Bill Text: CA SB134 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 134 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: State Bar of California: Interest on Lawyers' Trust

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9)

Status: (Passed) 2015-10-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 488, Statutes of 2015. [SB134 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB134-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: SB 134	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 19, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 24, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 2, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 13, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hertzberg
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)
   (Coauthors: Senators Allen, Jackson, Leno, Pavley, and Wieckowski)

   (Coauthors: Assembly Members  Cristina Garcia, 
   Santiago,   
 and Steinorth   Cristina Garcia   and
Santiago  )

                        JANUARY 22, 2015

   An act to add Section 6032.5 to the Business and Professions Code,
and to add Section 1564.5 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating
to attorneys.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 134, as amended, Hertzberg. State Bar of California: Interest
on  Lawyer   Lawyers'  Trust Accounts:
escheated funds:  public interest attorney loan repayment
program.   Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment
Program. 
   (1) Existing 
    Existing  law, the State Bar Act, provides for the
licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California,
a public corporation. Existing law requires an attorney or law firm
that receives or disburses trust funds to establish an
interest-bearing demand trust account and to deposit in the account
all client deposits that are nominal in amount or are on deposit for
a short period of  time. 
    (2)     Existing
  time. Existing  law creates the Public Interest
Attorney Loan Repayment Program, which is administered by the Student
Aid Commission, to provide loan repayment assistance for licensed
attorneys who practice or agree to practice in public interest areas
of the law in California. 
   (3) Existing 
    Existing  law provides for the escheat of property to
the state. Existing law requires all property that escheats to the
state to be deposited into the Abandoned Property Account in the
Unclaimed Property Fund, which is continuously appropriated for
specified purposes. Existing law establishes procedures for
submitting a claim for property that has escheated.
   This bill would require  unclaimed property  
funds  in Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) 
to, instead,   that escheat to the state to  be
deposited into the  Abandoned IOLTA Property Account, which would
be established within the Unclaimed Property Fund. The bill would
establish the IOLTA Claims Reserve Subaccount within the account and
would require the Controller to determine and transfer for deposit
into the subaccount an amount that is sufficient to pay refunds,
claims, and costs associated with escheated IOLTA funds, to be
available upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would
require the balance of the escheated IOLTA funds to be transferred
annually into the  Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment
Account  to be  established by this bill  in
  within  the State Treasury for the purposes of
providing, upon appropriation by the Legislature, additional funding
 to the Student Aid Commission  for the  administration
of, and provision of loan assistance pursuant to, the  Public
Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 6032.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   6032.5.  (a)  Notwithstanding any law, including, but not
limited to, Section 1564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, any
escheated property held in an IOLTA account shall be deposited into
the   The  Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment
Account  which  is hereby established within the
State Treasury.
   (b)  Escheated property in   Funds  
from an IOLTA account that escheat to the state and are deposited
into  the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Account 
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1564.5 of the Code of Civil
Procedure  shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
by the Student Aid Commission for the purpose of providing increased
funding for, both the administration of and the provision of loan
assistance pursuant to, the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment
Program pursuant to Article 12 (commencing with Section 69740) of
Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code.

   (c) For the purposes of this section, "escheated property" has the
same meaning as set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 1561 of the
Code of Civil Procedure. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 1564.5 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to
read:
   1564.5.   (a)    Notwithstanding  any law,
including, but not limited to,  Section 1564,  escheated
property held in an Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account (IOLTA) shall
be deposited into the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment
Account, as set forth in Section 6032.5 of the Business and
Professions Code.   all money received under this
chapter from funds held in an Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account
(IOLTA) that escheat to the state shall be administered as set forth
in this section. The money shall be deposited into the Abandoned
IOLTA Property Account, which is hereby established within the
Unclaimed Property Fund.  
   (b) From all money deposited into the Abandoned IOLTA Property
Account, the Controller shall determine and transfer for deposit into
the IOLTA Claims Reserve Subaccount, which is hereby established
within the Abandoned IOLTA Property Account, an amount that is
sufficient to pay all refunds, claims, and costs pursuant to this
chapter related to the escheated IOLTA funds. Funds in the subaccount
shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be available to the
Controller for these payments.  
   (c) The balance of the funds deposited into the Abandoned IOLTA
Property Account in excess of the funds in the subaccount, shall be
transferred on an annual basis to the Public Interest Attorney Loan
Repayment Account established pursuant to Section 6032.5 of the
Business and Professions Code. Before making this transfer, the
Controller shall record the name and last known address of each
person appearing from the holders' report to be entitled to the
escheated property. The record shall be available for public
inspection at all reasonable business hours.