AB 3212

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law provides that the application by a service member for, or receipt by a service member of, a stay, postponement, or suspension in the payment of any tax, fine, penalty, insurance premium, or other civil obligation or liability of that person does not itself, without regard to other considerations, provide the basis for, among other things, a determination by any lender or other person that the service member is unable to pay any civil obligation or liability or the denial or revocation of credit by the creditor. This bill would additionally provide that an application or receipt under these provisions does not provide a basis for an annotation in a service member's record by a creditor or a person engaged in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information identifying the service member as a member of the active militia, or an active or reserve component of the Armed Forces. The bill would prohibit a person, in connection with the collection of any obligation, from falsely claiming to be a member or civilian employee of, among other things, the Armed Forces or of a component of the active militia or identifying himself or herself through the use of any military rank, rating, or title. The bill would additionally prohibit a person, in connection with the collection of any obligation from a member of the active militia or a member of the active or reserve components of the Armed Forces, from contacting the member's military unit or chain of command without the written consent of the member given after the obligation becomes due and payable. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under existing law, in any action or proceeding commenced in any court, if there is a default of any appearance by the defendant, the plaintiff, before entering judgment, is required to file in the court a declaration under penalty of perjury setting forth facts showing that the defendant is not in the military service. Under existing law, if the defendant is in the military service, a court may not make an order until after the court appoints an attorney to represent the defendant and protect his or her interests, and the court is required to make that appointment on application. This bill, among other things, would, if an attorney appointed under this section to represent a service member cannot locate the service member, prohibit actions by the attorney in the case from waiving any defense of the service member or otherwise binding the service member. Existing law provides that, at any stage in any action or proceeding in which a service member is involved, during the period of military service or 60 days thereafter, the court may, in its discretion, and is required to, on application by the service member, stay an action or proceeding unless, in the opinion of the court, the ability of the plaintiff to prosecute the action or the defendant to conduct his defense is not materially affected by reason of his or her military service. This bill would extend these protections to 120 days after the period of military service. The bill would additionally authorize a service member who is granted a stay of a civil action or proceeding under these provisions to apply for an additional stay based on continuing material effect of military duty on the service member's ability to appear, and require the court, if it refuses to grant an additional stay of proceedings, to appoint counsel to represent the service member in the action or proceeding. (3) Existing law prohibits an obligation or liability bearing interest at a rate in excess of 6% per year incurred by a service member before that person's entry into service from bearing interest at a rate in excess of 6% per year during any part of the period of military service. Under existing law, for an obligation or liability consisting of a mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage, this prohibition extends to one year after the period of military service. This bill would extend this prohibition, for an obligation or liability consisting of a student loan, to one year after the period of military service. This bill would extend this prohibition, for an obligation that does not consist of a student loan, mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage, to 120 days after the period of military service. Existing law authorizes a member of the United States Military Reserve or the National Guard who is called to active duty, as specified, to defer payments on specified obligations, including credit cards and vehicle loans, while serving on active duty. This bill would include student loans under these provisions. (4) Existing law authorizes a person to terminate a lease covering premises occupied for dwelling, professional, business, agricultural, or similar purposes in any case in which the lease was executed by or on the behalf of the person who, after the execution of that lease, entered military service, as specified. This bill would recast those provisions, and extend them to additionally authorize a person to terminate a lease of a motor vehicle, as specified. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) This bill would additionally require any person who receives a good faith request from a service member for relief pursuant to any of the provisions described above and who believes the request is incomplete or otherwise not legally sufficient or that the service member is not entitled to the relief requested, to, within 30 days of the request, provide the service member with a written response acknowledging the request, as specified. The bill would provide that if the person fails to make such a response in the timeframe above, the person waives any objection to the request, and the service member shall be entitled to the relief requested. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 800 of the Military and Veterans Code proposed by AB 2521 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2521 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.