Bill Text: CA AB2878 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Attorneys: State Bar: board of trustees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-11-30 - Died on unfinished business file, concurrence pending. [AB2878 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2878-Amended.html
Bill Title: Attorneys: State Bar: board of trustees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-11-30 - Died on unfinished business file, concurrence pending. [AB2878 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2878-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2878 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Mark Stone
(Chair), Alejo, Chau, Chiu, Cristina Garcia, and Holden)
FEBRUARY 25, 2016
An act to amend Section Sections 6001,
6011, 6015, 6016, 6019, 6021, 6022, 6026.7, 6060.2, 6060.25, 6086.5,
and 6140 of, to add Section 6140.56, and to repeal
Section 6008.5 Sections 6008.5, 6009.7, 6012,
6013.2, 6018, and 6026.5 of, the Business and Professions
Code, relating to attorneys. the State Bar.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2878, as amended, Committee on Judiciary. Attorneys:
annual membership fees. State Bar: board of trustees.
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. Existing law,
That act requires 6 members of the 19-member board to be
attorneys elected from State Bar Districts. That act provides that
the State Bar is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the
California Public Records Act, as specified. That act, until
January 1, 2017, requires the board to charge an annual membership
fee for active members of up to $315 for 2016. Existing law prohibits
the Legislature, when the board of trustees 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. That act establishes the State Bar Court to act in
the place of the board of trustees in the determination of
disciplinary proceedings, as specified. That act authorizes the State
Bar to raise additional revenue by any lawful means, including, but
not limited to, the creation of foundations or not-for-profit
corporations. That act requires the board to establish and administer
a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses
caused by dishonest conduct of active members of the State Bar, as
specified.
This bill would provide that the board of trustees consist of no
more than 19 members and no fewer than 13 members and would require
the board to transition to a 13-member board, as specified. The bill
would remove from the board attorney members elected from State Bar
Districts and would make conforming changes. The bill would require
each member of the board appointed after December 31, 2016, to have
demonstrated educational or experience expertise, or both, in one of
5 specified areas, including public finance. 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.
This bill would, bill, until January
1, 2018, would require the board to charge an annual
membership fee in the same a specified
amount for 2017. The bill would repeal the above
provision prohibiting the Legislature from reducing the maximum
membership fee and the provision authorizing the State Bar to
raise additional revenue by any lawful means. The bill would require
the State Bar to conduct a thorough analysis of the Client Security
Fund and to submit a report to the Legislature on its analysis of
that fund by March 15, 2017, as specified. The bill would state
various findings and declarations of the Legislature.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The protection of the public is required, by statute, to be
the highest priority of the State Bar of California and must be the
paramount focus of the State Bar, its employees, and, most
importantly, its board of trustees. All other duties and activities
of the State Bar are ancillary to its regulatory oversight of the
state's more than 250,000 attorneys, over 185,000 of whom are active
members.
(b) Throughout its history, the State Bar has been the subject of
substantial controversies, including allegations of serious fiscal
and management improprieties, and most recently failure to properly
protect the public against the unauthorized practice of law,
including allowing hundreds of complaints to languish in a drawer.
(c) In May 2015, the California State Auditor released its
biannual performance audit of the State Bar, reviewing the State Bar'
s backlog of discipline cases and its recent $75,000,000 purchase and
renovation of a building in Los Angeles at three times the cost
originally estimated and requiring a loan against the Public
Protection Fund, which is designed to be an emergency fund to protect
the public in the event of a financial emergency. The audit
uncovered significant, questionable decisions made by the State Bar
in the handling of both matters, including that the State Bar had not
fully or consistently reported its backlog of discipline cases and
that, in order to reduce its backlog of discipline cases, the State
Bar made questionable choices, potentially causing "significant risk
to the public."
(d) Most recently and without consultation with the Legislature,
the State Bar chose to replace the loan on the Los Angeles building,
along with a brand new loan for updating its San Francisco building,
with a securitization on future members dues, potentially tying the
hands of the Legislature in setting future dues amounts.
(e) As a result of the troubling findings of the audit, the
Legislature, as part of the 2015 State Bar dues legislation, imposed
important new preliminary reforms on the State Bar. First, the
Legislature mandated that the State Bar be subject to both the
California Public Records Act and the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act.
These good government reforms help ensure the integrity,
transparency, and accountability of the State Bar. Second, the
Legislature directed the California State Auditor to conduct a full
financial audit of the State Bar, which is due on May 15, 2016.
Finally, the State Bar must develop a workforce plan for its attorney
discipline system and a spending plan to determine the level for
dues to recommend to the Legislature, which are both due on May 15,
2016. These reports should help inform the Legislature regarding the
appropriate actions to take in its oversight responsibility of the
State Bar and its own determination of the proper dues amount.
(f) In 2011, the Legislature directed the State Bar to establish a
Governance in the Public Interest Task Force to make recommendations
to the Governor, the Supreme Court, and the Legislature every three
years, beginning May 15, 2014, for, among other things, enhancing the
protection of the public and ensuring that protection of the public
is the highest priority in the licensing, regulation, and discipline
of attorneys, to be reviewed by the Assembly and Senate Committees on
Judiciary in their regular consideration of the annual State Bar
dues measure. That first report is now two years overdue and,
although the Governance in the Public Interest Task Force finally
began holding meetings this year, it appears that this already long
overdue report will not be completed during this legislative session.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature, in fulfilling its
important oversight responsibility over the State Bar and the proper
amount State Bar members must pay in annual dues, that this bill
serve as the vehicle to implement possible recommendations for
substantially improving the operations, effectiveness, and efficiency
of the State Bar based on the 2016 California State Auditor's audit
of the State Bar, along with the State Bar's discipline workforce and
spending plans and any draft Governance Task Force report or other
information, in order to ensure that the dues are the appropriate
amount, that the State Bar becomes more accountable to the public,
and that public protection is, and remains, the State Bar's top
priority.
SEC. 2. Section 6001 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6001. The State Bar of California is a public corporation. It is
hereinafter designated as the State Bar.
The State Bar has perpetual succession and a seal and it may sue
and be sued. It may, for the purpose of carrying into effect and
promoting its objectives:
(a) Make contracts.
(b) Borrow money, contract debts, issue bonds, notes and
debentures and secure the payment or performance of its obligations.
(c) Own, hold, use, manage and deal in and with real and personal
property.
(d) Construct, alter, maintain and repair buildings and other
improvements to real property.
(e) Purchase, lease, obtain options upon, acquire by gift,
bequest, devise or otherwise, any real or personal property or any
interest therein.
(f) Sell, lease, exchange, convey, transfer, assign, encumber,
pledge, dispose of any of its real or personal property or any
interest therein, including without limitation all or any portion of
its income or revenues from membership fees paid or payable by
members.
(g) Do all other acts incidental to the foregoing or necessary or
expedient for the administration of its affairs and the attainment of
its purposes.
Pursuant to those powers enumerated in subdivisions (a) to (g),
inclusive, it is recognized that the State Bar has authority to raise
revenue in addition to that provided for in Section 6140 and other
statutory provisions. The State Bar is empowered to raise
that additional revenue by any lawful means, including, but not
limited to, the creation of foundations or not-for-profit
corporations.
The State Bar shall conspicuously publicize to its members in the
annual dues statement and other appropriate communications, including
its Web site and electronic communications, that its members have
the right to limit the sale or disclosure of member information not
reasonably related to regulatory purposes. In those communications
the State Bar shall note the location of the State Bar's privacy
policy, and shall also note the simple procedure by which a member
may exercise his or her right to prohibit or restrict, at the member'
s option, the sale or disclosure of member information not reasonably
related to regulatory purposes. On or before May 1, 2005, the State
Bar shall report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary
regarding the procedures that it has in place to ensure that members
can appropriately limit the use of their member information not
reasonably related to regulatory purposes, and the number of members
choosing to utilize these procedures.
No law of this state restricting, or prescribing a mode of
procedure for the exercise of powers of state public bodies or state
agencies, or classes thereof, including, but not by way of
limitation, the provisions contained in Division 3 (commencing with
Section 11000), Division 4 (commencing with Section 16100), and Part
1 (commencing with Section 18000) and Part 2 (commencing with Section
18500) of Division 5, of Title 2 of the Government Code, shall be
applicable to the State Bar, unless the Legislature expressly so
declares. Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other law, pursuant to
Sections 6026.7 and 6026.11, the State Bar is subject to the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and,
commencing April 1, 2016, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article
9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 6008.5 of
the Business and Professions Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 6009.7 of the Business
and Professions Code is repealed.
6009.7. (a) (1) The State Bar shall determine the manner by which
to reduce the board of trustees from 23 members to 19 members, as
described in Section 6011, pursuant to the election and appointment
processes specified in Sections 6012, 6013.1, 6013.2, and 6013.3.
(2) The State Bar shall develop a plan for implementing the
transition to a 19-member board by January 31, 2012.
(3) By January 31, 2012, the State Bar shall submit a written
report to the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary that
includes, but is not limited to, the implementation plan described in
paragraph (2).
(b) The State Bar shall complete the transition to a 19-member
board no later than October 31, 2014.
(c) The State Bar shall not change, reduce, shorten, lengthen, or
abolish the terms of board members commencing prior to December 31,
2011, or force any board member to resign in order to institute a
19-member board pursuant to this section.
(d) The State Bar shall report annually to the Senate and Assembly
Committees on Judiciary on its progress toward implementing the
transition to a 19-member board.
SEC. 5. Section 6011 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6011. (a) The board shall consist of no more than 23
19 members and no less
fewer than 19 13 members.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the board consist of
no more than 23 19 members and no
less fewer than 19
13 members during the period of transition from a
23-member 19-member board to a
19-member board, as described in Section 6009.7.
13-member board. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
board, pursuant to the plan developed by the State Bar as
described in Section 6009.7, gradually board
decrease its size without shortening, lengthening, or abolishing
terms commencing prior to December 31, 2011,
2016, with the ultimate goal of instituting a
19-member 13-member board no later than October
31, 2014, pursuant to Section 6009.7. 2019.
It is the intent of the Legislature that this transition occur by the
expiration of the terms of the elected members who are serving on
the board as of December 31, 2016.
(c) Each member appointed after December 31, 2016, shall have
demonstrated educational or experience expertise, or both, in at
least one of the following:
(1) Public finance.
(2) Public administration.
(3) Business or financial management.
(4) State government, particularly prior regulatory experience.
(5) Legal ethics.
SEC. 6. Section 6012 of the Business
and Professions Code is repealed.
6012. (a) State Bar Districts, as they existed on December 31,
2011, pursuant to Section 6012.5, as added by Chapter 1223 of the
Statutes of 1989, shall cease, pursuant to the act that added this
section, for purposes of the election of attorney members of the
board. However, attorney members who were elected in 2009, 2010, or
2011 to serve for a three-year term commencing at the conclusion of
the annual meeting held in those years shall be eligible to serve
their full three-year terms.
(b) Commencing on January 1, 2012, State Bar Districts shall be
based on the six court of appeal districts as constituted pursuant to
Section 69100 of the Government Code, as they existed on December
31, 2011. The board shall provide for the election of six attorney
members of the board from these six State Bar Districts as specified
in Section 6013.2.
SEC. 7. Section 6013.2 of the Business
and Professions Code is repealed.
6013.2. (a) Six members of the board shall be attorneys elected
from the State Bar Districts created by the board pursuant to Section
6012.
(b) An attorney member elected pursuant to this section shall
serve for a term of three years. An elected attorney member may run
for reelection, but may be reelected to only serve one additional
term.
SEC. 8. Section 6015 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6015. No person is eligible for attorney membership on the board
unless both all of the following
conditions are satisfied:
(a) He or she is an active member of the State Bar.
(b) Either:
(1) If Prior to October 31, 2019, if
elected, he or she maintains his or her principal office for the
practice of law within the State Bar district from which he or she is
elected.
(2) If appointed by the Supreme Court or the Legislature, he or
she maintains his or her principal office for the practice of law
within the State of California.
(c) If newly appointed after December 31, 2016, he or she
satisfies the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 6011.
SEC. 9. Section 6016 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6016. The term of office of each attorney member of the board
shall commence at the conclusion of the annual meeting next
succeeding his or her election or appointment, and he or she shall
hold office until his or her successor is elected or appointed and
qualified. For the purposes of this section, the time intervening
between any two successive annual meetings shall be deemed to be one
year.
Except as specified in Section 6013.1, vacancies in the board of
trustees shall be filled by the board by special election or by
appointment for the unexpired term.
The board of trustees may provide by rule for an interim board to
act in the place and stead of the board when because of vacancies
during terms of office there is less than a quorum of the board.
SEC. 10. Section 6018 of the Business
and Professions Code is repealed.
6018. Nominations of elected members of the board shall be by
petition signed by at least 20 persons entitled to vote for such
nominees.
Only active members of the State Bar maintaining their principal
offices for the practice of the law in the respective State Bar
districts shall be entitled to vote for the member or members of the
board therefrom.
SEC. 11. Section 6019 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6019. Each place upon the board for which a member is to be
elected or appointed shall for the purposes of the
election or appointment be deemed a separate
office.
If only one member seeks election to an office, the member is
deemed elected. If two or more members seek election to the same
office, the election shall be by ballot. The ballots shall be
distributed to those entitled to vote at least twenty days prior to
the date of canvassing the ballots and shall be returned to a site or
sites designated by the State Bar, where they shall be canvassed at
least five days prior to the ensuing annual meeting. At the annual
meeting, the count shall be certified and the result officially
declared.
In all other respects the elections shall be as the board may by
rule direct.
SEC. 12. Section 6021 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6021. (a) (1) Within the period of 90 days next preceding the
annual meeting, the board, at a meeting called for that purpose,
shall elect the president, vice president, and treasurer for the
ensuing year. The president, the vice president, and the treasurer
shall be elected from among all members of the board.
(2) The newly elected president, vice president, and treasurer
shall assume the duties of their respective offices at the conclusion
of the annual meeting following their election.
(b) The term of the board president shall be one year, except that
he or she may be reelected to a second one-year term as the board
president.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 6009.7 and
Section 6011 regarding a 19-member
13-member board, if the president is elected
from among those members of the board whose terms on the board expire
by that year and has not been reelected or
reappointed to another term under Section 6013.1,
6013.2, 6013.3, 6013.1 or 6013.5, the president
shall serve as a 20th 14th member of
the board during his or her one-year term, and he or she may vote.
SEC. 13. Section 6022 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6022. The secretary officers of the State
Bar shall be selected annually by the board and need not be a
member of the State Bar.
SEC. 14. Section 6026.5 of the Business
and Professions Code , as added by Section 3 of Chapter
537 of the Statutes of 2015, is repealed.
6026.5. (a) Pursuant to Section 6026.7, every meeting of the
board shall be open to the public except those meetings, or portions
thereof, relating to:
(1) Consultation with counsel concerning pending or prospective
litigation.
(2) Involuntary enrollment of active members as inactive members
due to mental infirmity or illness or addiction to intoxicants or
drugs.
(3) The qualifications of judicial appointees, nominees, or
candidates.
(4) The appointment, employment, or dismissal of an employee,
consultant, or officer of the State Bar or to hear complaints or
charges brought against such employee, consultant, or officer, unless
such person requests a public hearing.
(5) Disciplinary investigations and proceedings, including
resignations with disciplinary investigations or proceedings pending,
and reinstatement proceedings.
(6) Appeals to the board from decisions of the Board of Legal
Specialization refusing to certify or recertify an applicant or
suspending or revoking a specialist's certificate.
(7) Appointments to or removals from committees, boards, or other
entities.
(8) Joint meetings with agencies provided in Article VI of the
California Constitution.
(b) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2016.
SEC. 15. Section 6026.7 of the Business
and Professions Code , as added by Section 5 of Chapter
537 of the Statutes of 2015, is amended to read:
6026.7. (a) The State Bar is subject to the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and all
meetings of the State Bar are subject to the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act shall not apply to the Judicial Nominees Evaluation
Commission or Commission, the Committee of Bar
Examiners. Examiners, or the State Bar Court.
(c) This section shall become operative on April 1, 2016.
(c) In addition to the grounds authorized in the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act, a closed session may be held for those meetings, or
portions thereof, relating to both of the following:
(1) Appeals to the board from decisions of the Board of Legal
Specialization refusing to certify or recertify an applicant or
suspending or revoking a specialist's certificate.
(2) The preparation, approval, grading, or administration of
examinations for certification of a specialist.
SEC. 16. Section 6060.2 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6060.2. (a) All investigations or
proceedings conducted by the State Bar concerning the moral character
of an applicant shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed
pursuant to any state law, including, but not limited to, the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) unless the
applicant, in writing, waives the confidentiality. However,
the
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a),
the records of the proceeding may be subject
disclosed in response to lawfully
either of the following:
(1) A lawfully issued
subpoenas. subpoena.
(2) A written request from a government agency responsible for
either the enforcement of civil or criminal laws or the professional
licensing of individuals that is conducting an investigation about
the applicant.
SEC. 17. Section 6060.25 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
6060.25. (a) Notwithstanding any other law,
any identifying information submitted by an applicant to the State
Bar for admission and a license to practice law and all State Bar
admission records, including, but not limited to, bar examination
scores, law school grade point average (GPA), undergraduate GPA, Law
School Admission Test scores, race or ethnicity, and any information
contained within the State Bar Admissions database or any file or
other data created by the State Bar with information submitted by the
applicant that may identify an individual applicant, other than
information described in subdivision (b), shall be
confidential and shall not be disclosed pursuant to any state law,
including, but not limited to, the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code).
(b) This section does not prohibit the disclosure of any of the
following:
(1) The names of applicants who have passed any examination
administered, given, or prescribed by the Committee of Bar Examiners.
(2) Information that is provided at the request of an applicant to
another jurisdiction where the applicant is seeking admission to the
practice of law.
(3) Information provided to a law school that is necessary for the
purpose of the law school's compliance with accreditation or
regulatory requirements.
(4) Information provided to the National Conference of Bar
Examiners or a successor nonprofit organization in connection to the
State Bar's administration of any examination.
(c) Disclosure of any of the information in paragraphs (2) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (b) shall not constitute a waiver under
Section 6254.5 of the Government Code of the exemption from
disclosure provided for in subdivision (a) of this section.
SEC. 18. Section 6086.5 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
6086.5. The board of trustees shall establish a State Bar Court,
to act in its place and stead in the determination of disciplinary
and reinstatement proceedings and proceedings pursuant to
subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 6007 to the extent provided by
rules adopted by the board of trustees pursuant to this chapter. In
these proceedings the State Bar Court may exercise the powers and
authority vested in the board of trustees by this chapter, including
those powers and that authority vested in committees of, or
established by, the board, except as limited by rules of the board of
trustees within the scope of this chapter.
Access to records of the State Bar Court shall be governed by
court rules and laws applicable to records of the judiciary and not
the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
For the purposes of Sections 6007, 6043, 6049, 6049.2, 6050, 6051,
6052, 6077 (excluding the first sentence), 6078, 6080, 6081, and
6082, "board" includes the State Bar Court.
Nothing in this section shall authorize the State Bar Court to
adopt rules of professional conduct or rules of procedure.
The Executive Committee of the State Bar Court may adopt rules of
practice for the conduct of all proceedings within its jurisdiction.
These rules may not conflict with the rules of procedure adopted by
the board, unless approved by the Supreme Court.
SEC. 3. SEC. 19. Section 6140 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
6140. (a) The board shall fix the annual membership fee for
active members for 2017 at a sum not exceeding three hundred fifteen
dollars ($315).
(b) The annual membership fee for active members is payable on or
before the first day of February of each year. If the board finds it
appropriate and feasible, it may provide by rule for payment of fees
on an installment basis with interest, by credit card, or other
means, and may charge members choosing any alternative method of
payment an additional fee to defray costs incurred by that election.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and, as of that date, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 20. Section 6140.56 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
6140.56. (a) To ensure that the Client Security Fund can
adequately protect the public and relieve or mitigate financial
losses caused by the dishonest conduct of members of the State Bar by
paying claims in a timely manner, the State Bar shall conduct a
thorough analysis of the Client Security Fund, including a
determination of the ongoing needs of the fund to satisfy claims in a
timely manner, a review of additional efforts that can be taken to
increase the collection of payments from the responsible attorneys,
and a review of other State Bar expenditures to determine whether
other expenditures that do not directly impact the State
Bar's public protection functions,
including, but not limited to, executive salaries and benefits, can
be reduced or redirected in order to better fund the Client Security
Fund through existing revenue, and, whether, after all other options
have been fully and thoroughly exhausted, an increase in membership
dues is necessary to ensure that the Client Security Fund can timely
pay claims.
(b) The State Bar shall submit a report on its analysis of the
Client Security Fund to the Legislature by March 15, 2017, so that
the plans can be reviewed in conjunction with the bill that would
authorize the imposition of the State Bar's membership fee. The
report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the
Government Code.
(c) For purposes of this section, "timely manner" means within 12
months from the time the claim is received by the State Bar.
SEC. 21. The Legislature finds and declares that
Sections 17 and 20 of this act, which amend Sections 6026.7 and
6086.5 of the Business and Professions Code, impose a limitation on
the public's right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the
writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of
Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to
that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following
findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and
the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect the decisionmaking process of the State Bar
Court in a manner that is similar to the deliberative functions of
other courts and in order to ensure that personal or sensitive
information regarding discipline by the State Bar Court is kept
confidential, including for persons participating in discussions and
offers of settlement pursuant to arbitration or mediation, it is
necessary to exempt the State Bar Court from the provision of the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the California Public Records Act.
