(1) Existing law requires a court, prior to the entry of any judgment in a class action, to determine the total amount that will be payable to all class members. The court is also required to set a date when the parties are to report to the court the total amount that was actually paid to the class members. After the report is received, the court is required to amend the judgment to direct the defendant to pay the sum of the unpaid residue, plus interest, to nonprofit organizations or foundations to support projects that will benefit the class or similarly situated persons, or that promote the law consistent with the underlying cause of action, or to child advocacy programs, or to nonprofit organizations providing civil legal services to the indigent. Existing law excepts class
actions brought against public entities and public employees from these provisions.
This bill would require that whenever a judgment, including any consent judgment, decree, or settlement agreement that has been approved by the court, in a class action provides for the payment of money to members of the class, any unpaid cash residue or unclaimed or abandoned class member funds be distributed in accordance with its provisions, unless the court makes a specific finding. The bill would require the court to set a date when the parties must submit a report to the court regarding a plan for the distribution of these funds. The bill would require that at least 25% of the unpaid cash residue or unclaimed or abandoned class member funds generally attributable to California residents, plus any accrued interest that has not otherwise been distributed, be transmitted to the State Treasury for deposit in the Trial Court Improvement and Modernization Fund, subject to
appropriation by the Legislature to the Judicial Council to fund trial court operations. The bill would further require that at least 25% of these funds be transmitted to the Equal Access Fund of the Judicial Branch, to be distributed as specified. The bill would require that the balance of these funds, if any, plus interest be distributed generally as previously required, as described above. The bill would also except any cause of action brought against public entities and public employees from these provisions.
(2) Existing law authorizes a trial court to adopt local rules permitting electronic filing and service of documents, subject to rules adopted by the Judicial Council and other specified conditions. Existing law also authorizes the court, in any action in which a party has agreed to accept electronic service, or in which the court has ordered electronic service, as specified, to electronically serve any document issued by the court
that is not required to be personally served, in the same manner that parties electronically serve documents.
This bill would require a system for the electronic filing and service of documents to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The bill would require a trial court that contracts with an entity for the provision of a system for the electronic filing and service of documents to include certain requirements in its contract with the entity, including a requirement that the entity test and verify that the entity’s system is accessible. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt uniform rules to implement these requirements and to submit reports to the Legislature, as specified.
(3) Existing federal law authorizes the United States Attorney General to enter into contracts or agreements with a state, or a political subdivision of a state, for detention or incarceration space or
facilities. Existing federal law authorizes the United States Attorney General to enter into an agreement with a state, or a political subdivision of a state, to authorize an officer or employee of that state or political subdivision to, among other things, detain aliens in the United States.
Existing law, commonly known as the TRUST Act, prohibits a law enforcement official, as defined, from detaining an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release from custody, unless, at the time that the individual becomes eligible for release from custody, certain conditions are met, including, among other things, that the individual has been convicted of specified crimes.
This bill would prohibit a city or county or local law enforcement agency from, on or after June 15, 2017, entering into a contract with the federal government or any federal
agency to house or detain an adult noncitizen in a locked detention facility for purposes of civil immigration custody. The bill would prohibit a city or county or local law enforcement agency that entered into a contract of that nature on or before June 15, 2017, from modifying or renewing that contract so as to expand the maximum number of contract beds that may be used to house or detain an adult noncitizen for purposes of civil immigration custody.
This bill would similarly prohibit a city or county or local law enforcement agency from, on or after June 15, 2017, entering into a contract with the federal government or any federal agency to house or detain an accompanied or unaccompanied minor that is in the custody of or detained by specified federal agencies in a locked detention facility. The bill would prohibit a city or county or local law enforcement agency that entered into a contract of that nature on or before June 15, 2017, from modifying or renewing
that contract so as to expand the maximum number of contract beds that may be used to house or detain an accompanied or unaccompanied minor in a locked detention facility. The bill would provide this prohibition does not apply to temporary housing of any accompanied or unaccompanied minor in less restrictive settings when the State Department of Social Services certifies that the contract is necessary based on changing conditions of the population in need and if the housing contract meets 2 requirements.
(4) Existing law requires certain state agencies to obtain written consent from the Attorney General before employing legal counsel in any judicial proceeding.
This bill would, instead, require certain state agencies to obtain the written consent of the Attorney General before employing in-house counsel to represent those agencies in any judicial or administrative adjudicative proceeding and before
contracting with outside counsel. The bill would otherwise generally authorize a state agency to employ in-house counsel for any purpose, except that it would require a state agency to use the Attorney General for the purpose of delivering approving legal opinions on bonds or other evidence of indebtedness, unless the Attorney General waives that requirement.
(5) Existing law sets forth the duties and responsibilities of the Attorney General and provides that he or she has charge, as attorney, of all legal matters in which the state is interested, except as specified.
This bill would require, until July 1, 2027, the Attorney General, or his or her designee, to engage in reviews of county, local, or private locked detention facilities in which noncitizens are being housed or detained for purposes of civil immigration proceedings in California, as specified. The bill would require the Department of
Justice to provide, during the budget process, updates and information to the Legislature and the Governor, including a written summary of findings, if appropriate, regarding the progress of these reviews and any relevant findings. The bill would also require the Attorney General, or his or her designee, on or before March 1, 2019, to conduct a review of these facilities and to provide, on or before March 1, 2019, the Legislature and the Governor with a comprehensive report outlining the findings of that review. The bill would require the comprehensive report to be posted on the Attorney General’s Internet Web site and otherwise made available to the public upon its release to the Legislature and the Governor.
(6) Existing law creates the Department of Justice, which is under the direction and control of the Attorney General. Existing law establishes the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, which is administered by the
California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board. Existing law requires the board, prior to opening the program for enrollment, to make a report to the Governor and Legislature affirming that certain prerequisites and requirements have been met, including that the United States Department of Labor has finalized a regulation setting forth a safe harbor for savings arrangements established by states for nongovernmental employees and that the program is structured to meet the criteria of the regulation. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, commonly known as ERISA, regulates employee benefit plans, as defined, and generally supercedes state law, except as specified.
This bill would require, in connection with potential litigation involving the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, that the state be represented by attorneys who possess a comprehensive knowledge of ERISA and have at least 10 years of experience litigating claims
related to ERISA in federal trial and appellate courts. The bill would require the Department of Justice, if it does not have sufficient attorneys with these characteristics, to enter into contracts with qualified attorneys to secure their services.
(7) Existing law authorizes the Board of State and Community Corrections or the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Public Works Board, and a participating county, as defined, to acquire, design, and construct an adult local criminal justice facility, as defined, and provides funding for those purposes. Existing regulations of the Board of State and Community Corrections specify the number of visits that inmates held in certain types of correctional facilities are required to be provided.
This bill would require that specified conditional funding to a participating county for the construction or renovation of a local jail facility or
adult local criminal justice facility be used to construct or renovate a facility that meets or surpasses the minimum number of weekly visits as specified in regulations through the use of in-person visitation space. The bill would require a scope change to be submitted to include in-person visitation, as specified, for any proposals submitted previous to these requirements that only provided for video visitation.
Existing law provides that a county jail is kept by the sheriff of the county in which the jail is situated and is to be used for specified purposes, including for the confinement of persons sentenced to imprisonment in a county jail upon a criminal conviction. Existing regulations of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation specify the number of visits that inmates held in certain types of correctional facilities may be allowed.
This bill would prohibit a local detention facility, as defined, that
provided in-person visitation as of January 1, 2017, from converting to only video visitation. The bill would prohibit a local detention facility from charging for visitation when visitors are onsite and participating in either in-person or video visitation. The bill would require a local detention facility that does not offer in-person visitation to provide the first hour of remote video visitation each week free of charge.
(8) Existing law requires a probation officer to be appointed in each county. Existing law requires the probation officer to be nominated by the juvenile justice commission and appointed by the judge of the juvenile court. Existing law allows the probation officer to revoke or terminate the appointment of a deputy or assistant probation officer with the written approval of the juvenile justice commission.
This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would require
each county to appoint a chief probation officer. The bill would establish the duties and obligations of that office, as specified. The bill would require the presiding judge, in a county with 2 judges, or a majority of the judges, in a county with more than 2 judges, to appoint the chief probation officer upon nomination of the juvenile justice commission. The bill would allow the chief probation officer to revoke and terminate the appointment of a deputy or assistant probation officer without the written approval of the juvenile justice commission. The bill would delete the creation of the office of adult probation officer.
(9) Existing law establishes the Judicial Council and requires it to perform various duties regarding the oversight and management of the courts, including, among others, reporting to the Legislature on specific accounting and case management programs.
This bill would require the
Judicial Council, beginning on October 1, 2018, to annually report on revenue and collections for each court and county for the previous fiscal year, as specified.
(10) Existing law specifies the number of judges for the superior court of each county. Existing law allocates additional judgeships to the various counties in accordance with uniform standards for factually determining additional need in each county, as updated and approved by the Judicial Council, based on specified criteria, including, among others, workload standards that represent the average amount of time of bench and nonbench work required to resolve each case type.
This bill would reallocate 2 vacant judgeships from the Superior Court of the County of Santa Clara to the Superior Court of the County of Riverside and 2 vacant judgeships from the Superior Court of the County of Alameda to the Superior Court of the County of San
Bernardino. The bill would require the Judicial Council to determine which specific vacancies would be transferred between counties pursuant to this provision and to take all necessary steps to effectuate each transfer. The bill would provide that the term of the judgeships would begin on January 2, 2018, and that a court in which a vacant judgeship is reallocated shall not have its funding allocation reduced, shifted, or transferred as a result of the reallocation. The bill would make conforming changes.
(11) Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to dispose of surplus court facilities pursuant to a specified process that requires, among other things, the Judicial Council to consult with the county where the court facility is located, offer the facility to the county at a fair market value before offering it to another state or local government agency, and deposit the funds received from a sale into the State Court Facilities
Construction Fund. Existing law imposes specified requirements on local entities with regard to the construction of new court facilities, or the alteration, remodeling, or relocation of court facilities, as specified. Existing law imposes specified requirements on the sale or lease of real property by the board of supervisors of a county, as prescribed.
Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect, unless the project is exempt from the act. CEQA provides for various exemptions from the requirements of the act.
This bill would authorize the Administrative Director of
the Courts to transfer specified court facility property to the County of San Diego under prescribed circumstances, and would exempt the transfer from the procedures described above. With regard to the demolition project and further development of that property by the County of San Diego, the bill would, among other things, authorize the use of existing environmental impact reports, as specified, for purposes of CEQA. The bill would prescribe the circumstances under which the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego may enter into leases for subsequent improvements of the property.
(12) Existing law establishes the Military Department, which includes the office of the Adjutant General, the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, the California Cadet Corps, and the Naval Militia. Existing law provides that specified military members are deemed state employees for purposes of workers’ compensation.
This bill would establish the Military Department Workers’ Compensation Fund, and would provide that all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Military Department for workers’ compensation claims that are wholly or partially reimbursed by the federal government for personnel within the Military Department, as specified. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
(13) Existing law, the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, passed by the voters as Proposition 36 at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, amended the Three Strikes Law and provided for lower sentences in specified circumstances, including when the current crime is not a serious or violent crime. The act provided a means by which a person serving an indeterminate term of imprisonment can be resentenced in conformance with the provisions of the act.
Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, reduced the penalties for various crimes. Under the provisions of the act, a person currently convicted of a felony or felonies who would have been guilty of a misdemeanor under the act if the act had been in effect at the time of the conviction may petition or apply to have the sentence reduced in accordance with the act. That act requires that this petition or application be filed before November 4, 2017, or at a later date upon a showing of good cause.
This bill would authorize a person who is committed to a state hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity to petition the court to have the maximum term of commitment reduced to what it would have been had Proposition 36 or Proposition 47 been in effect at the time of the original determination, as
specified. The bill would require the petitioner to show that he or she would have been eligible to have his or her sentence reduced under the relevant proposition and to file the petition prior to January 1, 2021, or at a later date with a showing of good cause.
(14) Existing law identifies the state hospitals over which the State Department of State Hospitals has jurisdiction, including, among others, Atascadero State Hospital and Coalinga State Hospital.
This bill would provide the department with jurisdiction over the Admission, Evaluation, and Stabilization (AES) Center in the County of Kern, and other AES Centers as defined by regulation. The bill would also authorize the Director of State Hospitals to adopt emergency regulations to implement this provision and would declare that the adoption of emergency regulations under this provision is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of the
Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would provide the department with jurisdiction over any county jail treatment facility under contract with the State Department of State Hospitals to provide competency restoration services. The bill would also make other technical and conforming changes.
(15) Existing law creates the State Penalty Fund into which moneys collected by the courts from the imposition of fines, forfeitures, or penalties on criminal offenses are deposited. Once a month, certain percentages of money in that fund are transferred into other funds.
This bill would repeal the authority for these transfers to other funds and instead require the Department of Finance to provide a schedule to the Controller for all transfers of funds made available by the Budget Act from the State Penalty Fund in the current fiscal year. The bill would, upon the order of the Department of Finance, allow
sufficient funds to be transferred by the Controller from the General Fund for cashflow needs of the State Penalty Fund, as provided.
(16) Existing law authorizes, if certain conditions are met, reimbursement for expenses or payment of specified costs incurred by a person employed by the state, or a city, county, or city and county, to travel to a jurisdiction outside of the state for the purpose of returning a fugitive from justice to this state.
This bill would establish reimbursement rates for meals and incidental expenses for persons transporting fugitives for return to certain local government jurisdictions, as specified.
(17) Existing law establishes the Prison Industry Authority within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation under the direction of the Prison Industry Board. Existing law grants the board specified powers,
including the ability to review and approve the annual budget for the authority, in order to ensure that the solvency of the Prison Industries Revolving Fund is maintained. Existing law states that the purpose of the authority is, among other things, to operate a work program for prisoners which will ultimately be self-supporting by generating sufficient funds from the sale of products and services to pay all the expenses of the program.
This bill would specify that the above provisions do not require immediate cash availability for funding retiree health care and pension liabilities above amounts established in the Budget Act, or as determined by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System, or the Director of Finance for the fiscal year. The bill would prohibit the authority from establishing cash reserves to support funding retiree health care and pension liabilities above these amounts.
(18) Existing law generally requires all persons released from prison to be subject to postrelease community supervision by a local probation department for a period of 3 years immediately following release. Existing law requires that postrelease community supervision include specified conditions, including that the person inform the supervising county agency of the person’s place of residence, employment, education, or training and of any pending or anticipated changes to the place of residence, employment, education, or training.
This bill would define “residence” for these purposes as one or more locations at which a person regularly resides, regardless of the number of days or nights spent there, such as a shelter or structure that can be located by a street address, including, but not limited to, a house, apartment building, motel, hotel, homeless shelter, and recreational or other vehicle. The bill
would require, if the person has no residence, that he or she inform the supervising county agency that he or she is transient. The bill would also require the person to inform the supervising county agency of any change in residence, or the establishment of a new residence if the person was previously transient, within 5 working days of the change.
(19) Existing law establishes the Board of Parole Hearings, which is composed of 14 commissioners appointed by the Governor, and subject to Senate confirmation, for staggered 3-year terms.
This bill would instead provide that the board is composed of 15 commissioners. The bill would also revise the term of office for existing commissioners, as specified, so that 5 commissioners would commence a new term on July 1 of each year.
(20) Existing law requires the Board of State and Community
Corrections to inspect local detention facilities biennially and requires the inspection to include specified components, including, among others, a fire suppression preplanning inspection. Existing law requires a report of each facility’s inspection to be furnished to the official in charge of the local detention facility.
This bill would require inspections of local detention facilities to be conducted, at a minimum, biennially. The bill would additionally require the inspections to address components relating to the availability of visitation and relating to the receipt of state funds for jail construction. The bill would require that reports made pursuant to the above-described provisions to be posted on the board’s Internet Web site.
Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to conduct a biennial inspection of each jail, juvenile hall, lockup, or special purpose juvenile hall that, during the
preceding calendar year, was used for confinement for more than 24 hours of any minor and requires the board to issue a notice of its findings, as specified.
This bill would require the board to post all reports and notices of findings it prepares pursuant to this provision on its Internet Web site.
(21) Existing law prohibits a person who has been convicted of a felony or who is addicted to the use of any narcotic drug from owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm. Under existing law, a violation of this prohibition is punishable as a felony.
This bill would prohibit a person who has an outstanding warrant for a felony from owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm. A violation of this prohibition would be punishable as a felony. Because a violation of this prohibition would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
Existing law also generally prohibits a person who has been convicted of certain misdemeanors from owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm within 10 years of the conviction. Under existing law, a violation of this prohibition is a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. Existing law, as a result of Proposition 63, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, codifies these provisions in separate, nonconflicting, identically numbered sections.
This bill would prohibit a person who has an outstanding warrant for certain misdemeanors from owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm. A violation of this prohibition would be a crime, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state
prison, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. Because a violation of this prohibition would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(22) Existing law prohibits, with some exceptions, the possession of an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine including those weapons with a detachable magazine that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool. Existing law exempts from that prohibition such a weapon that was lawfully possessed by the owner starting at any time from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, and is registered by that owner with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018, but not before the effective date of specified regulations to be adopted by the department.
This bill would extend the deadline to register a weapon in order to be exempted from the prohibition from January 1, 2018, to July 1,
2018.
(23) Existing law generally requires state agencies to obtain at least 3 competitive bids for each contract for services. Under existing law, this requirement does not apply under certain circumstances.
This bill, until June 30, 2018, would authorize the State Department of State Hospitals to enter into an agreement for continued operation of the existing central utility plant at the Metropolitan State Hospital without having to comply with the competitive bidding requirements described above.
(24) Existing law authorizes any county or court to implement a comprehensive collection program as a separate revenue collection activity, and requires the program to meet certain criteria, one of which is that the program engages in specified activities in collecting fines or penalties, including initiating driver’s license suspension or
hold actions when appropriate.
This bill would instead limit the program to initiating a driver’s license suspension or hold actions only for a failure to appear in court.
Existing law authorizes the court to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles when a person has failed to pay a fine or bail, with respect to various violations relating to vehicles, and requires the department to suspend a person’s driver’s license upon receipt of the notice, as specified.
The bill would repeal the authority of the court to notify the department of a failure to pay a fine or bail, thereby deleting the requirement for the department to suspend a person’s driver’s license upon receipt of that notice.
(25) Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice, and the Chief Probation
Officers of California, in consultation with the Board of State and Community Corrections, formerly known as the Corrections Standards Authority, to provide annual reports to the Department of Finance, with information sorted by county, with the names of discharged wards, under specified circumstances.
This bill would remove the requirement that the information include the name of a discharged ward and would instead require that the information include the identifying information, as defined, of a discharged ward, as specified. The bill would require the board, instead of the Chief Probation Officers of California, to provide an annual report and would remove the requirement of a consultation. The bill would also remove obsolete references to the authority under these provisions.
Existing law requires, in each fiscal year, that funds be allocated to each county probation department from the Juvenile Reentry Grant Special
Account on an average daily population basis per discharged ward transferred to a local juvenile facility for violating a condition of court-ordered supervision during the previous fiscal year, as specified.
This bill would prohibit a county from receiving the above-described funding if it does not submit data under the provisions relating to the board’s annual report.
(26) 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.
(27) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill
providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.