Under State Bar procedures, members may file a
specific objection to challenge the accuracy of any of the determinations by the board of
governors that a legislative position is chargeable to the annual membership fee under
Keller v. State Bar (1990) 496 U.S. 1.
A challenge by a member to any of the legislative positions listed at
the end of these instructions must be made individually and in writing. The written
challenge must include the challenger’s name, address, telephone number and bar
membership number and should identify the challenged legislative position.
A challenger must sign the challenge, postmarked on or before April
15, which is the 45th day following the publication date of this issue of the California
Bar Journal, or delivered in person to the State Bar’s San Francisco office by 5 p.m.
on or before April 15, directed to Marie Moffat, Acting Executive Director, State Bar of
California, 180 Howard St., San Francisco 94105-1639.
Challengers are still required to submit payment of the 2000
membership fee less only the $5 lobbying deduction. Failure to submit a timely challenge
shall constitute a waiver of any right to object to a particular legislative position
within this notice.
Objections properly filed within the deadline will be considered by
the board at its next regularly scheduled meeting following the deadline or as soon
thereafter as the matter may be considered. The board shall decide whether to give a pro
rata refund to the challenger or to submit the dispute for expeditious arbitration before
an impartial arbitrator, according to procedures described in the January 2000 California
Bar Journal.
If the dispute is submitted to arbitration, the arbitration process
will determine whether the challenged positions are within the scope of permissible
activities for which mandatory fees may be used under applicable constitutional law. Upon
receipt of a properly submitted and timely challenge, the State Bar will place the
disputed amount of the challenger’s fee in an interest-bearing escrow account.
The list of legislative proposals for 2000 approved and determined
chargeable on Feb. 5 by the board follows:
1. Supports Judicial Council proposal on changes to court’s
reference authority to modify the court’s reference authority under Code of Civil
Procedure §638 et seq. to clarify that discovery references should be made only when
exceptional circumstances of the case require, to require that a court make a specific
finding about the parties’ ability to pay the referee’s fees, to clarify that
counsel’s ability to pay the referee’s fees may not be considered when
determining whether the parties are able to pay these fees and to require that the court’s
reference order includes the maximum hourly rate the referee may charge and, if required
by a party, the estimated maximum number of hours for which the referee may charge.
2. Supports AB 592 (Migden), which would increase juror fees and
create a pilot project to reimburse jurors for child or dependent care expenses.
3. Supports SB 1184 (Murray), which would increase the number of
judgeships in the California trial and appellate courts. |
