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- Written by: State Bar of California
This will allow the agency to obtain criminal record information in compliance with state law.
The guidelines come before the State Bar's filing this week of a proposed California Rule of Court with the California Supreme Court.
The regulation will require all active California attorneys to be re-fingerprinted no later than April 30, 2019, to avoid incurring penalties. This would impact the approximately 190,000 California-licensed attorneys on active status.
In the interim, the State Bar encourages attorneys to immediately notify the State Bar of any mandatory reportable actions.
Failure to report mandatory reportable actions in and of itself constitutes violations of various sections of the Business & Professions Code and may subject attorneys to disciplinary action.
Attorneys are already required to report felony convictions as well as some misdemeanor convictions to the State Bar.
But the re-fingerprinting and subsequent notification of criminal record information may reveal misconduct not reported to the State Bar.
The State Bar estimates that 10 percent of the approximately 190,000 attorneys who are re-fingerprinted will have unreported criminal behavior.
The State Bar has procedures in place to assess whether the criminal activity provided by the DOJ warrants an investigation.
If the California Supreme Court approves the proposed rule of court, the State Bar will issue a set of regulations and a schedule for licensed attorneys.
If the court approves the proposal, the State Bar will begin receiving subsequent criminal record information notification services from the California Department of Justice for all active attorneys by Dec. 1, 2019. The State Bar is statutorily authorized to receive these subsequent arrest notification services.
The deadline for attorney fingerprinting is expected to be April 30, 2019, after which penalties will begin.
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- Written by: State Treasurer's Office
Consortium members – four state treasurers, cannabis industry representatives and other stakeholders – want to work with Sessions to create banking services and a safe business and legal environment for growers, distributors and sellers, and financial institutions in the 29 states where cannabis is legal for medical or adult recreational consumption.
“This is not just a blue state phenomenon but includes purple and red states in every corner of our country,” the letter’s authors wrote. “A majority of Americans now live in states where they have decided to legalize cannabis.”
California voters in 2016 approved an initiative to legalize cannabis use, beginning on January 1 of this year.
The need to communicate with Sessions is urgent since federal law conflicts with many state statutes by maintaining cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance akin to heroin and LSD. The dichotomy between federal and state law has made it difficult for cannabis firms to open bank accounts and forced them to deal in cash, creating a threat to public safety.
The letter’s signers said they are particularly concerned about Sessions’ rescission of the so-called Cole Memoranda, a directive issued by President Obama’s administration that spelled out the conditions that would allow for financial institutions to provide essential banking services to cannabis businesses operating in states where cannabis use had been legalized.
“We believe we can work together and achieve a solution that recognizes that more and more Americans are living in states where they have decided to legalize cannabis while balancing the important law enforcement issues the Cole Memos tried to account for,” the letter said.
Treasurer Chiang has been in the forefront of grappling with the problem of the lack of banking services for the nascent cannabis industry. He established an 18-member Cannabis Banking Working Group that held six public meetings around the state and heard from more than 50 experts.
The working group came up with a number of recommendations that were outlined in a report issued in November 2017. The recommendations include the creation of a multi-state consortium to advocate for changes in federal law to ensure that the cannabis industry and its customers operate safely, transparently and according to the will of the voters.
To read the letter click here.
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- Written by: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
At the recommendation of the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham submitted to the Office of Administrative Law an emergency rulemaking to close the commercial rock crab fishery north of Pigeon Point, San Mateo County on Nov. 8, 2016.
On Jan.1, 2017, new authority established in the Fish and Game Code, section 5523, allowed the director to continue the closure.
Updated recommendations received from OEHHA have resulted in the director opening parts of the commercial rock crab fishery north of the closure boundary near Pigeon Point.
The fishery was last modified in January 2018 when the fishery was opened between Bodega Bay and Salt Point, Sonoma County.
State and federal laws prohibit the commercial distribution of seafood products that contain domoic acid levels above the federal action level of 30 parts per million in the viscera.
The recreational fishery for rock crab remains open statewide with a warning from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to recreational anglers to avoid consuming the viscera of rock crab caught north of the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to the California/Oregon border.
Closure of the commercial rock crab fishery north of the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to the California/Oregon border shall remain in effect until the Director of OEHHA, in consultation with the Director of CDPH, determines that domoic acid levels no longer pose a significant risk to public health and recommends the fishery be opened.
CDFW will continue to coordinate with and the fishing community, CDPH and OEHHA to test domoic acid levels in rock crab within the closure area of the coast.
Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin that can accumulate in shellfish, other invertebrates and sometimes fish. It causes illness and sometimes death in a variety of birds and marine mammals that consume affected organisms.
At low levels, domoic acid exposure can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness in humans. At higher levels, it can cause persistent short-term memory loss, seizures and can in some cases be fatal.
Access Insurance consumers urged to find new coverage now; all policies to be terminated by April 12
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- Written by: California Department of Insurance
The policy cancellations are the result of a liquidation order issued against Access Insurance Company by the Texas Department of Insurance on March 13.
The Texas liquidation order provides in part that all policies and insurance contracts issued by Access in effect on March 13 shall continue in force only until either the 30th day after entry of the liquidation order; the date of expiration of the policy coverage; or the date the insured has replaced the policy or otherwise terminated the policy, whichever occurs first.
"As insurance commissioner, my first priority is protecting consumers-that includes helping affected policyholders navigate the liquidation process and offering assistance to address their questions," said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "We have been hearing from consumers who are confused about the cancellation notice they received and we want to make sure policyholders understand the steps they need to take."
Any claim filed by consumers with Access Insurance Company prior to March 13 will be transferred by the liquidator to the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) for payment so do not need to be refiled.
Consumers with new claims can submit their claims directly to Access Insurance Company and those claims will be transferred to CIGA. CIGA will provide notice to all Access policyholders of the deadline for filing claims with CIGA. Consumers whose coverage will be terminated mid-policy are also entitled to file a claim with CIGA for the return of the unearned portion of premium previously paid.
Earlier this month, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones issued a cease and desist order against Access that requires the company to immediately stop writing any new or renewal insurance business of any kind in the State of California.
California consumers who have questions or issues are encouraged to contact the department's consumer service team at 1-800-927-4357.