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State Bar Dues Bill Approved by Senate
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The State Bar dues bill—setting base licensing fees for active members at $390, a $5 reduction from this year—passed the Senate yesterday on a vote of 33-1.
The bill returns to the Assembly for concurrence on amendments.
Under AB 2958, inactive members would pay a base fee of $97.40.
The base licensee fee will be cut by $4 for each active member and $1 for inactive members if the State Bar enters into a contract by Dec. 31 to sell its San Francisco office building.
The bill vests discretion in the Board of Trustees to give licensees the option of devoting up to $5 of the dues to support lobbying activity Business & Professions Code sections add $25 for disciplinary activities, $40 for the Client Security Fund, $10 for the Lawyer Assistance Program, and $45 for legal aid. The total 2022 fee for active members was $515.
It would be $510 for 2023, unless the San Francisco building is sold, reducing it to $506. A comment to the bill says:
“This year’s audit of the State Bar’s discipline program found that weak policies are limiting the State Bar’s ability to protect the public from attorney misconduct, which is its highest priority. The State Bar generally agrees with the recommendations by the State Auditor and even began implementing some of the recommendations during the audit, hi regards to other recommendations, the State Bar states it will need a significant increase in resources in order to implement them. i.e. a significant increase in attorney licensing fees: however, the State Auditor disagrees about the need for many of the requests for additional resources. Accordingly, this bill requests the California State Auditor to evaluate each program or division of the State Bar receiving support horn the annual State Bar licensing fees and other fees required of active and inactive licensees, as provided, and discipline cases that require an outside investigator or prosecutor.”
The bill, if passed, would take immediate effect upon the signature of the governor.
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