SB 176

Bill Subjects

Abstract

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, and provides that protection of the public is the highest priority of the State Bar and the board of trustees in exercising their licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions. (1) Existing law creates within the State Bar the Governance in the Public Interest Task Force, comprised of the Chair of the State Bar and 6 other members of the Board of Trustees of the State Bar, 4 of whom are attorney members and 2 of whom are public members, appointed as specified. This bill would revise the composition of the 6 appointed members of the task force to include 3 attorney members and 3 public members, and would revise the manner of appointment of those task force members. (2) Existing law requires the secretary of the State Bar to be selected annually by the board, and specifies that the secretary need not be a licensee. Existing law requires the board by rule to set meetings and to determine what constitutes a quorum, as specified. Existing law requires, at the annual meeting of the board, reports to be received and authorizes matters pertaining to the State Bar and the administration of justice to be acted upon. This bill would repeal those provisions. (3) Existing law requires the board to establish a State Bar Court to act in its place and stead in the determination of specified disciplinary proceedings. Existing law authorizes the State Bar Court to, among other things, take and hear evidence pertaining to the proceeding, to administer oaths and affirmations, and to compel, by subpoena, the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and documents pertaining to the proceeding. Existing law authorizes a member of the board, or of a committee, unit, or section of the board having jurisdiction, to administer oaths and issue a subpoena pursuant to the provisions described above. This bill would remove this authority of a member of the board, or of a committee, unit, or section of the board having jurisdiction, and would, instead, provide that the State Bar Court is authorized to administer oaths and issue a subpoena pursuant to the aforementioned provisions. (4) Existing law authorizes the board to formulate and enforce rules of professional conduct for all licensees. Existing law provides that rules of professional conduct adopted by the board, when approved by the Supreme Court, are binding upon all licensees. Existing law additionally authorizes licensees to formulate by initiative rules of professional conduct for all licensees of the State Bar, as specified, and requires the rules of professional conduct approved by a majority of licensees and the Supreme Court have the same force and effect as the rules of professional conduct formulated and approved by the above-described provisions. Existing law authorizes the board, without petition, to direct the secretary to cause an initiative measure embodying a rule of professional conduct formulated by the board to be submitted to all active licensees for mail vote, as specified. This bill would remove the authority of licensees to formulate, and submit to licensees for a vote, rules of professional conduct and remove the authority of the board to submit to licensees for a vote, rules of professional conduct. (5) Under existing law, the board has the power to discipline licensees of the State Bar for willful breach of a rule of professional conduct approved by the Supreme Court, as specified. This bill would remove this power of the board, and would, instead, give this power to the State Bar Court. (6) Existing law provides that conviction of a licensee of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude constitutes cause for disbarment or suspension. Existing law requires the district attorney, city attorney, or other prosecuting agency to notify the State Bar of the pendency of the action, requires the clerk of the court in which a licensee is convicted to transmit a certified copy of the record of conviction to the State Bar, and requires the State Bar to transmit the record of conviction to the Supreme Court within 5 days. This bill would instead require the State Bar of California's Office of Chief Trial Counsel to be notified of the pendency of the action, would require the clerk of the court to transmit a certified copy of the record of conviction to the Office of Chief Trial Counsel, and would require the Office of Chief Trial Counsel to transmit the record of conviction to the Supreme Court within 30 days. (7) Existing law, until January 1, 2020, requires the board to charge an annual license fee for active licensees at a sum not exceeding $315 for 2019. Existing law requires the board to fix the annual license fee for inactive licensees at a sum not exceeding $75. Existing law authorizes the board to waive the payment by a licensee of the annual license fee, any portion thereof, or any penalty thereon, as the board is authorized to provide by rule. Existing law requires the board to adopt a rule or rules providing that an active licensee who can demonstrate total gross annual individual income from all sources of less than $40,000 presumptively qualifies for a waiver of 25% of the annual license fee. This bill would require the board to charge an annual license fee for active licensees at a sum not exceeding $438 for 2020. The bill would require the board to fix the annual license fee for inactive licensees at a sum not exceeding $108. The bill would require the board to adopt a rule or rules providing that an active licensee who can demonstrate total gross annual individual income from all sources of less than $60,478.35 presumptively qualifies for a waiver of 25% of the annual license fee. (8) Existing law requires the annual license fees for active and inactive licensees to be increased by an additional $40 to be allocated to fund qualified legal services projects and support centers that provide free legal services to persons of limited means, and further authorizes a licensee to deduct $40 from their invoice if the licensee elects not to have the amount allocated for those purposes. This bill would require the State Bar to report to the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary the total amount of fees received pursuant to those provisions and the percentage of licensees who elected to opt out of the fees for specified time periods. (9) Existing law requires a fee of $10 for active licensees and a fee of $5 for inactive licensees to be paid for purposes of funding the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program. Existing law requires certain amounts of those fees to be transferred by the State Bar to a nonprofit corporation to fund the support of recovery efforts of the nonprofit corporation. This bill would provide that, for 2020 only, the fee shall be $1 for active licensees, which would be paid to the nonprofit corporation, and no fee for inactive licensees. (10) Existing law authorizes the State Bar to collect voluntary fees on behalf of and for the purpose of funding the California Supreme Court Historical Society, which advances the science of jurisprudence by preserving and disseminating to the general public the history of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch. This bill would authorize the State Bar to collect voluntary donations on behalf of and for the purposes of funding California ChangeLawyers, which promotes a better justice system for all Californians. (11) Existing law requires the State Bar to provide offers of discounts and other benefits to active and inactive licensees of the State Bar, including insurance and affinity programs. Existing law requires revenue received from the affinity programs to support the programs of the California Bar Foundation. Existing law authorizes the State Bar, if approved by the board and the California Bar Foundation, to transfer administration of those programs offering discounts and other benefits to active and inactive licensees to the California Bar Foundation, subject to specified distributions of the revenue received from those programs, as provided. This bill would provide that the State Bar was authorized to provide noninsurance affinity programs until December 31, 2018, and has been authorized to provide insurance affinity programs only, after December 31, 2018. The bill would make other related changes, including revising the expiration date of provisions relating to the distribution of revenues from those programs from December 31, 2018, to December 31, 2019. The bill would authorize the State Bar to transfer administration of these programs to Cal Bar Affinity, subject to specified approval, provided that revenue has been distributed as specified from January 1, 2019, until December 31, 2019. The bill would require, subject to approval by the California Lawyers Association, California ChangeLawyers, and Cal Bar Affinity, all revenue received from the noninsurance affinity programs and the insurance affinity programs, less the administrative costs of the State Bar and Cal Bar Affinity in operating the programs, up to 12% of revenue received, and less taxes incurred by Cal Bar Affinity in operating the programs, to be distributed in a specified manner. The bill would prohibit the California Lawyers Association, if it elects to accept affinity fund revenue, from creating or operating an affinity or royalty program involving the sale of insurance or noninsurance products or services with a percentage or share of costs being distributed to the California Lawyers Association and, if the California Lawyers Association does so, would require all funds that would have been provided to the California Lawyers Association from affinity or royalty programs that transferred from the State Bar or are similar to programs that transferred from the State Bar to be provided to California ChangeLawyers and distributed as specified.