Still more on UCL "reform" efforts
At the UCL conference last Friday, Tom Papageorge from the Los Angeles District Attorney's office (and a well-known UCL expert) led a panel entitled "What Changes Are In Store For 17200: The Initiative Process and Beyond." He reviewed the history of legislative amendments to the UCL, and noted that in 2003, eleven bills were introduced to reform the UCL. Only three of them got out of committee. In 2004, only two bills had strong prospects, and one of them (as I observed here) was gutted by its author two weeks ago, when negotiations for bipartisan reform broke down. Papageorge observed that this bill could still be amended later and used as a vehicle for UCL amendments, as originally intended. According to Papageorge, the "reform" camp's strategy seems to be to start the initiative process but work behind the scenes for legislative change.
- posted by Kim Kralowec @ 8:18 PM