Judiciary omnibus.

(1) Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California and requires the State Bar to adopt regulations to require, as of January 1, 2022, that the mandatory continuing legal education curriculum for all licensees include training on bias, as specified. Existing law requires a licensee to meet the requirements for each compliance period ending after January 31, 2023. This bill would instead require a licensee to meet the requirements for each compliance period ending after January 31, 2022. (2) Existing law requires a notice of sale to be posted before any power of sale may be exercised under the power of sale contained in a deed of trust or mortgage. This bill, beginning March 1, 2021, would also require a resident of property upon which a notice of sale has been posted to be advised that, if the person is renting the property, the new property owner may either give the tenant a new lease or rental agreement or provide the tenant with a 90-day eviction notice, and that the new property owner is required to honor the lease unless the new owner will occupy the property as a primary residence or under limited circumstances. The bill would make it an infraction to tear down the notice within 72 hours of posting. The bill would require the Department of Business Oversight and the Department Real Estate to make translations of the notice available in specified languages. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law provides that an assignee of a right represented by a judgment may become an assignee of record by filing with the clerk of the court an acknowledgment of assignment of judgment. This bill would require documentation evidencing authorization to be filed with an acknowledgment of assignment of judgment if an acknowledgment of assignment of judgment purports to be executed or acknowledged by an authorized agent of the judgment creditor or prior assignee of record. This bill would also authorize an assignee of a right represented by a judgment to become an assignee of record by filing with the clerk of the court a court order or other documentation evidencing assignment of judgment by operation of law. (4) Existing law requires a seller of residential real property located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, as specified, to provide to the buyer documentation stating that the property is in compliance with state law requiring certain defensible space requirements around the property or, if applicable, with a local vegetation management ordinance. If the seller has not obtained that documentation, existing law requires the seller and buyer to enter into a written agreement pursuant to which the buyer agrees to obtain documentation of compliance, as specified. This bill would specify that nothing in those provisions, including provisions regarding the existence of an agreement between a buyer and seller, limits the ability of a state or local agency to enforce defensible space requirements or other applicable statutes, regulations, and local ordinances. (5) Existing law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, requires a debt collector to cease collection activities until a review is completed upon receipt of, among other documents, the debtor's written statement that the debtor claims to be the victim of identity theft. Existing law authorizes this writing to be, among others, a Federal Trade Commission's Affidavit of Identity Theft. This bill would instead authorize this writing to be a Federal Trade Commission's identity theft report. (6) Existing law specifies procedures for the enforcement of money judgments and requires a judgment debtor to appear for examination pursuant to a court order upon application by the judgment creditor. If a corporation, partnership, association, trust, or other organization is served with an order to appear for an examination, existing law requires those entities to designate to appear and be examined by one or more officers, directors, managing agents, or other persons familiar with the property or debts. Existing law authorizes one or more officers to accompany an individual if the order to appear requires the appearance of a specified individual. This bill would make those provisions applicable to limited liability companies. (7) Existing law authorizes access to limited civil case records filed in an unlawful detainer action only under specified circumstances, and authorizes a county clerk to allow any person to access those records 60 days after the complaint has been filed if the plaintiff prevails in the action within 60 days of the filing of the complaint, except as specified. This bill would instead authorize the county clerk to allow access to those records to any person 60 days after the complaint has been filed if judgment against all defendants has been entered for the plaintiff within 60 days of the filing of the complaint, except as specified. (8) Existing law, the Unclaimed Property Law, provides for the disposition of unclaimed property received by the state unless conditions for escheat exist. Existing law authorizes a person who claims to have been the owner of the property paid or delivered to the state to file a claim to the property. Existing law authorizes property received by the Controller in the name of a state or local agency to be transferred to the state or local agency without the filing of a claim. This bill would make those transfer provisions applicable to school districts and community college districts. (9) The California Fair Employment and Housing Act generally prohibits discrimination in employment and housing based on specified personal characteristics, including veteran or military status. This bill would make conforming, nonsubstantive changes to the term "veteran or military status" in those provisions. (10) Existing law requires an attorney who provides a demand letter for a construction-related accessibility claim to a building owner or tenant to send a copy of, and information about, the demand letter to the California Commission on Disability Access in the Department of General Services in a standard format specified by the commission. This bill would require the commission, at least 30 days before requiring a new standard format, to post on its internet website the new standard format and the date on which the commission will begin requiring the information to be sent in the new standard format. (11) Existing law requires each pretrial services agency that uses a risk assessment tool to validate that tool by January 1, 2021, and on a regular basis thereafter, as specified. Existing law also requires the Judicial Council to, beginning on December 31, 2020, and each year thereafter, publish a report on its internet website with data related to outcomes and potential biases in pretrial release, and requires the Judicial Council to, on or before July 1, 2022, provide a report to the courts and the Legislature containing recommendations to mitigate bias and disparate effect in pretrial decisionmaking. This bill would instead require each pretrial services agency that uses a risk assessment tool to validate that tool by July 1, 2021. The bill would require the Judicial Council to instead publish the report on outcomes and potential biases in pretrial release on July 30, 2021, and each year thereafter, and would require the Judicial Council to provide its report containing recommendations to mitigate bias and disparate effect in pretrial decisionmaking on or before January 1, 2023. (12) Existing law requires the Judicial Counsel to provide a report twice a year to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the State Auditor that contains specified information relating to contracts and payments made to vendors and contractors. This bill would instead require the Judicial Counsel to provide a report only once a year, would revise the information required in the report, and would require judicial branch entities to make certain information available in the Financial Information System for California (FISCal) . (13) Existing law, the California Self-Service Storage Facility Act, specifies remedies and procedures for self-service storage facility owners when occupants are delinquent in paying rent or other charges. Under existing law, if rent or other charges due from an occupant remain unpaid for 14 consecutive days, an owner may terminate the right of the occupant to the use of the storage space at a self-service storage facility by sending a preliminary lien notice by certified mail to the occupant's last known address, defined to mean the address provided by the occupant, as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, authorizes the notice to be sent by electronic mail subject to specified conditions. Existing law also allows an owner to demonstrate actual delivery and receipt of documents by, among other methods, the occupant acknowledging receipt of the electronic transmission of the notice by executing an electronic signature or by transmitting the notice to the occupant through an application on a personal electronic device, as provided. This bill would remove the January 1, 2021, date, thus authorizing the sending of the notice by electronic mail indefinitely. The bill would allow an owner to demonstrate actual delivery and receipt of documents by transmitting the document to the occupant through an application on an internet website, rather than an application on a personal electronic device, or by the occupant acknowledging receipt by replying to the electronic mail communication, and would make conforming changes. The bill would make the provision allowing an owner to demonstrate actual delivery and receipt of documents by email communication inoperative on January 1, 2023. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, deems a lien to attach if the notice has been sent and the total sum due has not been paid by the specified termination date. Existing law requires the owner to send to the occupant's last known address a notice of lien sale and a blank declaration in opposition to the lien sale. This bill would extend these provisions until January 1, 2023. (14) Existing law provides that in a civil action, before filing a demurrer, motion to strike, or motion for judgment on the pleadings, a party is required to meet and confer with the opposing party to try to resolve the objections or claims that would be raised in the filing. Existing law specifies certain requirements and procedures for this meet and confer requirements process, for demurrers, motions to strike, and motions for judgment on the pleadings and provides that these requirements and procedures are operative until January 1, 2021. This bill would extend these meet and confer requirements and procedures indefinitely. Because the moving party would be required to file a declaration under penalty of perjury describing the parties' efforts made to meet and confer, the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury and, therefore, impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides that, until January 1, 2021, a party may amend a pleading once without leave of court before an answer, demurrer, or motion to strike is filed, or after a demurrer or motion to strike is filed but before it is heard by the court if the amended pleading is filed and served no later than the date for filing an opposition to the demurrer or motion strike. Existing law permits a party to amend a pleading after the date for filing an opposition to a demurrer or motion to strike upon stipulation by the parties. This bill would extend this provision indefinitely. Existing law provides that if a demurrer is sustained, the court may grant leave to amend a pleading upon terms that are just and fix the time within which the amendment or amended pleading shall be filed. Existing law provides that, until January 1, 2021, the court's authority to grant leave to amend is subject to a 3-amendment limitation for complaints and cross-complaints, except as specified. This bill would extend indefinitely the 3-amendment limitation on the court's authority to grant leave to amend after a demurrer is sustained. (15) Existing law provides for a "confidential marriage," whereby 2 unmarried people, not minors, who have been living together as spouses, may be married. Existing law requires a confidential marriage license to be issued by the county clerk, as specified, and then returned to the county clerk after the marriage has been solemnized. Under existing law, if a confidential marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed after the performance of the marriage, but before it is returned to the county clerk, the person solemnizing the marriage is required to obtain a duplicate marriage license by filing an affidavit setting forth the facts with the county clerk of the county in which the license was issued. Existing law requires the duplicate license to be issued by the county clerk no later than one year after the issuance of the original marriage license and returned to the clerk by the person solemnizing the marriage within one year of the date shown on the original marriage license. This bill would instead require the county clerk to issue a duplicate confidential marriage license within one year after the date of the marriage and would require the person solemnizing the marriage to return the license to the clerk within one year of the date of the marriage. (16) Existing law imposes a general obligation on both parents of a minor child to support their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances. Existing law establishes the statewide uniform guidelines for calculating court-ordered child support, based on the income of both parents and the time each parent spends with the child. There is a rebuttable presumption under existing law that the obligor is entitled to a low-income adjustment of the child support amount when the obligor's net disposable income per month is less than $1,500, adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases by the Judicial Council based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index, as specified. Commencing January 1, 2021, the net disposable income threshold is reduced to $1,000 per month without adjustment for cost-of-living increases. This bill would delete the provision that would become operative on January 1, 2021, thereby maintaining the net disposable income threshold at $1,500 per month, adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases, indefinitely. Existing law establishes the Department of Child Support Services to administer all services and perform all functions necessary to establish, collect, and distribute child support. Existing law, except as specified, requires all files, applications, papers, documents, and records established or maintained by a public entity pursuant to the administration and implementation of the child and spousal support enforcement program to be confidential and not be open to examination or released for disclosure for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of the child and spousal support enforcement program. Existing law prohibits a public entity from disclosing any file, application, paper, document, or record, or the information contained therein, except as authorized. This bill would provide that a public entity does not include the court. The bill would state that these changes are declaratory of existing law. (17) Existing law requires the Judicial Council to establish a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, under which volunteers serve as a court-appointed special advocate to provide designated services and support to wards, dependents, and nonminor dependents in juvenile court proceedings. Existing law requires the council to establish a request-for-proposal process for grants to establish, maintain, or expand local CASA programs and to require funds or in-kind funds equal to the proposal request. This bill would instead authorize, but not require, the council to require matching funds for local programs to receive grants through this process and would authorize the council to require matching funds in an amount up to the proposal request amount. (18) Existing law, stayed pending voter approval under the powers of referendum pursuant to the California Constitution, repeals the cash bail system and instead requires Pretrial Assessment Services, as defined, to assess a person arrested or detained according to a risk assessment instrument and specifies the procedures for the detention or release of that person. This bill would delay the implementation of that law until October 1, 2021. The bill would make additional conforming changes. (19) This bill would make other nonsubstantive and conforming changes. (20) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.