Bill Text: CA AB2746 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Attorneys: annual membership fees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-18 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 429, Statutes of 2014. [AB2746 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2746-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2746 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 429
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 26, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 22, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 12, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Wieckowski
(Chair), Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, Garcia, Muratsuchi, and Stone)
MARCH 4, 2014
An act to amend Sections 6021, 6033, and 6140, 6140.03, 6216, and
6218 of, and to add Section 6144.1 to, the Business and Professions
Code, relating to attorneys.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2746, Committee on Judiciary. Attorneys: annual membership
fees.
Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and
regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public
corporation. The State Bar is governed by a board of trustees.
Existing law authorizes the board, among other duties, to aid in all
matters pertaining to the improvement of the administration of
justice, including all matters that may advance the professional
interests of the members of the State Bar. Existing law, until
January 1, 2015, requires the board to charge an annual membership
fee for active members of up to $315 for 2014. Existing law requires
the board to charge an annual membership fee for inactive members of
up to $75.
This bill would, until January 1, 2016, require the board to
charge the annual membership fee for active members described above
for 2015.
Existing law requires, within the period of 90 days next preceding
the annual meeting, the board, at a meeting called for that purpose,
to elect the president, vice president, and treasurer for the
ensuing year. The president, the vice president, and the treasurer
are to be elected from among all members of the board.
This bill, if the president is elected from among those members of
the board whose terms on the board expire that year and has not been
reelected or reappointed to another term, as provided, would require
the president to serve as a 20th member of the board during his or
her one-year term and would authorize him or her to vote.
Existing law requires the board to increase each of the annual
membership fees described above by an additional $30, to be allocated
only to support nonprofit organizations that provide free legal
services to persons of limited means, except to the extent that a
member elects not to support those activities. Existing law requires
that the invoice provided to members for payment of the annual
membership fee provide each member the option of deducting $30 from
the annual membership fee if the member elects not to have this
amount allocated for these purposes.
This bill would increase that optional, additional amount to $40.
The bill would require that all funds received for these programs be
distributed to qualified legal services projects and support centers
without deduction for administrative fees, costs, or expenses by the
State Bar, and would require that fees, costs, or expenses associated
with administering these provisions be absorbed within the costs
allowed by and paid from specified funds. The bill would also require
that 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, be held by the State
Bar without expenditure or commitment for any purpose until approved
by the Legislature by statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. 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 6011
regarding a 19-member board, if the president is elected from among
those members of the board whose terms on the board expire that year
and has not been reelected or reappointed to another term under
Section 6013.1, 6013.2, 6013.3, or 6013.5, the president shall serve
as a 20th member of the board during his or her one-year term, and he
or she may vote.
SEC. 2. Section 6033 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
6033. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the State Bar is
expressly authorized to facilitate the professional responsibilities
of members by collecting, in conjunction with the State Bar's
collection of its annual membership dues or otherwise, voluntary
financial support for nonprofit organizations that provide free legal
services to persons of limited means. All funds received for
programs related to this section shall be distributed to qualified
legal services projects and support centers as provided in Section
6216 without deduction for administrative fees, costs, or expenses by
the State Bar. Any fees, costs, or expenses associated with
administering this section shall be absorbed within the costs allowed
by and paid from the funds specified in Section 6216.
(b) To implement this section, the State Bar, in consultation with
the Chief Justice of California, shall appoint a task force of key
stakeholders to analyze the mechanisms and experience of bar
associations that have adopted programs for the collection of
financial contributions from bar members and shall propose an
appropriate method for facilitating the collection and distribution
of voluntary contributions that is best calculated to generate the
greatest level of financial support and participation from State Bar
members, taking into account such issues as the justice-gap between
the legal needs of low-income people in California and the legal
resources available to assist them. The method and any recommended
voluntary contribution amount adopted by the Board of Trustees of the
State Bar of California shall be implemented for the 2008 fiscal
year, and shall be reviewed and adjusted as needed after two years
and, thereafter, every five years as needed, in consultation with
affected service providers and other key stakeholders.
SEC. 3. 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 2015 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,
2016, and, as of that date, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 4. Section 6140.03 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
6140.03. (a) The board shall increase each of the annual
membership fees fixed by Sections 6140 and 6141 by an additional
forty dollars ($40), to be allocated only for the purposes
established pursuant to Section 6033, except to the extent that a
member elects not to support those activities.
(b) The invoice provided to members for payment of the annual
membership fee shall provide each member the option of deducting
forty dollars ($40) from the annual membership fee if the member
elects not to have this amount allocated for the purposes established
pursuant to Section 6033.
SEC. 5. Section 6144.1 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
6144.1. 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, shall be held by
the State Bar without expenditure or commitment for any purpose until
approved by the Legislature by statute.
