BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      AB 1267


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1267 (Bloom)


          As Amended April 27, 2015


          Majority vote


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                 |Noes                  |
          |----------------+------+---------------------+----------------------|
          |Judiciary       |10-0  |Mark Stone, Wagner,  |                      |
          |                |      |Alejo, Chau, Chiu,   |                      |
          |                |      |Gallagher, Cristina  |                      |
          |                |      |Garcia, Holden,      |                      |
          |                |      |Maienschein,         |                      |
          |                |      |O'Donnell            |                      |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Extends an existing law that prohibits a person from  
          filing or recording lawsuits, liens, and other encumbrances  
          against a public official or employee for purposes of harassment,  
          and that provide corresponding remedies to the victims thereof,   
          to any person or entity subject to such lawsuit, lien, or  
          encumbrance.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Prohibits a person from filing or recording a lawsuit, lien, or  
            encumbrance against another person or entity, knowing it is  
            false, with the intent to harass the person or entity or to  
            influence or hinder the person in discharging his or her  
            official duties if the person is a public officer or employee.   
            Subjects any person who knowingly violates this provision to a  








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            $5,000 civil penalty.


          2)Permits a person or entity that is subject to lien or  
            encumbrance that violates the provisions of this bill to  
            petition the appropriate superior court.  Requires the court to  
            order the lien or other encumbrance claimant to appear at a  
            hearing before the court and show cause why the lien or other  
            encumbrance should not be stricken and other appropriate relief  
            granted.  If the court finds that lien or encumbrance was  
            unlawfully filed, the court shall strike the lien or encumbrance  
            and award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the  
            petitioner.  If the court finds that the lien or encumbrance is  
            valid, it shall issue an order so stating and award costs and  
            reasonable attorney's fees to the lien or encumbrance claimant.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Prohibits a person from filing or recording a lawsuit, lien, or  
            other encumbrance, as specified, against a public officer or  
            employee, knowing it is false, with the intent to harass the  
            officer or employee or to influence or hinder the public officer  
            or employee in discharging his or her official duties.  Subjects  
            any person who knowingly violates this provision to a $5,000  
            civil penalty.  


          2)Permits a public officer or employee whose property is subject  
            to a lien or encumbrance that violates the above provision to  
            petition the appropriate superior court for an order directing  
            the lien or encumbrance claimant to appear at a hearing to show  
            why the lien or encumbrance should not be stricken and other  
            appropriate relief granted.  If the court finds that the lien or  
            encumbrance was unlawfully filed, the court shall strike the  
            lien or encumbrance and award costs and reasonable attorney's  
            fees to the petitioner.  If the court finds that the lien or  
            encumbrance is valid, it shall issue an order so stating and  








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            award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the lien or  
            encumbrance claimant.  


          3)Makes a person who knowingly procures or offers any false or  
            forged instrument to be filed, registered, or recorded in any  
            public office within this state, as specified, guilty of a  
            felony, and provides a process to allow a judge to declare an  
            instrument void, as specified.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  None 


          COMMENTS:  Sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, this bill  
          seeks to address the problem of "paper terrorism" - or the  
          practice of filing legal documents, knowing that they are false  
          and meritless, in order to harass, intimidate, threaten, or  
          retaliate against both public officials and private citizens.  The  
          author and sponsor are particularly concerned by extremist  
          anti-government groups, especially the so-called "sovereign  
          citizen" movement.  For example, one "sovereign citizen" member in  
          Chico, California, filed false liens against judges, lawyers,  
          Internal Revenue Service officers, and private witnesses who were  
          involved in his trial for various kinds of tax fraud.  In November  
          of 2014, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison. 


          Existing Law Protects Public Officials and Public Employees.   
          Existing law prohibits a person from filing a knowingly false  
          lawsuit, lien, or encumbrance against a public official or  
          employee for the purposes of harassing the official or employee,  
          or attempting to influence or interfere with the official or  
          employee in the carrying out of his or her official duties.   
          Existing law also provides expedited procedures by which a public  
          official or employee may seek civil remedies and have a false lien  
          or encumbrance removed from the record.  Specifically, existing  
          law allows a public official or employee to file a petition with  
          the superior court for an order requiring the person who filed the  








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          false and harassing document to appear before the court and show  
          cause why the lien or encumbrance should not be stricken from the  
          record.  (In the case of a falsely filed lawsuit, there is, of  
          course, no need to require the person who recorded the false  
          document to appear before the court since there is already a  
          lawsuit.)  If the court finds that the lien or encumbrance was  
          filed only to harass or unduly influence the official or employee,  
          the court will strike the lien or encumbrance and award costs and  
          reasonable attorney's fees to the victim.  If, on the other hand,  
          the court finds that the lien or encumbrance was lawfully and  
          legitimately recorded, then the lien or encumbrance stays on the  
          books and the person wrongly accused of recording the false  
          document will be awarded costs and attorney's fees.  The person  
          who filed the false lawsuit, however, would be subject to a $5,000  
          civil penalty.  


          This straight-forward bill simply applies the existing  
          prohibitions and remedies relative to false lawsuits, liens, and  
          encumbrances against public officials and employees to instances  
          in which false and harassing lawsuits, liens, and encumbrances are  
          filed or recorded against any person or entity.  The rationale for  
          this extension, according to the author, is an alleged resurgence  
          in "paper terrorism" by groups like the "sovereign citizens"  
          movement that target both public officials and private persons. 


          The need for this bill, according to the author, is illustrated by  
          at least three California cases in the past year where members of  
          the sovereign citizens' movement filed harassing liens against  
          California public officials, mostly judges and Internal Revenue  
          Service employees and agents.  In each of these cases the persons  
          who filed the false liens against public officials were  
          prosecuted.  These cases illustrate the recent nature of the  
          problem, but they also reveal the limitation of existing law:  
          private persons subject to the same liens would not have had the  
          same remedies.  This bill seeks to address that shortcoming in  
          existing law.  The author believes that this bill will  
          appropriately extend to private citizens protections currently  








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          available only to public officials and public employees. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                               
          Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334  FN: 0000263