BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 406
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 2, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     SB 406 (Evans) - As Amended:  June 18, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                             JudiciaryVote:10-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Exempts tribal court judgments, until January 1, 2018, from  
            the Uniform Foreign Country Monetary Judgments Recognition Act  
            (UFCMJRA), and instead enacts similar but streamlined  
            procedures under the Tribal Court Civil Money Judgment Act  
            (TCCMJA).

          2)Requires the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) to  
            study the standards for recognition of a tribal court or  
            foreign court judgment under the TCCMJA and the UFCMJRA and to  
            report to the Legislature and the Governor by January 1, 2017  
            its findings and any recommendations for improvement of those  
            standards.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Likely minor savings in court costs from streamlined  
            procedures for enforcing tribal court judgments.

          2)Absorbable one-time cost to the CLRC for the study and report,  
            which will likely require the commission to reprioritize its  
            work on other topics that the Legislature has directed the  
            commission to study.

           COMMENTS
           
           1)Purpose  . According to the author, "Under existing law, a party  
            seeking enforcement of a civil tribal court money judgment in  
            a state superior court currently must do so under the Uniform  
            Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (UFCMJRA).   








                                                                 SB 406
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            The UFCMJRA process can be costly and time-consuming for both  
            the parties and the court, in some cases even causing parties  
            to unnecessarily re-litigate what the tribal court has already  
            decided.

            "This bill proposes to establish the Tribal Court Civil Money  
            Judgment Act, a new legal framework for seeking enforcement of  
            tribal court money judgments under procedures that are modeled  
            upon the simpler procedures applicable to judgments from the  
            courts of other states, while still applying the principles of  
            comity currently required for judgments from sovereign  
            nations.  The framework would not alter the legal standards  
            that state courts apply in recognizing and enforcing tribal  
            court money judgments, but merely clarify and consolidate the  
            procedures for doing so into a uniform and streamlined  
            statutory scheme."

            This bill is co-sponsored by the Judicial Council and Blue  
            Lake Rancheria.

           2)Concerns  have been expressed that the bill questions tribal  
            sovereignty and the legitimacy of tribal courts. Conversely,  
            several opponents believe the bill fails to require sufficient  
            due process of law in the underlying tribal court proceedings  
            before the resulting judgments can be enforced in California  
            courts. In response, the Assembly Judiciary Committee  
            amendments establish a three-year sunset on the TCCMJA and  
            require the CLRC, in the meantime, to assess the standards for  
            recognition of tribal court judgments.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081