CIVIL

• AB 375 (Chau) Grants consumers specified rights related to their personal information that is collected, shared, or maintained by a business.

An act to add Title 1.81.5 (commencing with Section 1798.100) to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to privacy.

• AB 1526 (Kalra) Requires debt collectors to provide certain notices to consumers when attempting to collect on time-barred debts. It also provides that the limitations period on commencing actions to collect on certain debts is an outright bar on initiating such proceedings, rather than allowing the expiration of the statute of limitations to serve simply as an affirmative defense.

An act to amend Section 1788.14 of the Civil Code, and to amend Section 337 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to debt collection.

• AB 1619 (Berman) Extends the statute of limitations for any civil action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of sexual assault.

An act to add Section 340.16 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to sexual assault.

• AB 1980 (Quirk) This bill extends the statute of limitations for commencing civil enforcement actions for Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) violations from one to five years.

An act to amend Section 338.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to statute of limitations.

• AB 2105 (Maienschein) Creates enhanced civil penalties, tripling any existing statutory civil penalty and providing an alternative $10,000 to $50,000 fine if no civil penalty is provided by statute, for acts that constitute “commercial sexual exploitation” of a minor or nonminor dependent.

An act to add Section 3345.1 to the Civil Code, relating to punitive damages.

• AB 2185 (Chiu) Enacts standards and procedures for permitting a court to appoint a guardian ad litem under a pseudonym.

An act to add Section 372.5 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil actions.

• AB 2201 (Mayes) Exempts certain petitioners, filing on behalf of minors, from paying court fees related to proceedings for a decree of a change of name.

An act to amend Section 1277 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and to add Section 70635 to the Government Code, relating to courts.

• AB 2230 (Berman) Amends several sections of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) related to specific statements filed in conjunction with motions for discovery, and motions to set aside or vacate a jury verdict or seek a new trial.

An act to amend Sections 660, 663a, 2030.300, 2031.310, and 2033.290 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil actions.

• AB 2286 (Chen) Extends the hours provided for leaving notice or other papers with an adult at a party to litigation’s home. Specifically, this bill provides that any attempt at serving of notice or other papers on a party at the party’s home must occur between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

An act to amend Section 1011 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil actions.

• AB 2769 (Cooper) This bill authorizes businesses to scan driver’s licenses and identification cards for the same purposes and under the same limitations that current law allows for the swiping of such documents.

An act to amend Section 1798.90.1 of the Civil Code, relating to privacy.

• AB 2770 (Irwin) This bill codifies California defamation case law as it relates to allegations of workplace sexual harassment, making it explicit in statute that: (1) employees who report sexual harassment to their employer are not liable for any resulting injury to the alleged harasser’s reputation, so long as the communication is made based on credible evidence and without malice; (2) communications between employers and anyone with an interest in a sexual harassment complaint, such as victims and witnesses, are not liable for any resulting damage to the alleged harassers reputation, as long as the communication is made without malice; and (3) former employers are not liable for any resulting injury to a former employee’s reputation if, in response to inquiries from prospective employers, the former employers indicate that they would not rehire the former employee based on a determination that the former employee engaged in sexual harassment, so long as the statement is made without malice.

An act to amend Section 47 of the Civil Code, relating to privileged communications.

• AB 2912 (Irwin) Requires common interest development (CID) board of directors (board) to review specified financial documents on a monthly basis, and prohibits electronic transfers of funds from homeowner association (HOA) accounts without prior board approval.

An act to amend Sections 5380 and 5500 of, and to add Sections 5501, 5502, and 5806 to, the Civil Code, relating to common interest developments.

• AB 3019 (Reyes) This bill requires a notice of oral deposition to be written in at least 12-point type.

An act to amend Section 2025.220 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to depositions.

• AB 3109 (Mark Stone) Makes void and unenforceable a provision in a contract or settlement agreement that waives a party’s right to testify in an administrative, legislative, or judicial proceeding concerning alleged criminal conduct on the part of the other party if the party has been required or requested to attend the proceeding pursuant to a court order, subpoena, or written request from an administrative agency or the Legislature.

An act to add Section 1670.11 to the Civil Code, relating to contracts.

• AB 3247 (Committee on Judiciary) This bill provides that a court is not required to order parties to arbitrate a controversy if it determines that grounds exist for rescission of the agreement, rather than revocation of the agreement.

An act to amend Section 1281.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to arbitration.

• AB 3249 (Committee on Judiciary) Reauthorizes the State Bar to collect up to $390 for active licensing fees for 2019, augments attorney discipline, revises the biannual audit of the State Bar’s finances, and directs the State Bar to enhance diversity.

An act to amend Sections 30, 6001, 6001.1, 6001.2, 6002, 6002.1, 6003, 6004, 6005, 6006, 6007, 6008.1, 6008.4, 6009.5, 6013.5, 6015, 6016, 6020, 6022, 6023, 6024, 6031, 6031.5, 6032, 6033, 6044, 6044.5, 6046, 6046.5, 6049, 6049.1, 6049.2, 6051, 6053, 6054, 6056, 6060, 6060.3, 6061, 6062, 6068, 6069, 6070, 6071, 6075, 6076, 6076.5, 6077, 6077.5, 6078, 6079.1, 6080, 6081, 6082, 6083, 6084, 6085.5, 6086, 6086.1, 6086.2, 6086.65, 6086.8, 6086.10, 6086.13, 6086.14, 6086.15, 6087, 6090.5, 6090.6, 6092, 6092.5, 6093.5, 6094, 6094.5, 6095, 6102, 6103.5, 6103.7, 6125, 6126, 6126.3, 6127, 6140, 6140.02, 6140.03, 6140.05, 6140.1, 6140.12, 6140.16, 6140.5, 6140.55, 6140.56, 6140.6, 6140.7, 6140.9, 6141, 6141.1, 6141.3, 6142, 6143, 6143.5, 6144.5, 6145, 6157, 6157.2, 6157.3, 6157.5, 6158.4, 6158.5, 6158.7, 6159.1, 6167, 6172, 6175, 6175.5, 6177, 6180, 6180.3, 6180.4, 6180.5, 6180.10, 6180.12, 6180.14, 6185, 6190, 6190.1, 6190.3, 6200, 6203, 6211, 6225, 6233, 6235, 6236, 6237, and 6241 of, to amend the heading of Article 3 (commencing with Section 6040) of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of, to amend and renumber the heading of Article 3 (commencing with Section 6055) of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of, to add Section 6001.3 to, and to repeal Sections 6040, 6041, 6042, 6043, 6045, 6048, and 6090 of, the Business and Professions Code, to amend Section 55.32 of the Civil Code, to amend Section 9795 of the Government Code, to amend Section 1872.95 of the Insurance Code, and to amend Section 19280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to attorneys.

• AB 3250 (Committee on Judiciary) Makes various changes to the California codes as part of the Committee’s civil law omnibus bill.

An act to amend Section 6402.2 of the Business and Professions Code, to amend Sections 51.7, 52.1, and 54.8 of the Civil Code, to amend Sections 384, 1013b, 1276, 1277, and 1277.5 of, and to repeal Section 630.30 of, the Code of Civil Procedure, to amend Section 103430 of the Health and Safety Code, to amend Section 1861.03 of the Insurance Code, and to repeal Section 1 of Chapter 1293 of the Statutes of 1976, relating to civil law.

• SB 224 (Jackson) This bill adds investor, elected official, lobbyist, director, and producer to the list of examples of relationships that are covered by Civil Code Section 51.9’s imposition of civil liability for sexual harassment in business, service, or professional contexts. Because the current list of examples is not exclusive, this bill is declaratory of existing law. Nonetheless, it serves to highlight that investors, elected officials, lobbyists, directors, and producers can be subject to liability if they engage in sexual harassment.

An act to amend Section 51.9 of the Civil Code, and to amend Sections 12930 and 12948 of the Government Code, relating to personal rights.

• SB 327 (Jackson) This bill requires manufacturers of connected devices to equip those devices with reasonable security features appropriate to the nature of the device.

An act to add Title 1.81.26 (commencing with Section 1798.91.04) to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to information privacy.

• SB 766 (Monning) This bill authorizes out-of-state attorneys and attorneys from foreign jurisdictions that meet certain conditions to provide legal services in an international commercial arbitration or related conciliation, mediation, or alternative dispute resolution proceeding, as specified.

An act to add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 1297.185) to Chapter 5 of Title 9.3 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to international commercial disputes.

• SB 820 (Leyva) This bill prohibits a provision within a settlement agreement that prevents the disclosure of factual information related to specified claims or complaints. Plaintiffs in such actions retain the right to request provisions in settlement agreements that shield their identity.

An act to add Section 1001 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil procedure.

• SB 939 (Portantino) This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates approximately $6.2 million to the attorney general (AG) to pay settlements for court cases.

An act relating to the payment of claims against the state, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

• SB 954 (Wieckowski) This bill requires an attorney representing a client participating in a mediation or a mediation consultation to provide the client with a written disclosure containing the mediation confidentiality restrictions provided in the Evidence Code (EVID). The attorney is required to obtain a printed acknowledgment signed by the client stating that the client has read and understands the confidentiality restrictions.

An act to amend Section 1122 of, and to add Section 1129 to, the Evidence Code, relating to mediation.

• SB 1121 (Dodd) This bill amends the recently enacted California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018.

An act to amend Sections 1798.100, 1798.105, 1798.110, 1798.115, 1798.120, 1798.125, 1798.130, 1798.135, 1798.140, 1798.145, 1798.150, 1798.155, 1798.185, 1798.192, 1798.196, and 1798.198 of, and to add Section 1798.199 to, the Civil Code, relating to personal information, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

• SB 1139 (Morrell) This bill deletes the sunset date on the provision of law that provides a procedure by which an entitled person, as defined, can, with the approval of a borrower, request the suspension and closure of a home equity line of credit, as specified.

An act to amend Section 2943.1 of the Civil Code, relating to real property.

• SB 1155 (Hueso) This bill revises statutes regarding the provision of language interpreters in small claims court with the goal of expanding language access to limited-English proficient parties in small claims court.

An act to repeal Section 116.550 of the Code of Civil Procedure and to amend Section 68560.5 of the Government Code, relating to courts.

• SB 1196 (Jackson) This bill authorizes a person whose personal identifying information has been used unlawfully in a business entity filing, as defined, and has initiated a law enforcement investigation, to petition a court for an order directing the alleged perpetrator of the act and the person using the personal identifying information in the filing to appear and show cause as to why the information should not be labeled to show the information is impersonated and should not be associated with the business entity. This bill provides the relevant court process and requires a court that finds the petition meritorious, to order that the name and personal identifying information in the business entity filing be redacted or labeled to show the data is impersonated and to order the removal of the personal identifying information from publicly accessible electronic indexes and databases.

An act to add Title 1.81.6 (commencing with Section 1798.200) to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to personal identifying information.

• SB 1201 (Jackson) This bill requires supervised financial organizations to provide translated disclosures of specified mortgage documents to borrowers with whom they negotiate those documents in a foreign language and clarifies the circumstances under which the Commissioner of Business Oversight (commissioner) may revoke the license of a California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA) licensee that fails to file a certified financial statement as required under the CRMLA.

An act to amend Section 1632.5 of the Civil Code, and to amend Section 50200 of the Financial Code, relating to contracts.

• SB 1249 (Galgiani) This bill makes it unlawful for a manufacturer of cosmetic products to import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state, any cosmetic, if the cosmetic was developed or manufactured using an animal test that was conducted or contracted by the manufacturer, or any supplier of the manufacturer, on or after January 1, 2020, as specified. This bill provides that violations are punishable by an initial $5,000 fine and an additional $1,000 for each day the violation continues.

An act to add Section 1834.9.5 to the Civil Code, relating to animal testing.

• SB 1431 (Morrell) This bill clarifies that the terms “creditor” and “debtor,” as used in Section 1542 of the Civil Code, are interchangeable with the terms “releasing party” and “released party,” respectively.

An act to amend Sections 1541 and 1542 of the Civil Code, relating to obligations.

• SB 1453 (McGuire) This bill provides that an action under Section 4601.1 of the Public Resources Code for specified violations of the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 involving the conversion of timberland to nonforestry-related agricultural uses must be commenced within three years.

An act to amend Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil actions.