Why Are Legislators Sitting On The Little Hoover Commission?
I’ve been writing recently about the Milton-Marks “Little Hoover” Commission on California State Government Organization and the Economy which has an important task in reviewing Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed reorganization plan. Why does this state commission bears the name of a former U.S. President? The name is derived from two commissions chaired by former President Herbert C. Hoover. After the United States emerged from the Read more...
Just What Is The State Auditor And What Does She Do Anyway?
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the Milton Marks “Little Hoover” Commission on California State Government Organization and the Economy oversees the Bureau of State Audits. See Government Code Sections 8542 and 8543. The Bureau of State Audits traces its roots back to 1955 when the legislature created the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the Office of Auditor General. Following the Read more...
The Little Hoover Commission And The Architecture Of Power
Last week, I testified before the Milton Marks “Little Hoover” Commission on California State Government Organization and the Economy concerning Governor Jerry Brown’s 2012 Reorganization Plan. My written comments are available here. The hearing was held in a state auditorium with the Commissioners sitting high on a stage before the audience. Speakers spoke from a lectern hard against the stage Read more...
Cannabis, Collectives, Cooperatives And The California Corporations Code
In reviewing recent California cases involving the Corporations Code, I was surprised to see several recent, published and and unpublished opinions dealing with marijuana dispensaries. I never would have imagined that California’s laws governing marijuana would require the courts to refer to the Corporations Code. By way of background, California’s voters passed Proposition 215 (the “Compassionate Use Act”) in November 1996. Proposition Read more...
California May Be The First State To Require Corporations To Disclose Compensation Paid To Retired Executives
Since 2002, California has imposed its own disclosure requirements on publicly traded corporations incorporated in or qualified to transact intrastate business in California. A subject corporation is currently required to disclose, among other things, the compensation for the most recent fiscal year paid to each member of the board of directors and paid to each of the five most highly compensated executive Read more...
You Say Article 2A, I Say Division 10
When taking a law school exam, you generally have some idea of the legal area being tested. If you show up for a final exam in contracts, you wouldn’t expect to be questioned about criminal procedure. Unfortunately, subject areas are not so clearly demarcated when practicing law. Thus, I remind my students that clients don’t walk and say “Hi, I’ll be your tort law problem for today.” Read more...
Adding Links To The California Transparency In Supply Chains Act
Last February, I wrote about the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010. The law has now taken effect and I’m now seeing many companies making the disclosures required by the Act. For example, PVH Corp., which describes itself as “one of the world’s largest apparel companies, owns and markets the iconic Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands”, makes this Read more...
Cooperative Corporations – A California Tradition
Earlier this week, Lee Romney wrote this story for the Los Angeles Times about cooperatives. As I mentioned in this post from last March, California had a strong proponent of worker cooperatives over a century ago in the person of none other than Leland Stanford who in 1891 said: Co-operative societies bring forth the best capacities, the best influences of the individual Read more...
Corporations Have The Right Of Free Speech But No Right To Eavesdrop
In 1967, the California legislature enacted Penal Code § 632 as part of the “California Invasion of Privacy Act”. The statute imposes liability on “Every person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential conversation, by means of any electronic amplifying or recording device, eavesdrops upon or records the confidential communication . . . . .” (emphasis Read more...
In Flanders Fields
Today is Veterans Day. The date commemorates the ending of the First World War on November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m. The following year, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first “Armistice Day”, as it was then known: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the Read more...
