BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Noreen Evans, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
AB 2690 (Committee on Judiciary)
As Amended April 23, 2012
Hearing Date: July 3, 2012
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
LSF/SK
SUBJECT
Civil Law: Tort Claims
DESCRIPTION
This bill, sponsored by the California Law Revision Commission
(CLRC), would adopt "Government Claims Act" as the short title
for Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of the
Government Code, and replace the reference "Tort Claims Act"
with "Government Claims Act" throughout the codes.
BACKGROUND
Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the
Government Code (Division 3.6), titled "Claims and Actions
Against Public Employees," specifies the rules of civil
liability that apply to public entities and public employees in
California. This division was added to the code in 1963 after
the Legislature assigned CLRC the task of developing a unified
and comprehensive statute on governmental liability and
immunity.
Over time, Division 3.6 has been commonly referred to in the
courts and the codes as the "Tort Claims Act." The term is used
in six different California code sections: the Civil Code, Code
of Civil Procedure, Education Code, Government Code, and Penal
Code. However, the term "Tort Claims Act" is a misnomer, as the
act is not limited to tort claims but also encompasses certain
contract matters.
In City of Stockton v. Superior Court, 42 Cal.4th 730 (2007),
the California Supreme Court adopted the practice of referring
to Division 3.6 as the "Government Claims Act" to avoid the
(more)
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confusion caused by the term "Tort Claims Act." Consistent with
this practice by the Court, CLRC recommends replacing all
references to the "Tort Claims Act" with "Government Claims Act"
throughout the codes, as well as adopting the short title
"Government Claims Act" for Division 3.6.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law creates the California Law Revision Commission.
(Gov. Code Sec. 8280.)
Existing law authorizes the California Law Revision Commission
to study and recommend revisions to correct technical or minor
substantive defects in the statutes without a prior concurrent
resolution of the Legislature referring the matter to the
commission for study. (Gov. Code Sec. 8289.)
Existing law specifies rules of civil liability that apply to
public entities and public employees in California. (Gov. Code
Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Sec. 810.))
This bill would adopt "Government Claims Act" as the short title
for Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of the
Government Code.
This bill would replace references to the California "Tort
Claims Act" with references to the California "Government Claims
Act" throughout the codes.
COMMENT
1.Stated need for the bill
According to CLRC, adopting the short title "Government Claims
Act" for Division 3.6, and likewise conforming the codes will
help prevent confusion and endure consistency with the
California Supreme Court's holding on the matter. CLRC states
these changes will ultimately conserve both judicial and
litigant resources.
2.Revision to Eliminate Confusion
In applying Division 3.6, the common use of the term "Tort
Claims Act" has caused some confusion for litigants who assumed,
based on that misnomer, that the division is limited only to
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tort claims. In fact, courts have repeatedly found that some
provisions of Division 3.6 also apply to certain contract
matters.
In City of Stockton v. Superior Court, the California Supreme
Court adopted the method embraced by courts of appeal of
referring to Division 3.6 as the "Government Claims Act" instead
of the "Tort Claims Act." The Court states:
Because of the broad scope of the claim requirements, a number
of Courts of Appeal have followed the suggestion in Baines
Pickwick that 'Government Claims Act' is a more appropriate
short title than the traditional 'Tort Claims Act.' We agree
that this practice is a useful way to reduce confusion over
the application of the claim requirements. Henceforth, we will
refer to title 1, division 3.6, parts 1 through 7 of the
Government Code (�Sec.] 810 et seq.) as the Government Claims
Act. (Id. at 741-742.)
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CLRC's recommendations are consistent with the Court's adoption
of the more accurate "Government Claims Act" over the confusing
and factually misleading "Tort Claims Act."
Support : None Known
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : California Law Revision Commission
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation :
SB 42 (Cobey, Chapter 1681, Statutes of 1963) enacted Government
Code Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) at
request of CLRC.
SB 43 (Cobey, Chapter 1715, Statutes of 1963) enacted Government
Code Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) at
request of CLRC.
SB 44 (Cobey, Chapter 1682, Statutes of 1963) enacted Government
Code Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) at
request of CLRC.
SB 45 (Cobey, Chapter 1683, Statutes of 1963) enacted Government
Code Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) at
request of CLRC.
SB 47 (Cobey, Chapter 1684, Statutes of 1963) enacted Government
Code Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) at
request of CLRC.
AB 1108 (Zenovich, Chapter 1805, Statutes of 1963) enacted
Government Code Title 1, Division 3.6 (commencing with Section
810) at request of CLRC.
Prior Vote :
Assembly Committee on Judiciary (Ayes 10, Noes 0)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 76, Noes 0)
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