Legislative & Public Policy Clinic
About
The Legislative and Public Policy Clinic provides practical skills experience in researching, drafting, and pursuing adoption of California state legislative and regulatory changes. While seeking these changes, students interact with elected and appointed officials in state government, their staff, lobbyists, and public affairs professionals. Students also have anopportunity to develop political coalitions, interact with the media, and advocate for change.
The clinic, one of several experiential clinics the school offers, allows twelve students the opportunity to develop legislative and regulatory proposals, then work to see them enacted. Working in groups of two or three, students develop their own ideas for bills or regulatory changes, or work with other groups seeking to implement changes. Under the guidance of Professor Rex Frazier (McGeorge, ’00) and with the input of classmates, students hone their ideas by researching existing law, analyzing the pitfalls of existing law and coming up with potential solutions. They also craft plans to build support and media coverage, and to anticipate opposition.
During the first year of the Clinic in 2013-2014, five bills were crafted by or with the help of Clinic students, some with the help of outside groups. All five bills survived their first committee hearings, one was the subject of a Washington Post article and one was featured on KCRA when it was a regulatory proposal. Four of the bills were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.
Read more at Legislation Law Prof Blog and at the Pacific McGeorge School of Law web site.
February 2015: Professor Rex Frazier and 2014-15 Clinic student, Elizabeth Kim, appear on Studio Sacramento with host Scott Syphax.
In the News
February 2015: The Los Angeles Times profiles the clinic. Read more.
November 2014: PreLaw magazine recognizes the Legislative and Public Policy Clinic as one of the 15 most innovative clinics the country. Read more.
2013-14 Clinic Bills
Clinic Bill Update – October 2014
Following are the 2013-2014 Clinic Bills. Click on the bill number and title to navigate to the full page for each bill.
SB 1058: Writ of habeas corpus. Senator Mark Leno. This bill would create the ability for inmates to get a new hearing if the expert testimony used to convict them becomes discredited. With the California Innocence Project, which advocates on behalf of inmates, students crafted a bill that would reverse a state Supreme Court ruling in 2013.. The bill received coverage in the Washington Post. Enrolled and presented to the Governor on August 20, 2014.
Students: Sosan Madanat, Katherine Williams
Signed by Governor Brown on 9/27/2014.
AB 2632: Criminal Record Clearances in community care facilities. Assembly Member Brian Maienschein. This bill started as a regulatory proposal with the Children’s Advocacy Institute and received news coverage from KCRA 3 Sacramento. AB 2632 would require the state Department of Social Services to investigate arrest records, as specified, prior to allowing an applicant to work in a facility serving children or vulnerable adults.
Students: Aaron Brieno, Kristina Brown, Lexi Howard
View Student Report – May 16, 2014 View Report Update – Sept. 9, 2014
Signed by Governor Brown on September 29, 2014.
AB 2643: Invasion of privacy: Distribution of sexually explicit materials. Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski. This bill allows victims to file a civil action under a pseudonym against someone who has posted sexually explicit photos or videos of them on the Internet. The judge would review the case in chambers and issue a court order to remove the material. The bill would prevent the victim’s name and the images from being part of the public record.
Students: Marisa Shea, Christopher Wu
View Student Report – May 10, 2014 View Report Update – Sept. 9, 2014
Signed by Governor Brown on September 30, 2014.
AB 2623: Elder and dependent adult abuse training. Assembly Member Richard Pan. This bill would add training on elder and dependent adult abuse for rank and file peace officers. The bill resulted from matters seen in McGeorge’s Elder Law Clinic.
Students: Jacob Smith and Vincent Wiraatmadja
View Student Report – May 7, 2014
Signed by Governor Brown on September 29, 2014.
AB 2452: Advance health care directive registry. Assembly Member Richard Pan. This bill would require the Secretary of State to replace the paper system of advance health care directives with an electronic one. The idea originated out of McGeorge’s elder law clinic. A paper registry in which directives are faxed within one business day is not effective during a medical crisis. In addition, the bill could generate substantial savings if people opt out of expensive, life-sustaining medical procedures. But the system will be expensive to set up and the state has had problems implementing major technological changes. This bill did not advance.
Students: Vignesh Ganapathy, Fielding Greaves, Matt Klopfenstein
View Student Report – May 14, 2014
More information on the Pacific McGeorge Legislative & Public Policy Clinic can be found here.