AB 3279 — State Bar of California.

Summary

Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California (State Bar) , a public corporation governed by a board of trustees. Existing law prescribes the manner of appointment of members of the board by the Supreme Court, the Senate Committee on Rules, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Governor. Existing law establishes 4-year terms of office for attorney and public members of the board, and authorizes attorney members to be appointed for only one additional term. This bill would authorize an appointing authority to remove from office at any time a member of the board appointed by that appointing authority for continued neglect of duties, incompetence, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct. Existing law requires the State Bar to collect fees for the California Lawyers Association, provided the board determines that the California Lawyers Association continues to serve a public purpose, as prescribed, and continues to comply with certain legal requirements related to establishing criteria for membership in the California Young Lawyers Association. Existing law requires funds received from collection of unpaid amounts owed to the State Bar pursuant to the Interagency Intercept Collections Program to be allocated for specified purposes. This bill would delete the above-described requirement on establishing criteria for membership in the California Young Lawyers Association. The bill, until January 1, 2026, would require funds collected pursuant to the Interagency Intercept Collections Program to be deposited into the State Bar's general fund. Existing law requires the Committee of Bar Examiners to adopt rules for the regulation and oversight of unaccredited law schools that are required to be authorized to operate as a business in California and to have an administrative office in California that are not accredited by the American Bar Association or the Committee of Bar Examiners, and to adopt rules for the regulation and oversight of nonlaw school legal programs leading to a juris doctor (J.D.) degree, bachelor of laws (LL.B.) degree, or other law study program. This bill would instead make the Committee of Bar Examiners responsible for the approval, regulation, and oversight of degree-granting unaccredited law schools that award the juris doctor (J.D.) degree and that are not approved by the American Bar Association or examining committee. Existing law makes the examining committee of the State Bar responsible for the approval, regulation, or oversight of certain law schools and law study programs that do not meet specified criteria that became inoperative on January 1, 2008. This bill would repeal those provisions and instead would make the examining committee responsible for the approval, regulation, and oversight of degree-granting law schools that award the juris doctor professional degree in California and are not approved by the American Bar Association. Existing law requires the board of trustees to evaluate the bar examination and report the results of the evaluation and any determination regarding adjustment of a passing score to the Supreme Court and the Legislature at least every 7 years. This bill would defer the report due in 2025 for a period not to exceed 7 years from the deployment of a new bar examination, as specified. The bill, beginning on July 1, 2026, until January 1, 2030, would require the State Bar to annually report to the Legislature on the number of complaints regarding access issues relating to the biannual state bar exam. Existing law requires the State Bar to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information for licensees that are required to be fingerprinted pursuant to specified provisions of the California Rules of Court. This bill would delete that provision and instead would require the State Bar to submit that information for all active and inactive licensees who are seeking to change their license status from active to inactive or whose fingerprints have not otherwise been submitted. Existing law exempts certain full-time employees from continuing legal education otherwise required to be completed by active licensees. This bill would define "full-time employees" for those purposes to include employees of the California State Legislature, and would declare that this provision is declaratory of existing law. Existing law provides for the appointment of a presiding judge and hearing judges to the State Bar Court. Existing law requires a hearing judge to be paid a certain percentage of the salary of a superior court judge and requires the presiding judge to be paid the same salary as a superior court judge. This bill would instead require a hearing judge to be paid the salary of a superior court judge and would require the presiding judge to be paid the same as a justice of the court of appeal. The bill would limit the use of license fees to compensate State Bar Court judges, as specified. Existing law requires the board of trustees to establish and administer a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of licensees of the State Bar, among others, arising from the practice of law. This bill would state that judicial review of a decision to approve or deny an application for reimbursement from the Client Security Fund may be had by filing a petition for a writ of administrative mandamus, and would declare that this provision is declaratory of existing law. Existing law authorizes the State Bar to impose various annual fees on active and inactive licensees, including an annual license fee. Existing law, until January 1, 2025, requires the board to fix the annual license fee for active licensees for 2024 at a sum not exceeding $390. Existing law also requires the board to fix the annual license fee for inactive licensees for 2024 at a sum not exceeding $97.40. Existing law requires the annual license fee for active licensees to be payable on or before the first day of February each year. This bill would instead authorize the board, until January 1, 2026, to fix the annual license fee for active licensees for 2025 at a sum not exceeding $400 and to fix the annual license fee for inactive licensees for 2025 at a sum not exceeding $100. The bill would require payment of the annual license fee for active licensees to be payable on or before a date set by the State Bar, not less than 12 months from the prior year's due date, and would require individuals who qualified for a specified waiver to pay the fee on an installment basis. The bill would authorize the State Bar to annually collect additional annual fees from active and inactive licensees, including, until January 1, 2030, an annual fee to pay for costs associated with leasing space in a certain building in San Francisco; until January 1, 2028, an annual fee to fund salaries and benefits of State Bar employees; until January 1, 2029, an annual fee to fund the cost of administering compliance reviews and audits of client trust accounts; and, until January 1, 2029, an annual fee to fund certain disciplinary diversion pilot programs. Existing law, until December 31, 2024, requires $5 of specified annual fees authorized to be imposed on licensees, unless a licensee elects otherwise, to be allocated to qualified legal services projects or qualified support centers to fund law student summer fellowships for the purpose of supporting law students interested in pursuing a career in legal services for indigent persons. This bill would extend that requirement until January 1, 2030, and would increase the amount of the fee to $10. Existing law requires the board to establish and administer a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of licensees and other registrants of the State Bar. Existing law requires a licensee to reimburse the Client Security Fund for all moneys paid out as a result of the licensee's conduct, payable to and for the benefit of the State Bar, to promote rehabilitation and protect the public. This bill would require 50 percent of the collections received during 2025 to be deposited in the Client Security Fund and 50 percent to be deposited in the State Bar's general fund. Existing law authorizes the board to increase the annual license fees for active licensees up to $40 and, for inactive licensees, up to $10, for purposes of the Client Security Fund and the costs of its administration. This bill, notwithstanding that provision, would authorize the board to disburse to the State Bar's general fund $2,000,000 from the Client Security Fund as reimbursement for specified prior transfers from other funds to the Client Security Fund. Existing law prohibits an entity, among others, from operating for the purpose of referring clients to attorneys unless certain requirements are satisfied. This bill would instead make those provisions applicable to nongovernmental entities, among others, and would revise the requirements. Existing law requires a financial institution that is a depository for attorney trust accounts to report to the State Bar in the event any properly payable instrument is presented against an attorney trust account containing insufficient funds. Existing law, the California Financial Information Privacy Act, generally prohibits a financial institution from disclosing a consumer's nonpublic personal information with any nonaffiliated third party without the consumer's consent, and makes an entity that violates those provisions subject to specified civil penalties. Existing law, the California Right to Financial Privacy Act, generally prohibits a state or local agency, in connection with a civil or criminal investigation of a customer, to request or receive copies of the financial records of any customer from a financial institution, except under specified circumstances. This bill would require a financial institution, commencing January 1, 2026, to collect an attorney's license number upon the establishment of a new client trust account. The bill would require a financial institution, on or before March 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to provide certain information for every client trust account, including the name of the attorney or law firm associated with the client trust account. The bill would require the State Bar, on or before July 1, 2026, to require a licensed attorney to furnish their State Bar license number to the financial institution where the client trust account is maintained, and would require a financial institution to incorporate that information into its records. The bill would exempt the dissemination of financial information and records pursuant to those provisions from the California Financial Information Privacy Act and the California Right to Financial Privacy Act. The bill would require the State Bar to annually submit to the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees a report pertaining to client trust accounts that includes, among other information, referrals for possible discipline the State Bar made in the prior year. The bill would require all licensees, limited liability partnerships, or registered law corporations to provide to the State Bar, pursuant to a request made as part of a compliance review or investigative audit specified information relating to the receipt, holding, and disbursement of funds, securities, or other property. Existing law requires the State Bar, by April 30 of each year, to include in its Annual Discipline Report certain information on the number of complaints filed against California attorneys alleging a violation of specified financial service provisions. Existing law also requires the State Bar to report, no later than April 30 of each year, as part of its Annual Discipline Report to the Legislature and the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees, certain information relating to demand letters received by the State Bar, including the number of investigations opened concerning a violation of construction-related accessibility claim. This bill would delete the above-described April 30 deadline for those annual reports. Existing law, when an affidavit is taken before a judge or court in another state or foreign country, requires the clerk of the court to certify the genuineness of the signature of the judge, the existence of the court, and the fact that the judge is a member of the court. This bill would make those provisions inapplicable to oaths administered for admission to the State Bar. The bill would make other conforming and related changes. 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.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 09/12/24 - Chaptered Current pdf September 12, 2024
• Enrolled 08/29/24 - Enrolled pdf August 29, 2024
• Amended 08/21/24 - Amended Senate pdf August 21, 2024
• Amended 06/05/24 - Amended Senate pdf June 05, 2024
• Amended 05/02/24 - Amended Assembly pdf May 02, 2024
• Introduced 02/29/24 - Introduced pdf February 29, 2024
• AB3279 View text html

Action History

1. September 12, 2024

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 227, Statutes of 2024.

2. September 12, 2024

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 05, 2024

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

4. August 27, 2024

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 56. Noes 14.).

5. August 27, 2024

   Assembly Rule 77 suspended.

6. August 26, 2024

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 28 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

7. August 26, 2024

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 6.).

8. August 22, 2024

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

9. August 21, 2024

   Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

10. August 05, 2024

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

11. July 03, 2024

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 2).

12. June 05, 2024

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.

13. May 29, 2024

    Referred to Com. on JUD.

14. May 21, 2024

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

15. May 20, 2024

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 55. Noes 14. Page 5314.)

16. May 06, 2024

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

17. May 02, 2024

    Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

18. May 01, 2024

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 3.) (April 30).

19. March 18, 2024

    Referred to Com. on JUD.

20. March 01, 2024

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 31.

21. February 29, 2024

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Committee on Judiciary · Primary

Votes

Subjects