SEPTEMBER 2009
CDRC 2009 End of Session Report
AB 1(Monning) Teachers: program of professional growth: conflict resolution.
Status: 08/31/2009-Enrolled and to the Governor at 5:15 p.m.
AB 1(Monning) Teachers: program of professional growth: conflict resolution.
Status: 08/31/2009-Enrolled and to the Governor at 5:15 p.m.
Summary: Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards and procedures for the issuance and renewal of teaching credentials. Existing law expresses the Legislature's intent to encourage teachers to engage in an individual program of professional growth that extends a teacher's content knowledge and teaching skills. Existing law provides that an individualized program of professional growth may consist of specified activities and courses. This bill would specify that an individualized program of professional growth may include a course in negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution, including peer mediation training and the theory and practice of nonviolence. The bill would specify that the course may include basic negotiation skills, communication skills, basic mediation and peer mediation, and theory and practice of nonviolence and peace building.
AB 120(Hayashi) Healing arts: peer review.
Status: 09/11/2009-Senate amendments concurred in. To enrollment.
Summary: Existing law provides for the professional review of specified healing arts licentiates through a peer review process conducted by peer review bodies, as defined. This bill would encourage a peer review body to obtain external peer review, as defined, for the evaluation or investigation of an applicant, privilegeholder, or member of the medical staff in specified circumstances. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
AB 140(Beall) Developmental disabilities.
Status: 08/06/2009-Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 84, Statutes of 2009.
Summary: Under existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the State Department of Developmental Services is authorized to contract with regional centers to provide support and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Under existing law, the regional centers purchase needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers or arrange for their provision through other publicly funded agencies. This bill would establish procedures for the resolution of disputes between a regional center and a generic agency, as defined, over provision of, or payment for, services that are contained in an individualized family service plan or individual program plan for any child under 6 years of age.
AB 216(Beall) Public contracts: claims.
Status: 06/02/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 05/28/2009)
Summary: Existing law authorizes a public entity to compromise or otherwise settle any 3rd-party claim relating to a public works contract. This bill would define "claim" for those purposes to mean a written demand or assertion by a contractor, a local agency, including a charter city, except as specified, or charter county with respect to the contract documents, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Notes: Sponsor:Construction Employers Association
Staffer: Kathleen Finnigan
AB 335(Fuentes) Employment contracts.
Status: 09/09/2009-Senate amendments concurred in. To enrollment.
Summary: Existing law prohibits certain employment contract provisions as against public policy and declares provisions in certain construction contracts between a contractor and subcontractor for work in this state that purport to require dispute resolution between the parties to be commenced or determined outside of the state to be void and unenforceable. This bill would establish a rebuttable presumption that a choice of law or choice of forum provision in an employment agreement, handbook, or other statement of an employer's policies is unconscionable, violates the public policy of the state, and is void, if the provision would require an employee or job applicant to arbitrate or litigate a claim outside of California that arose from employment or conduct in this state or would deprive the employee or applicant of the protection of California law for such a claim. The bill would require a court to consider specified factors in determining whether a person seeking to enforce the choice of law or choice of forum provision has rebutted the presumption.
Notes: Sponsor: California Employment Lawyers Association
Staffer: Mariko Yoshiara
AB 541(Duvall) Public contracts: claims: arbitration of contract disputes.
Status: 06/08/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(8). (Last location was JUD. on 5/5/2009)
Summary: Existing law provides for the resolution of public works construction claims, as defined, arising between a contractor and a local agency. It establishes specified procedures for the resolution of these claims, including civil action, mediation, and arbitration. This bill would allow a public agency and a contractor to mutually agree to resolve a claim through independent arbitration.
AB 590(Feuer) Legal aid.
Status: 09/10/2009-In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. Senate amendments concurred in. To enrollment.
Summary: The State Bar Act provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation. Existing law provides that it is the duty of an attorney to, among other things, never reject, for any consideration personal to himself or herself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed. Existing law provides that a lawyer may fulfill his or her ethical commitment to provide pro bono services, in part, by providing financial support to organizations providing free legal services to persons of limited means. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to encourage the legal profession to make further efforts to meet its professional responsibilities and other obligations by providing pro bono legal services and financial support of nonprofit legal organizations that provide free legal services to underserved communities. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Notes: 8.21 amends sent out for review
AB 621(Saldana) Civil actions: minors: anti-SLAPP: arbitration.
Status: 09/11/2009-Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.
Summary: Existing law provides that a cause of action against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person's right of petition or free speech under the United States Constitution or California Constitution in connection with a public issue, as specified, shall be subject to a special motion to strike, unless the court, after considering the pleadings and supporting and opposing affidavits, determines that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim, subject to specific exceptions. These provisions do not apply to any action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by certain state and local prosecutors, and require all discovery proceedings to be stayed upon the filing of a notice of this special motion, except as specified. This bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to specified civil rights actions if the person bringing the action, or the person on whose behalf the action is brought, was a minor at the time the activity that gave rise to the civil action occurred. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Notes: Gut and Amend-new section that allows courts to set aside arbitration agreements
AB 649(Nestande) Contracts: University of California.
Status: 06/02/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 05/28/2009)
Summary: Existing law authorizes the Regents of the University of California to enter into contracts for the erection, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of a university structure, as specified. This bill would provide for specified procedures when a contractor, as defined, files a change order with the Regents of the University of California pursuant to an existing contract. The bill also would provide for specified procedures allowing arbitration between the Regents of the University of California and contractors.
AB 696(Hagman) California Environmental Quality Act: arbitration.
Status: 05/01/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was NAT. RES. on 04/20/2009)
Summary: The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also generally requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA provides some exemptions from its requirements. This bill would allow an applicant for a project and the lead agency , at the time of application, to opt to resolve all disputes arising out of a subsequent environmental impact report for that project before an arbitrator, in lieu of retaining the option to file an action or proceeding arising out of those disputes before a court. If an applicant and the lead agency opt to do so, the bill would require the applicant and the lead agency to agree to an arbitrator .
AB 927(Calderon, Charles) Common interest developments: construction defects.
Status: 06/29/2009-Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter No. 7, Statutes of 2009
Summary: The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act provides for the creation and regulation of common interest developments. The act requires, until July 1, 2010, with respect to certain common interest developments, that specified requirements be satisfied before an association files a complaint for damages against the builder, developer, or general contractor of the development based upon a claim for defects in the design or construction of the development. Those requirements include filing a notice regarding the commencement of legal proceedings, participating in a dispute resolution process, and preparing a case management statement, as specified. This bill would change the expiration date for these provisions to July 1, 2017.
AB 1063(Garrick) Design-build contracts: labor compliance program: exemptions.
Status: 06/08/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(8). (Last location was B. & P. on 3/31/2009)
Summary: Existing law requires public entities to comply with certain procedures in soliciting and evaluating bids and awarding contracts for the erection, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of any public structure, building, road, or other public improvement. Existing law authorizes school district governing boards, the governing boards of specified community college districts and community college facility construction projects, certain cities, certain counties, and transit operators, to enter into design-build contracts, as specified. Existing law provides that, for purposes of these provisions, the "safety record" of a bidder on these design-build contracts is deemed acceptable if it meets certain standards or if the bidder is party to an alternative dispute resolution system, as specified. This bill would delete the provision that a bidder's "safety record" is deemed acceptable if the bidder is party to an alternative dispute resolution system.
AB 1090(Monning) Arbitration.
Status: 08/06/2009-Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 133, Statutes of 2009.
Summary: Existing law requires a person serving as a neutral arbitrator pursuant to an arbitration agreement to comply with the ethics standards for arbitrators adopted by the Judicial Council. Existing law also specifies that these provisions do not apply to an arbitration conducted pursuant to the terms of a public or private sector collective bargaining agreement. This bill would specify that certain ethics requirements and standards are nonnegotiable and shall not be waived.
AB 1517(Berryhill, Bill) Special education: alternative dispute resolution programs.
Status: 06/02/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 05/28/2009)
Summary: Existing law prescribes the procedure for filing a complaint with the State Department of Education to allege a violation of state or federal law regarding the provision of special education instruction and services, for conducting a voluntary prehearing mediation conference, and for conducting a due process hearing to resolve the dispute. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that parties to special education disputes be encouraged to seek resolution through mediation prior to filing a request for a due process hearing. This bill, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or other statute, would require the department to establish and administer a statewide program of grant funding to establish alternative dispute resolution programs for special education that include specified components. The bill would require that these funds first be apportioned to special education local plan areas (SELPAs) that received grant funds during the 2009-10 fiscal year for purposes of implementing alternative dispute resolution programs before they are apportioned to SELPAs that did not receive that grant funds during the 2009-10 fiscal year. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, by July 1, 2010, to submit to the Legislature a summary report that includes, but is not limited to, specified information and data from SELPAs that received grant funds for purposes of implementing alternative dispute resolution programs.
SB 661(Wolk) Residential care facilities for the elderly: admission agreements.
Status: 05/01/2009-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was JUD. on 03/19/2009)
Summary: Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly, as defined, by the State Department of Social Services, including, among other things, regulation of admissions procedures and agreements. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would require that if an admission agreement includes an arbitration agreement, that arbitration agreement comply with prescribed requirements. This bill would provide that these requirements shall apply to any arbitration agreement that is included in an agreement between an elder or dependent adult, or his or her representative, and a residential care facility for the elderly for the admission to, or continued care or residence at, the facility that is entered into, altered, modified, renewed, or extended on or after January 1, 2010. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Notes: Sponsor: California Assisted Living Association
Staffer: Craig Reynolds
