California Conference of Bar Associations CCBA

(formerly known as State Bar Conference of Delegates)

Summary:  The California Conference of Bar Associations CCBA (formerly known as State Bar Conference of Delegates) provides a unique forum for California lawyers to work together in a common effort to address issues of importance and provide leadership in improving the law. The Conference assembles approximately 300 authorized delegates from participating bar associations. The delegates draft, analyze, negotiate and vote on more than 100 resolutions on a wide range of issues. The only limit is whether a resolution is germane to the practice and administration of the law. A resolution is germane if it concerns the legal profession and the people of the State of California, and is designed to promote: the improvement of the administration of justice, the education of the profession and the public concerning the justice system and laws, the science of jurisprudence, professional excellence, or respect for the law.

Process:

Step 1: Sourcing and Requirements:  Resolutions are inspired when lawyers see a problem with the way the law is working and have an idea about how it should be changed to work better.   A resolution is a specific  proposal for how the law should be changed.  It can be a minor change of wording, adding a new code section, repealing a code section, etc.  The resolution must address:

• the problem with the existing law;
• the impact of the proposed change; and
• whether any such change has ever been proposed legislation in the past.

Step 2:  Review:  The Resolutions Committee of CCBA reviews each resolution and makes a report on the merits of each.  These reports are available in late July.   In addition, relevant sections or committees of the California State Bar who are interested in the subject matter of a resolution can also issue reports and recommend approval or disapproval of the resolution.   Any member bar association can also submit counterarguments in opposition to any resolution. These pro and con statements appear with the resolution itself when the resolutions are published for consideration by bar association delegations.

Step 3:  Debate and Vote: At the annual meeting, resolutions are called up for debate by the representatives of bar associations present.  Parliamentary procedure is observed.   Resolutions are often amended through negotiation for support by other delegations. The proponent of the resolution speaks, and then speakers in opposition and in favor present their points of view.  At the conclusion of debate, a vote is taken.

Step 4:  Implementation:  One of the core missions of the CCBA is to help the resolutions approved by the Conference become law.  If a resolution is approved, it is referred to the legislative representative to arrange for a sponsor in the California Legislature.   The CCBA employs a legislative representative (lobbyist) in Sacramento.  You can track the progress of the 2018 resolutions passed by CCBA which have become Assembly Bills or Senate Bills at: http://ctweb.capitoltrack.com/public/publish.aspx?session=13&id=8a99546e-cd70-4e95-93bc-3158ebb3c557.

Resolutions:  Below are links to the resolutions.  We invite you to look over what interests you and provide feedback using the email address provided.  The SBCBA subsidizes the attendance of its delegation to the CCBA in October of each year.  Please use the following email to communicate, no later than September 1st of each year, your opinions and positions on the pending resolutions to the Conference representatives of the SBCBA:  sbcba@sblaw.org. We will provide them to the SBCBA’s delegation.  We also encourage members to submit, by January 1st of each year, the changes they would like to see in the law, including the information described in Step 1 and the specific code sections involved with language changes flagged.

All resolutions: http://calconference.org/html/?page_id=944

Please visit here to view all 2018 resolutions, including the CCBA Resolutions Committee analysis.

Please use the following email to communicate, by September 1st of each year, your opinions and positions on the pending resolutions :  sbcba@sblaw.org. We will send them to the appropriate member of SBCBA’s delegation.