In 2024, the California legislature introduced 1,505 bills in the Assembly and 619 in the Senate. Governor Newson signed 1,017 bills into law and vetoed 189, including Assembly Bill 2773 (AB 2773), which proposed changes to the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act.
Sponsored by plaintiff attorneys, AB 2773 lowered the burden of proof to a “preponderance of the evidence” from the status of “clear and convincing” for claims against residential care or skilled nursing facilities, specifically in cases where evidence was improperly destroyed.
Early in the legislative session, CAP opposed AB 2773, which was introduced by Assemblymember and Chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, Ash Kalra. Governor Newsom emphasized that AB 2773 would impact and limit judicial discretion, emphasizing that a judge’s ability “to craft appropriate remedies” should not be completely removed, the same message CAP leveraged in its opposition. He went on to say in his veto letter, “A more nuanced approach would be to specify that a judge may reduce the standard of proof under these circumstances.”
The bill was not defeated at the committee hearings, nor at the floor vote level. Instead, it made its way to the governor’s desk when CAP, along with other like-minded entities, made their final case to the governor to encourage his veto. While the veto was achieved, the governor provided a “suggestion” as how to craft bill language with a more “nuanced approach” to gain his support on the issue. Therefore, it is wholly expected that the consumer attorneys will return to the legislature to re-run this bill.
Constant attacks on hard-won liability protections require ongoing vigilance and a strong response from organizations like CAP. Legislation such as AB 2773 is likely to become more frequent following the passage of Assembly Bill 35 (AB 35), which weakened the protections provided by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA). Consumer attorneys will continue to seek out and exploit any remaining vulnerabilities until MICRA’s protections are completely dismantled. While this trend cannot be fully stopped, it can certainly be challenged and defeated.
Read the governor's veto letter: www.CAPphysicians.com/VETOLETTER
Gabriela Villanueva is CAP’s Government and External Affairs Analyst. Questions or comments related to this article should be directed to GVillanueva@CAPphysicians.com.
¹Henry, Tanya A, House majority urges leadership to fix Medicare now, American Medical Association, October 15, 2024, https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/medicare-medicaid/house-ma…