6140-6145
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 6140-6145
6140. (a) The board shall fix the annual membership fee for active members for 2011 at a sum not exceeding three hundred fifteen dollars ($315). (b) The annual membership fee for active members is payable on or before the first day of February of each year. If the board finds it appropriate and feasible, it may provide by rule for payment of fees on an installment basis with interest, by credit card, or other means, and may charge members choosing any alternative method of payment an additional fee to defray costs incurred by that election. (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2012, and, as of that date, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends that date. 6140.01. (a) (1) Ten dollars ($10) of the membership fee authorized pursuant to Sections 6140 and 6141 shall be allocated for the purposes established pursuant to Section 6033, except to the extent that a member elects not to support those activities. (2) The invoice provided to members for payment of the annual membership fee shall provide each member the option of deducting ten dollars ($10) from the annual fee if the member elects not to have this amount allocated as provided in this section. (3) The allocation pursuant to this section shall be known as the Temporary Emergency Legal Services Voluntary Assistance Option. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date. 6140.05. (a) The invoice provided to members for payment of the annual membership fee shall provide each member the option of deducting five dollars ($5) from the annual fee if the member elects not to support lobbying and related activities by the State Bar outside of the parameters established by the United States Supreme Court in Keller v. State Bar of California (1990) 496 U.S. 1. (b) For the support or defense of lobbying and related activities conducted by the State Bar on or after January 1, 2000, outside of the parameters of Keller v. State Bar of California, and in support or defense of any litigation arising therefrom, the Board of Governors of the State Bar shall not expend a sum exceeding the following: the product of the number of members paying their annual dues who did not elect the optional deduction multiplied by five dollars ($5). Moneys collected pursuant to this section shall not be deemed voluntary fees or funds for the purpose of subdivision (c) of Section 6031.5. (c) As used in this section, "lobbying and related activities by the State Bar" includes the consideration of measures by the Board of Governors of the State Bar that are deemed outside the parameters established in Keller v. State Bar, the purview determination, lobbying and the preparation for lobbying of the measures, and any litigation in support or defense of that lobbying. The determination of these costs shall include, but not be limited to, overhead and administrative costs. 6140.1. The State Bar annually shall submit its proposed baseline budget for the following fiscal year to the Legislature by November 15, and its proposed final budget by February 15, so that the budget can be reviewed and approved in conjunction with any bill that would authorize the imposition of membership dues. Each proposed budget shall include the estimated revenues, expenditures, and staffing levels for all of the programs and funds administered by the State Bar. Any bill that authorizes the imposition of membership dues shall be a fiscal bill and shall be referred to the appropriate fiscal committees; provided, however, that the bill may be approved by a majority vote. The State Bar shall submit the budget documents in a form comparable to the documents prepared by state departments for inclusion in the Governor's Budget and the salaries and wages supplement. In addition, the bar shall provide supplementary schedules detailing operating expenses and equipment, all revenue sources, any reimbursements or interfund transfers, fund balances, and other related supporting documentation. The bar shall submit budget change proposals with its final budget, explaining the need for any differences between the current and proposed budgets. 6140.16. The State Bar shall review its workload standards to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of its disciplinary activities, including, but not limited to, the State Bar Court and the Client Security Fund, and provide guidance to the State Bar and the Legislature in allocating resources. The standards shall be used to reassess the numbers and classifications of staff required to conduct the activities of the State Bar's disciplinary activities. The review shall cover the calendar years of 1998, 1999, and 2000. The State Bar shall submit a report to the Legislature on its review of workload standards by June 30, 2001. 6140.2. The State Bar shall set as a goal the improvement of its disciplinary system so that no more than six months will elapse from the receipt of complaints to the time of dismissal, admonishment of the attorney involved, or the filing of formal charges by the State Bar Office of Trial Counsel. 6140.3. (a) The board may increase the annual membership fee fixed by Section 6140 and the annual membership fee specified in Section 6141 by an additional amount not exceeding ten dollars ($10). This additional amount may be used only for (1) the costs of financing, constructing, purchasing, or leasing facilities to house State Bar staff and (2) any major capital improvement projects related to facilities owned by the bar. (b) Funds collected pursuant to subdivision (a) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013, may only be used for the construction, purchase, or lease of a facility in southern California upon the expiration of the State Bar's existing lease of a facility in Los Angeles in January 2014. The board shall report to the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Judiciary on or before April 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, on its preliminary plans for determining whether to construct, purchase, or lease a facility in southern California. At least 60 days, or 90 days if the 60th day would occur when the Legislature has adjourned for the fall or final recess, prior to entering into any agreement for the purchase of a facility in southern California, the board shall submit its proposed decision and cost estimate for the facility to the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Judiciary for review. If the board does not enter into an agreement to purchase a facility in southern California and the Legislature does not, by a later enacted statute, authorize use of the funds collected pursuant to this section to construct or lease a facility, those funds shall be applied as a one-time credit to each member's annual dues in the amount paid by that member. (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date. 6140.35. (a) The board may increase the annual membership fee fixed by Section 6140 by an additional amount not exceeding ten dollars ($10). This additional amount may be used only for the costs of upgrading the board's information technology system, including purchasing and maintenance costs and both computer hardware and software. This special assessment for information technology upgrades shall be separately listed and described in the annual membership fee invoice, which shall include notice of the repeal of this section on January 1, 2014. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and, as of that date, is repealed. 6140.36. (a) The board shall report to the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Judiciary on or before April 1, 2011, and on or before April 1 of the succeeding two years, on the use of the funds authorized pursuant to Section 6140.35. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date. 6140.37. The State Bar shall have a preference for using in-house employees for information technology projects, whenever possible. Nothing in this section shall be read to be inconsistent with any memorandum of understanding between the State Bar and the recognized employee organizations or any relevant principles of labor law. 6140.38. (a) The State Bar shall report to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Assembly Committee on Judiciary on or before April 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, on the impact of the changes made to Section 6008.6 by Senate Bill 55 of the 2009-10 Regular Session. In addition to a description of the impact of those changes, the report shall include, with specificity, the following: (1) the projects that previously would have been required to comply with Article 4 (commencing with Section 10335) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, but are no longer subject to that requirement because the contract amount is between fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and one hundred thousand ($100,000); and (2) whether the changes have improved the efficiency of the contracting process. The report required by this section may be included with the report described in Section 6140.36. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date. 6140.5. (a) The board shall establish and administer a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of active members of the State Bar, Foreign Legal Consultants registered with the State Bar, and attorneys registered with the State Bar under the Multijurisdictional Practice Program, arising from or connected with the practice of law. Any payments from the fund shall be discretionary and shall be subject to regulation and conditions as the board shall prescribe. The board may delegate the administration of the fund to the State Bar Court, or to any board or committee created by the board of governors. (b) Upon making a payment to a person who has applied to the fund for payment to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of an active member of the State Bar, the State Bar is subrogated, to the extent of that payment, to the rights of the applicant against any person or persons who, or entity that, caused the pecuniary loss. The State Bar may bring an action to enforce those rights within three years from the date of payment to the applicant. (c) Any attorney whose actions have caused the payment of funds to a claimant from the Client Security Fund shall reimburse the fund for all moneys paid out as a result of his or her conduct with interest, in addition to payment of the assessment for the procedural costs of processing the claim, as a condition of continued practice. The reimbursed amount, plus applicable interest and costs, shall be added to and become a part of the membership fee of a publicly reproved or suspended member for the next calendar year. For a member who resigns with disciplinary charges pending or a member who is suspended or disbarred, the reimbursed amount, plus applicable interest and costs, shall be paid as a condition of reinstatement of membership. (d) Any assessment against an attorney pursuant to subdivision (c) that is part of an order imposing a public reproval on a member or is part of an order imposing discipline or accepting a resignation with a disciplinary matter pending, may also be enforced as a money judgment. This subdivision does not limit the power of the Supreme Court to alter the amount owed or to authorize the State Bar Court, in the enforcement of a judgment under this subdivision, to approve an agreement for the compromise of that judgment. 6140.55. The board may increase the annual membership fees fixed by it pursuant to Section 6140 by an additional amount per active member not to exceed forty dollars ($40), and the annual membership fees fixed by it pursuant to Section 6141 by an additional amount per inactive member not to exceed ten dollars ($10), in any year, the additional amount to be applied only for the purposes of the Client Security Fund and the costs of its administration, including, but not limited to, the costs of processing, determining, defending, or insuring claims against the fund. 6140.6. The board may increase the annual membership fees fixed by Sections 6140 and 6141 by an additional amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) to be applied to the costs of the disciplinary system. 6140.7. Costs assessed against a member publicly reproved or suspended, where suspension is stayed and the member is not actually suspended, shall be added to and become a part of the membership fee of the member, for the next calendar year. Unless time for payment of discipline costs is extended pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 6086.10, costs assessed against a member who resigns with disciplinary charges pending or by a member who is actually suspended or disbarred shall be paid as a condition of reinstatement of or return to active membership. 6140.9. Moneys for the support of the program established pursuant to Article 15 (commencing with Section 6230) and related programs approved by the committee established pursuant to Section 6231 shall be paid in whole or part by a fee of ten dollars ($10) per active member per year, and by a fee of five dollars ($5) per inactive member per year. The board may seek alternative sources for funding the program. To the extent that funds from alternative sources are obtained and used for the support of the program, and provided that at least ten dollars ($10) per active member and five dollars ($5) per inactive member is available for support of the program each year, funds provided by the fee established by this section may be applied to the costs of State Bar general fund programs. 6141. (a) Until December 31, 2006, the board shall fix the annual membership fee for inactive members at a sum not exceeding sixty-five dollars ($65). On January 1, 2007, and thereafter, the board shall fix the annual membership fee for inactive members at a sum not exceeding seventy-five dollars ($75). The annual membership fee for inactive members is payable on or before the first day of February of each year. (b) An inactive member shall not be required to pay the annual membership fee for inactive members for any calendar year following the calendar year in which the member attains the age of 70 years. 6141.1. (a) The payment by any member of the annual membership fee, any portion thereof, or any penalty thereon, may be waived by the board as it may provide by rule. The board may require submission of recent federal and state income tax returns and other proof of financial condition as to those members seeking waiver of all or a portion of their fee or penalties on the ground of financial hardship. (b) The board shall adopt a rule or rules providing that an active member who can demonstrate total gross annual individual income from all sources of less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) shall presumptively qualify for a waiver of 25 percent of the annual membership fee. 6142. Upon the payment of the annual membership fees, including any costs imposed pursuant to Section 6140.7, and penalties imposed pursuant to Section 6143, each member shall receive a certificate issued under the direction of the board evidencing the payment. 6143. Any member, active or inactive, failing to pay any fees, penalties, or costs after they become due, and after two months written notice of his or her delinquency, shall be suspended from membership in the State Bar. The member may be reinstated upon the payment of accrued fees or costs and such penalties as may be imposed by the board, not exceeding double the amount of delinquent dues, penalties, or costs. 6143.5. Any member, active or inactive, failing to pay any child support after it becomes due shall be subject to Section 17520 of the Family Code. 6144. All fees shall be paid into the treasury of the State Bar, and, when so paid, shall become part of its funds. 6144.5. It is the intent of the Legislature to confirm, validate, and declare effective the annual membership fees, and all augmentations, including, but not limited to, those made under Sections 6140.3 and 6140.6, fixed and collected by the board for 1990, and all other acts arising from and related thereto. 6145. (a) The board shall engage the services of an independent national or regional public accounting firm with at least five years of experience in governmental auditing for an audit of its financial statement for each fiscal year. The financial statement shall be promptly certified under oath by the Treasurer of the State Bar, and a copy of the audit and financial statement shall be submitted within 120 days of the close of the fiscal year to the board, to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary. The audit shall examine the receipts and expenditures of the State Bar and the State Bar sections to ensure that the receipts of the sections are being applied, and their expenditures are being made, in compliance with subdivision (a) of Section 6031.5, and that the receipts of the sections are applied only to the work of the sections. The audit also shall examine the receipts and expenditures of the State Bar to ensure that the funds collected on behalf of the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations as the independent successor entity to the former Conference of Delegates of the State Bar are conveyed to that entity, that the State Bar has been paid or reimbursed for the full cost of any administrative and support services provided to the successor entity, including the collection of fees or donations on its behalf, and that no mandatory dues are being used to fund the activities of the successor entity. In selecting the accounting firm, the board shall consider the value of continuity, along with the risk that continued long-term engagements of an accounting firm may affect the independence of that firm. (b) The board shall contract with the Bureau of State Audits to conduct a performance audit of the State Bar's operations from July 1, 2000, to December 31, 2000, inclusive. A copy of the performance audit shall be submitted by May 1, 2001, to the board, to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary. Every two years thereafter, the board shall contract with the Bureau of State Audits to conduct a performance audit of the State Bar's operations for the respective fiscal year, commencing with January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2002, inclusive. A copy of the performance audit shall be submitted within 120 days of the close of the fiscal year for which the audit was performed to the board, to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary. For the purposes of this subdivision, the Bureau of State Audits may contract with a third party to conduct the performance audit. This subdivision is not intended to reduce the number of audits the Bureau of State Audits may otherwise be able to conduct.