he state's energy crisis may be draining California's coffers, but that didn't stop the Senate from unanimously passing a bill late Wednesday that will guarantee pay parity for the state's public attorneys and administrative law judges.
Backed by California Attorneys in State Employment -- the public lawyers union -- SB 1160 would require the Department of Personnel Administration to make a good-faith offer of parity in public lawyer salaries.
In other words, if the bill passes, salaries for state lawyers will have to remain on par with compensation for other public attorneys in their respective regions. The bill, which is CASE's No. 1 agenda item this session, divides the state into three regions: Southern California, the Bay Area and all other regions.
Minimum compensation for attorneys in those areas would be based on the average salary for public lawyers in the region. The bill also provides that state attorneys and administrative law judges couldn't have their salaries reduced.
Richard Tullis, a deputy attorney general and president of CASE, said that passage of a pay parity bill would be a big step for his organization, which has worked hard over the past year to raise its profile in Sacramento.
"Legislators on both sides realize that the state deserves the best legal services for taxpayers," Tullis said.
If signed into law the new salary formula would represent a huge victory for state lawyers who have complained for years that inaction at the state level and weak organizing on their part has caused state attorney salaries to lag behind other public agencies.
In San Francisco for instance, lawyers at the attorney general's office say their salaries are roughly 20 percent below what is earned by attorneys in other public-sector offices like the city attorney's office. According to Tullis, a first-year AG in San Francisco would see pay rise from $43,000 to $53,000. In all, the bill allocates $19 million statewide to raises.
The pay situation has worried many career government attorneys who say it has caused a brain drain from their ranks, hurt morale and hampered recruitment efforts.
The bill by Sen. Richard Polanco, D-Los Angeles, now goes to the Assembly where it will be heard in the Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee in a few weeks.
The pay parity legislation was one of a spate of bills passed this week that were being watched closely by legal professionals. Among the others:
ˇAB 25: Authored by Assemblywoman Carol Migden, D-San Francisco, the bill would increase legal rights for same-sex couples, including the right to inherit property, make medical decisions and file a wrongful death suit. Testifying in support of the bill was Sharon Smith, the partner of Diane Whipple who was mauled to death by dogs last January in her Pacific Heights apartment. The legislation passed 43-29 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
ˇSB 791: The brainchild of San Mateo Superior Court Judge Quentin Kopp, the bill, which was carried by Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, and passed the Senate 23-14 Wednesday, would make it an infraction -- not a misdemeanor -- to possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana. It now goes to the Assembly. Another Kopp concept, AB 1161, unanimously passed the full Assembly in April. The legislation would increase pay for grand jurors, something that hasn't happened in 30 years.
ˇAB 267: Authored by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, the bill would establish mandatory mediation for parties in construction defect suits. It passed the full Assembly on Wednesday 45-14 and now makes it way to the Senate.
ˇAB 36: With Republicans abstaining, another Steinberg bill -- a watered-down version of a bill to ban secret settlement agreements in product liability and hazardous waste cases -- passed the Assembly on Thursday by a vote of 41-4 despite continued opposition from the state's high-tech industry. Companion legislation in the Senate -- SB 11 -- passed 21-16 Wednesday.
