BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1267 Page 1 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 AB 1267 Page 2 $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 AB 1267 Page 3 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 AB 1267 Page 4 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 AB 1267 Page 5 available only to public officials and public employees. Analysis Prepared by: Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0000263