With scarcely two weeks remaining in the Legislature’s biennial session, many of its remaining high-profile issues appear to be stalled.
Now, after negotiations broke down late last week, you can add much-needed reform of the State Bar to the no-fly list, along with Gov. Jerry Brown’s transportation tax, housing reform and reauthorization of the state’s plan to reduce carbon emissions.
The State Bar is the quasi-public body that both licenses and regulates lawyers and also serves as a trade association for the legal profession.
The Assembly passed a reform bill, aimed at making the scandal-tainted agency more accountable to the public and perhaps leading to a division of its functions.
The legislation also responded to the State Bar’s annual request for authority to levy dues on attorneys to support its operations.
However, when the bill reached the Senate Judiciary Committee, its chairwoman, Hannah-Beth Jackson, demanded changes that her Assembly counterpart, Mark Stone, refused to make. [Read Full Article]
