, retrieve, or process information,
electronic records, and documents, as specified. This bill
authorizes an earnings withholding order to be served by
first class mail rather than certified mail on an employer.
This provision requires the employer to execute the
CONTINUED
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"employer's return" form within 15 days of receipt of the
first class mail service. This bill also makes clarifying
amendments to various provisions of the Code of Civil
Procedure as it pertains to levying officers and execution
of writs for the enforcement of money judgments. This bill
also makes technical revisions regarding the provision for
the issuance of a warrant for failure to appear pursuant to
a subpoena.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the California Uniform
Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), provides rules and
procedures for the sending and receiving of electronic
records and signatures, the formation of contracts using
electronic records, and procedures governing changes and
errors in electronically transmitted records. The UETA
applies to all transactions in which records or signatures
are electronically transmitted by parties who have agreed
to conduct the transaction electronically. (Section
1633.1, et seq. of the Civil Code)
This bill establishes the Levying Officer Electronic
Transactions Act (LOETA) and provide rules and procedures,
as specified, for levying officers in the utilization of an
information processing system to create, generate, send,
receive, store, display, retrieve, or process information,
electronic records, and documents to the extent the levying
officer has the resources and technological capacity to do
so.
This bill provides an "opt-in" provision requiring both the
court and the levying officer to have the technological
resources with which to administer the information
processing system and mutually agree to electronically
process the documents specified in this Act.
This bill requires levying officers to exclude or redact,
as specified, from any record or document made available to
the public all social security and financial account
numbers.
Existing law, the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of
2004, provides rules and regulations of electronic
recording of documents pertaining to reconveyance,
substitution of trustee, or an assignment of deed of trust.
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(Section 27390, et seq. of the Government Code)
This bill authorizes levying officers, pursuant to an
execution order pertaining to the sale of real property, to
electronically record the deeds and conveyances.
Existing law provides for requirements for the direction or
instructions by the levying party for the execution of
process by the levying officer. (Sections 262, 687.010,
and 699.060 of the Code of Civil Procedure [CCP])
This bill makes technical revisions to these provisions and
authorize the levying party to electronically transmit to
the levying officer the written instructions for the
execution of process.
Existing law provides a list of information that must be
included on a writ of execution or writ of possession or
sale. (CCP Sections 699.510, 699.520, and 712.020)
This bill adds to this list (1) if the judgment debtor is
not a natural person, the type of legal entity must be
stated on the writ of execution, and (2) a statement
indicating whether the case from which the writ of
execution stems is limited or unlimited.
Existing law requires the levying officer to return the
original writ of execution to the court along with a report
detailing the actions taken by the levying officer, the
amounts collected pursuant to the writ, and the costs
incurred.
This bill provides that the levying officer can either
return the original writ to the court or store the writ as
specified under the LOETA and file the report separately
with the court.
Existing law requires the levying officer to attach the
original garnishee's memorandum to the original writ of
execution for return to the court and deliver a copy to the
judgment creditor, unless no memorandum was received which
information shall be conveyed to the court. (CCP Section
701.030(c))
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This bill removes the requirements to attach the original
garnishee's memorandum to the original writ for return to
the court or advise the court of the absence of the
garnishee's memorandum.
This bill authorizes the employer to electronically
transmit the garnishee's memorandum to the levying officer.
Existing law requires the levying officer, upon sale of
real property, to execute and deliver a deed of sale to the
purchaser and record a duplicate deed of sale with the
county recorder. (CCP Section 701.660)
This bill adds the requirement that the levying officer
collect the documentary transfer tax with the purchase
amount from the purchaser and transmit the documentary
transfer tax to the county or city and county.
Existing law requires a levying officer at least once every
two years to account to the court all amounts collected
under an earnings withholding order. (CCP Section 706.026)
This bill authorizes the levying officer to electronically
file the accounting with the court, as specified.
Existing law requires the service of an earnings
withholding order on an employer to be delivered by
personal delivery, as specified, or by registered or
certified mail with return receipt requested. Service
would be deemed completed at the time the return receipt is
executed by or on behalf of the recipient. (CCP Section
706.101(b))
Existing law requires an employer receiving an earnings
withholding order to complete under oath and return within
15 days a Judicial Council form indicating information
about the garnishee/employee, as specified. This form is
referred to as the "employer's return." (CCP Sections
706.125 and 706.126)
This bill authorizes the levying officer to serve the
earnings withholding order on an employer by first class
mail. Service would be complete at the time of the receipt
of the withholding order as indicated by the employer on
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the employer's return. If the employer's return is not
returned by the employer within 15 days, the levying
officer must personally serve the earnings withholding
order on the employer.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Authorizes electronic Potentially significant
savings, if adopted Local
transmittal
Mandates: levying officers Negligible; unlikely to be
reimbursable General
Potential net savings
Local/General
Modifies notice delivery Likely substantial ongoing
savings Local
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (source)
California Law Enforcement Association of Records
Supervisors
California State Sheriffs' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes:
"[Existing law] [g]enerally requires that certain
documents and records relating to service of process and
notices be in writing, and, when required to be served on
a party, must be served by personal delivery or by
certified mail in some cases.
"This bill seeks to make more efficient Sheriff's
Departments in regards to their Civil Law Enforcement
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operations. This bill seeks to allow the Sheriff and
Courts to work together to streamline civil process
operations and bring [these operations] more into line
with technology available. [T]his bill would provide a
cost saving by allowing the sheriff to serve Earnings
Withholdings Orders (EWO) by first class mail rather than
by certified mail. It typically costs $5.88 to serve
[an] EWO by certified mail, of which $2.20 is charged by
the post office for a return receipt. By contrast [it]
costs just $0.73 to send the same EWO by first class
mail. This alone would save an estimated $500,000 to the
LA County Sheriff alone."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: De La Torre, Evans, Fletcher, Harkey,
Nava, Villines, John A. Perez, Vacancy
RJG:mw 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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