News Releases

Statement: Response to Assembly Amended Licensing Fee Bill

Today the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed an amended version of SB 176, the legislation on the State Bar’s licensing fee.

Response Statement from Jason Lee, Chair, Board of Trustees

“We are pleased that the fee bill as amended by the Assembly Judiciary Committee reflects critical elements of funding identified by the State Auditor and Legislative Analyst’s Office to further the State Bar’s public protection mission by hiring discipline staff, fairly compensating our hard-working employees, and addressing the agency’s structural deficit. As currently written, the bill also enables the State Bar to make needed investments in technology and capital improvements, while moderating the impact of those investments on licensees. For active licensees, the current total in the fee bill amounts to a 26 percent increase, the first in 20 years. While no one likes to pay more for something required to do business, we believe this increase is fair. The fee bill unfortunately does not reflect the more ambitious fee-scaling proposals originally proposed by the Board of Trustees. New information, received subsequent to the Board’s initial action on this topic, suggests that there are structural impediments to the passage of a licensing fee bill reflecting the revenue-neutral, progressive, scaling structure that the Board of Trustees had wanted to implement. Given these realities, the more modest proposal contained in SB 176 reflects a reasonable and even-handed outcome.”

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The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.