If you're doing law research in California, you might come across this interesting legislative gem: in Los Angeles County, you can only throw a frisbee when you have the permission of the lifeguard. Like any state, California has many strange laws and rules on record. California legislative history is complex, dating back to 1850, when the state became the 31st member of the union. Some Interesting Precedents You Might Come Across in California Legislative History Research 1946 -- Empire Star Mines v. California Employment Commission. This court decision made clear that the most important factor for determining independent contracting ... Read More >
Feb 14
CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY GRAND RE-OPENING – We were there!
The attorneys and staff at LIS attended the February 11, 2014 reopening ceremony commemorating the California State Library moving back into the newly renovated Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building. The library is located across the street from the state’s historic State Capitol. Enjoy the photos below -- sorry about the stamped date on my camera being 12 hours behind! Maria The renovations took four years of dedicated hard work by master architects, engineers, and technology experts to bring the 1928 neo-classical library building up to the 21st Century. The building now showcases murals and intricately painted ... Read More >
Jan 30
CA RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES FOR ELDERLY REFORM ACT
In 2014, California legislators will be introducing legislative measures to overhaul California’s residential care facilities for the elderly [“RCFEs”] following an investigative series published in September of 2013 by the U-T San Diego regarding fatalities in San Diego County caused by neglect and state regulatory issues. Some of the legislated solutions proposed in these 14 bills, which are sponsored by the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform [“CANHR”], are summarized at the CANHR website. If these California bills progress successfully through their legislative process, we will be including them in our annual Compendium of ... Read More >
Jan 10
CA AB 1216 Permits Pupil Expulsion for Hate Conduct
When originally introduced in 2013, Assembly member Nora Campos’ bill related to pupil discipline and bullying. In the first amendments taken on this bill nearly one year later, the Assembly Committee on Education gutted and amended the content of the bill to address a different type of pupil discipline, relating to suspension and expulsion for hate violence. There are two main elements to AB 148: (1) Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or recommended for expulsion unless the superintendent of the school district or principal of the school determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts. ... Read More >
Jan 10
CA AB 919 Entitles Qualified Itinerant Vendor Veterans to Re-payments
CA Assembly member Das Williams introduced Assembly Bill 919 originally in February of 2013 but nearly one year later, this bill was first amended in the Assembly on January 6, 2014. AB 919 would provide a procedure for a qualified veteran, who is a person who met specified requirements for being a qualified itinerant vendor to submit a claim for qualified repayments, as defined, with the State Board of Equalization, as provided. Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in ... Read More >
Dec 17
California AB 140 of 2013 Expands Elder Financial Abuse Protection
Assembly Bill 140 would modernize the definition of undue influence for elder financial abuse and related probate matters, a definition that has not been revised since 1872. As enacted in 1872, Civil Code § 1575 defined “undue influence” as using the confidence of or real or apparent authority over another, taking an unfair advantage over another person's weakness of mind, or taking a grossly oppressive and unfair advantage of another person's necessities or distress. The new definition that AB 140 would create defines undue influence as excessive persuasion that causes an elder to act or refrain from acting and that results in ... Read More >
Nov 27
False Military Endorsement Prohibited
California is currently home to over 2 million veterans and large numbers of elder veterans, who are often targeted by unscrupulous businesses and individuals using military insignia and patriotic logos to get to their pensions, retirement assets, Social Security, or property. Various interested stakeholders, which included the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America and California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, sponsored CA SB 272 of 2013 to restrict the use of military or government terms, symbols, and content that reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying a connection, approval, or endorsement of any ... Read More >
Nov 27
Transgender students may participate in sex-segregated school programs
Current California law already protects students from discrimination in education based on sex and gender identity, but many school districts do not understand and are not presently in compliance with their obligations to treat transgender students the same as all other students in the specific areas addressed in CA AB 1266 of 2013 relating to sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions and use of facilities consistent with his or her gender identity. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco had developed policies relating to transgender and gender variant students in order to create and maintain a ... Read More >
Nov 25
California AB 60 permits undocumented immigrants drivers licenses
California AB 60 of 2013 requires the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue driver's licenses to persons who are ineligible for a Social Security Number (SSN) if additional documentation is provided, such as a valid, unexpired consular identification document issued by a consulate or a valid unexpired passport, or an original birth certificate or other proof of age, or a home utility bill, lease or rental agreement or other proof of state residency, or even a marriage license or divorce certificate, just to name a few. The issue of allowing undocumented immigrants drivers licenses has been considered almost continually by the ... Read More >