2021
AB 424 (Stone) Private Student Loan Collections Reform Act: collection actions – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 559, Statutes of 2021
LAAC supported AB 424 because it provides necessary protections for student loan borrowers, which includes legal aid lawyers and other advocates. It requires private education lenders and loan collectors to provide specified records at a borrower’s request, establishes minimum evidentiary standards for private student loan collection lawsuits, and allows borrowers to pursue avenues of enforcement if a lender or collector fails to comply
with provisions of this bill.
SB 211 (Umberg) State Bar: board of trustees: reports: complaints: attorneys’ annual license fees: California Lawyers Association: Legal Services Trust Fund Commission: expenditure of funds – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 723, Statutes of 2021
LAAC supported SB 211 because this bill, by allowing legal aid organizations to provide services in expungement, record clearance, and infraction defense with State Bar funding sources, will help our community be able to stop turning away people due to lack of funding for these projects.
SB 241 (Umberg) 2021 California Court Efficiency Act – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 214, Statutes of 2021
LAAC supported SB 241 because this bill allowed for several important reforms to our court system that will improve access to justice and court efficiency while reducing costs and speeding up trial pace.
SB 498 (Umberg) Funds for the provision of legal services to indigent persons: disabled veterans – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 688, Statutes of 2021
LAAC supported SB 498 because this bill expanded the definition of “indigent person” for the purposes of determining eligibility for free legal services by increasing one measure of income eligibility from 125% to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and by exempting veterans disability benefits from household income.
AB 1487 (Gabriel) Legal Services Trust Fund Commission: Homelessness Prevention Fund: grants: eviction or displacement – Supported
Vetoed by Governor
LAAC supported AB 1487 because this bill would have created a Homelessness Prevention Fund and accompanying program to support education, outreach, and legal services for tenants facing eviction
2020
AB 2165 (Rivas) Electronic filing and service of documents – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 215, Statutes of 2020
LAAC supported AB 2165 because it allowed courts to charge litigants only the actual costs of filing court documents electronically and required the waiver of fees if the court deems a waiver appropriate and if allowed by local rule.
AB 2463 (Wicks) Enforcement of money judgments – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 218, Statutes of 2020
LAAC supported AB 2463 because it prohibited foreclosures on judgment liens stemming from judgments on consumer debts, which, in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, is immensely important.
AB 3121 (Weber) Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 319, Statutes of 2020
LAAC supported AB 3121 because it sought to combine education with action to address both the historical implications of slavery, but also the systemically entrenched forms of discrimination and inequity in the present, including those that pervade the civil and criminal justice systems.
SB 908 (Wieckowski) Debt Collection Licensing Act – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 319, Statutes of 2020
LAAC supported SB 908 because it offered increased protection from debt collectors to the low-and moderate-income consumers that legal aid offices assist, especially in the context of COVID-19.
2019
AB 242 (Kamlager-Dove) Implicit Bias Testing and Training – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 418, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported AB 242 because it required implicit bias testing and training for officers of the court, including judges, attorneys who appear in court, clerks and other court personnel.
AB 330 (Gabriel) Appointed legal counsel in civil cases – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 217, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported AB 330 because it increased civil fees to provide a more stable source of funding for the Shriver Act Programs.
AB 1060 (Gray) Attorney License Fee for Legal Aid – Supported
Ordered to inactive file at the request of Asm. Gray
LAAC supported AB 1060 because it proposed making the voluntary contribution of $40 to legal aid organizations in the annual attorney licensing fee mandatory, securing a critical funding source for legal aid to California’s low-income residents.
SB 18 (Skinner) Keep Californians Housed – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 134, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported AB 1060 because it offered a combination of rental assistance and legal aid, a comprehensive strategy to keep people in their homes and prevent homelessness.
SB 144 (Mitchell and Hertzberg) Criminal Fees – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 134, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported SB 144 because it sought to reform the system of fines and fees that causes additional and unnecessary burdens on those impacted by the criminal justice system by ending the assessment and collection of administrative fees.
SB 176 (Jackson) State Bar of California – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 698, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported SB 176 because of the scaling provision as well as the plan to share affinity and insurance income with a variety of stakeholders, including the legal aid community.
SB 187 (Wieckowski) Mortgage Debt Collection – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 545, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported SB 176 because, by merely clarifying that mortgage debt is within the definition of “consumer debt,” SB 187 proposed a small change to the law that would provide protection to consumers from unreasonable and confrontational debt collection practices.
SB 616 (Wieckowski) Protecting Assets from Levy – Supported
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 552, Statutes of 2019
LAAC supported SB 176 because it exempted the last $2,000 in a person’s bank account from a debt collector’s bank levy, thereby ensuring that low-income Californians do not suffer catastrophically when essential funds are seized without warning.