SB 36

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The State Bar Act provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation governed by a board of trustees comprised of appointed and elected members. The act requires 6 members of the 19-member board to be attorneys elected from State Bar Districts. The act requires the board of trustees to elect or select the president, vice president, and treasurer of the State Bar, as specified. This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature that the board transition to a 13-member board, as specified. The bill would require that a maximum of 6 members of the board be public members, appointed as specified, and would require members of the board to serve a term of 4 years. The bill would require the California Supreme Court to appoint a chair and vice chair, as specified, instead of the board electing a president and vice president. The bill would require members of the executive committee of the board to include at least one member of the board appointed by each appointing authority. The bill would, until January 1, 2019, require the board to charge an annual membership fee for active members in a specified amount for 2018, and would require the State Bar to adhere to a Supreme Court-approved policy to identify and address any proposed decision of the board of trustees that raises antitrust concerns. (2) Existing law prohibits the Legislature, when the board places a charge upon or otherwise makes available all or any portion of the income or revenue from membership fees for the payment of security of an obligation of the State Bar and so long as any obligation remains unpaid, from reducing the maximum membership fee below the maximum in effect at the time the obligation is created or incurred and provides that this provision constitutes a covenant to the holder of such an obligation. This bill would repeal the provision prohibiting the Legislature from reducing the maximum membership fee. (3) Existing law prohibits the State Bar from awarding contracts for goods or services in excess of specified amounts unless certain standards are followed. This bill would additionally require the approval of the board of trustees for those contracts and would, by January 1, 2019, require the State Bar to align its purchasing policies with those of other state agencies. The bill would also require the State Bar to conduct a review and study regarding errors and omissions insurance and to report its findings to the California Supreme Court and the Legislature, as specified. The bill would also require the State Bar to provide offers of discounts and other benefits to active and inactive members, including, but not limited to, insurance and affinity programs and would specify how the revenues received from those programs are to be allocated. (4) Existing law requires applicants for admission to, among other things, take and pass a bar examination and be fingerprinted, as specified. This bill would require the board of trustees to, at least once every 7 years, oversee an evaluation of the bar examination to determine if it properly tests for minimally needed competence for entry-level attorneys and to report on the results of the evaluation to the California Supreme Court and the Legislature, as specified. The bill would require the State Bar to notify the Department of Justice about individuals who are no longer members of the State Bar and applicants who are denied admission and to request from the Department of Justice subsequent arrest notifications services for applicants to, and members of, the State Bar. (5) The act provides that the State Bar is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the California Public Records Act, as specified. This bill would provide that access to records of the State Bar Court is subject to the rules and laws applicable to the judiciary instead of the California Public Records Act and would exempt the State Bar Court from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The bill would authorize closed sessions for meetings, or portions thereof, relating to, among other things, the preparation, approval, grading, or administration of the California Bar Examination or the First-Year Law Students' Examination. (6) Existing law establishes the Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of, among others, active members of the State Bar. This bill would require the State Bar to conduct a thorough analysis of the Client Security Fund to ensure that the structure provides for the most effective and efficient operation of the fund by, among other things, making a determination of the ongoing needs of the fund to satisfy claims in a timely manner, as defined. The bill would require the State Bar to submit a report on its analysis to the Legislature, as specified. (7) Existing law requires the State Bar to establish and administer an Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program and requires the program to be funded by mandatory fees. Existing law provides that funds from those fees may be applied to costs of the State Bar general fund programs if alternative sources of funding are obtained and a specified amount of funds remain available for support of the program each year. This bill would instead authorize any excess funds not needed to support the program to be transferred to fund the Client Security Fund, provided there are sufficient funds available to support the program. The bill would also authorize applicants who are in law school or who have applied for admission to the State Bar to enter the program subject to the approval of the board of trustees. (8) Existing law requires the net proceeds from the sale or lease of real property, after payment of obligations and encumbrances and reasonable costs of acquiring and relocating its facilities, if any, to be held by the State Bar without expenditure or commitment until approved by the Legislature. This bill would instead require the net proceeds from the lease of real property, after payment of obligations and encumbrances and reasonable costs of acquiring and relocating its facilities, if any, to be used by the State Bar for the protection of the public. (9) Existing law authorizes the State Bar to establish sections and prohibits the activities of the sections from being funded from the annual membership fee. Existing law authorizes the State Bar to provide the sections with administrative support services, provided that the State Bar is reimbursed for the full cost of those services, and authorizes the State Bar to collect voluntary fees to fund the State Bar sections in conjunction with the collection of the annual membership fee. Existing law requires members of the State Bar to complete continuing education requirements, as specified. This bill would require the State Bar to assist the Sections of the State Bar to incorporate as a private, nonprofit corporation and to transfer the functions and activities of the existing State Bar Sections to the new private, nonprofit corporation, defined as the Association. The bill would provide that the Association is a voluntary association, is not part of the State Bar, is prohibited from being funded by membership fees, and is not considered a state, local, or other public body for any purpose. The bill would require the bylaws of the Association to ensure that the governing board of the Association includes one representative of each of the existing Sections of the State Bar and that each of these governing board members have equal voting power. The bill would require the bylaws of the Association to ensure that the governing board may terminate individual sections or add individual sections by a 23 vote of the governing board. The bill would require the Sections of the State Bar or the Association to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the State Bar regarding the terms of separation of the Sections of the State Bar from the State Bar. The bill would require the State Bar to, among other things, collect voluntary dues set by the Association with the annual membership fee and to pay any such voluntary dues collected to the Association. The bill would prohibit the State Bar from having sections and would transfer the existing Sections of the State Bar to the Association, as specified. The bill would require the Association to provide and develop low-cost continuing education programs and materials as a condition of the State Bar collecting membership fees on behalf of the Association. (10) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.