Administration of Justice 07/23/2010
Veterans’ Courts
AB 1925 (Salas) – Request for Comment
As Amended on July 15, 2010
Assembly Bill 1925, by Assembly Member Mary Salas, seeks to
establish within local courts the authority to create veterans’
courts for eligible veterans of the military.
Counties will recall that Assembly Member Salas authored AB 674
last year on this same topic; that bill was held in the Assembly
Public Safety Committee. CSAC had concerns with last year’s
measure as it was not clear that the measure sufficiently took
into consideration the capacity of existing county mental health
and alcohol and drug treatment programs when a veterans’ court is
established. As currently drafted, AB 1924 measure would require
services be provided only to the extent that they are available.
Further, it makes county participation voluntary.
However, the July 15 amendment removes the requirement that a
presiding judge interested in establishing a veteran’s court
contact the county boards of supervisors or county administrative
officer to create such a court. Additionally, it no longer
requires probation to be a member of the veterans’ court
team.
CSAC is interested in hearing feedback from counties regarding
the potential workload impact for county probation, mental
health, alcohol and drug departments as well as public defender
and district attorney impacts if their local court were to embark
on creating a veterans’ court. Please provide feedback as soon as
practical to Rosemary Lamb.
AB 1925 is set for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee
on August 2.
AB 900/Reentry Facilities
AB 552 (Solorio) – Chaptered
Chapter 22, Statutes of 2010
Assembly Bill 552, by Assembly Member Jose Solorio, provides
technical fixes to AB 900 needed for the state attorney general
to issue a clean bond opinion. This step is critical in the
state’s effort to move the lease revenue bonds to market.
AB 552 is an urgency measure. It is the hoped that swift action
on the part of the Legislature and subsequent approval by the
Governor will allow the State Public Works Board to take
necessary action regarding AB 900 bonds.
This measure was signed by the Governor on June 3, 2010.
Marriages
AB 967 (Ma) – Vetoed
Vetoed by the Governor on July 19, 2010
Assembly Bill 967, by Assembly Members Fiona Ma and Ted Lieu,
sought to amend current statute to allow city mayors in charter
cities — while they are serving in office — to solemnize
marriages. Current law, under Section 400 of the Family Code,
specifies who has the authority to perform a marriage ceremony,
including specified religious leaders, judicial officers, and
various elected officials. A city mayor who wishes to solemnize a
marriage is now required — like others not expressly granted the
authority under the Family Code — to become deputized for a day
by the county clerk in order to preside over a marriage ceremony.
AB 967 would have granted sitting mayors of charter cities the
same privileges currently bestowed upon judges and clergy in
solemnizing marriages.
AB 967 was sponsored by the City of Los Angeles. The Governor
vetoed AB 967 this week, stating that the measure would place
undue burden on county clerks by granting a power to mayors of
charter cities and not to all mayors of unincorporated cities
within the same county.
JUDICIAL COUNCIL TASK FORCE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE COLLABORATION ON
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Draft Recommendations for Review Released; Public Comment Due by
September 17.
The Judicial Council’s Task Force for Criminal Justice
Collaboration on Mental Health has released its Draft
Recommendations report for public comment. The task force is
comprised of representatives from California State Sheriffs
Association, Chief Probation Officers of California, California
Mental Health Directors Association, California District
Attorneys’ Association, California Public Defenders Association
to the California Association of Public Administrators, Public
Guardians, and Public Conservators, as well as CSAC. The task
force was established by Chief Justice Ronald M. George in July
2007, as part of a national project designed to assist state
judicial leaders in their efforts to improve responses to people
with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system. The task
force was charged with exploring ways to improve practices and
procedures in cases involving adult and juvenile offenders with
mental illness, to ensure the fair and expeditious administration
of justice, and to promote improved access to treatment for
defendants with mental illness in the criminal justice
system.
The draft recommendations and report can be found on the
California Courts website. The public comment period is scheduled
from July 14 to September 17, 2010. In addition, two hearings
have been scheduled to receive public comment: August 4 in Los
Angeles and August 5 in Sacramento. More information on the
report, upcoming hearings, and the public comment process can be
found here.