Amended  IN  Senate  May 04, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 785

Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Gonzalez Fletcher)

February 17, 2017

An act to add Sections 1760.1 and 1760.2 to the Civil Code, amend Section 351.2 of the Evidence Code, relating to consumer protection. evidence, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 785, as amended, Wiener. Consumer protection: firearms and ammunition. Evidence: immigration status.
Existing law provides that all relevant evidence is admissible in an action before the court, including evidence relevant to the credibility of a witness or hearsay declaring, subject to specified exceptions. Existing law also provides that, in civil actions for personal injury or wrongful death, evidence of a person’s immigration status is not admissible and discovery of a person’s immigration status is not permitted.
This bill would prohibit the inclusion of evidence of a person’s immigration status in a public court record unless the party seeking its inclusion seeks and obtains a ruling by the presiding judge at an in camera hearing that the evidence is relevant.
The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth in Evidence, which requires a 2/3 vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified.
Because this bill may exclude from an action, including a criminal proceeding, information about a person’s immigration status that would otherwise be admissible, it requires a 2/3 vote of the Legislature.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (act), prohibits certain enumerated unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices undertaken by any person in a transaction intended to result, or which results in, the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer. The act provides for relief through actions for damages, injunctive relief, and restitution, among other remedies.

This bill would state that the act applies to firearms and ammunition, and provide that a violation of the act regarding firearms or ammunition is actionable under the act.

Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 351.2 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:

351.2.
 (a) (1) In a civil action for personal injury or wrongful death, evidence of a person’s immigration status shall not be admitted into evidence, nor shall discovery into a person’s immigration status be permitted.

(b)

(2) This section subdivision does not affect the standards of relevance, admissibility, or discovery prescribed by Section 3339 of the Civil Code, Section 7285 of the Government Code, Section 24000 of the Health and Safety Code, and Section 1171.5 of the Labor Code.
(b) In all actions not governed by subdivision (a) or any other provisions of law, evidence of a person’s immigration status shall not be included in a public court record unless the party seeking its inclusion first seeks and obtains a ruling by the presiding judge at an in camera hearing that the evidence is relevant.
(c) This section does not prohibit an individual from voluntarily revealing his or her immigration status to the court.

SEC. 2.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
California’s Chief Supreme Court Justice Cantil-Sakauye has said, “Our courthouses serve as a vital forum for ensuring access to justice and protecting public safety. Courthouses should not be used as bait in the necessary enforcement of our country’s immigration laws.” By publicly airing the immigration status of individuals in our courthouses even when it is irrelevant to the trier of fact, some officers of the court are chilling participation by undocumented immigrant victims and witnesses by conveying to them that participation may lead to their deportation. Therefore, in order to immediately help protect undocumented residents of California and their ability to participate in the California justice system, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
SECTION 1.Section 1760.1 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1760.1.

Except as otherwise provided, this title applies to all consumer transactions, including any transaction in which the subject of the transaction is a firearm or ammunition. This provision is declaratory of existing law.

SEC. 2.Section 1760.2 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1760.2.

A person who violates this title, or engages in conduct proscribed by this title, in connection with a consumer transaction involving a firearm or ammunition, is in violation of a statute specifically applicable to the sale or marketing of firearms or ammunition, and the violation is actionable pursuant to this title.