2007 - State Bar Dues (Historical View)

** Effective: 11/21/2016 9:08:40 AM - 12/8/2017 3:42:52 PM **

Status: Active

Change Notes

Policy Created.

Category

Collective Bargaining

Audience List

Synopsis

This policy

Introduction

No person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar. “Annual membership fees” are those fees that any member must pay to maintain active or inactive membership in a calendar year.

The annual membership fee for active members is payable on or before the first day of February of each year.

Statement

  1. Amount the state will pay for the 2016 dues
    • Departments are required to pay $380 of the 2016 State Bar membership fee of $430 for employees in Bargaining Unit 2 and affiliated excluded employees if State Bar membership is required as a condition of employment.
    • The state does not pay:
    • The $10 portion that funds the State Bar’s Legislative Activity ($5) and Bar Relations and Elimination of Bias ($5) with voluntary bar associations, lines 21 and 22 of the State Bar coupon;
    • The $40 contribution for the Legal Services Assistance option, line 23 of the State Bar coupon;
    • Optional donations to the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations, Foundation of the State Bar, or the California Supreme Court Historical Society; nor
    • Penalties resulting from late payment of dues, unless the state is responsible for the late payment.
    • For employees who work less than full time, or less than one year, the department may prorate the reimbursement.
  2. Amount the state will pay for local or specialty bar dues
    • The state will pay up to $100 annually for job-related local or specialty bar dues, if State Bar membership is required as a condition of employment. The employee may be reimbursed for more than one local or specialty bar as long as the total reimbursement does not exceed $100.
    • Excluded employees may be reimbursed for job-related local or specialty bar dues at the discretion of the department. In such cases, the department also determines the reimbursable amount. The department may prorate the amount for employees working less than full time.
  3. Provisions if State Bar membership is not required as a condition of employment
    • For rank-and-file employees in Bargaining Unit 2 who are not required to be members of the State Bar as a condition of employment, the department may provide one of the following:
      • a. Reimbursement of the $380 portion of State Bar dues described above (the reimbursable amount for an “inactive” membership would be $155); or
      • b. Two (2) Professional Development Days (PDD), per Unit 2, Memorandum of Understanding, Article XIII, Section 13.7., B.
    • Option “a” is available only for employees who are eligible to be State Bar members. Unit 2 employees who are not attorneys are entitled to only option “b”.
    • The department may prorate PDD for employees who work less than full time and/or less than a full year. PDD must be requested and approved in the same manner as vacation or annual leave.
  4. Reimbursement for excluded employees
    • Excluded employees are entitled to reimbursement for up to $100 annually for membership dues of a professional organization or for a job-related professional license fee that is directly related to the employee’s professional discipline.

Application

Methods of reimbursement/payment of bar dues

Direct payment: The department may pay membership fees directly to the State Bar, following the procedures outlined below. However, use the reimbursement method (described in the Reimbursement section below), not direct payment, for employees choosing to pay any optional fees (itemized on lines 19-23 of the membership dues statement).

  1. No later than January 11, 2016 (which is approximately three weeks before the February 1, 2016 payment deadline), employees must provide the original remittance (coupon) portion of their membership dues statement to the person designated by the department to handle payment of bar dues. Lines 19 and 20 must show “0” to indicate that no optional payments are included, and line 21 (“Legislative Activity”) and line 22 (“Bar Relations and Elimination of Bias”) must show that $5 has been deducted for each of these items. Line 23 (“Legal Services Assistance”) must show that $40 has been deducted.
  2. Departments are to prepare a list of employees for whom the department is paying State Bar dues, batch the coupons, and prepare one check for dues and section fees, payable to “California State Bar.” Send the check, list, and batched coupons together in one envelope addressed to:

    State Bar of California
    Attention: Membership Services
    180 Howard Street
    San Francisco, CA 94105-1639

  3. If the department receives an employee’s membership dues statement after January 11, 2016, the department still has the option to pay the dues directly, or it may reimburse the employee, as described below.

Reimbursement: The Department may reimburse individual employees. Employees who request reimbursement must include proof of payment, a copy of their annual membership dues statement, and a copy of their membership card.

Authorities

Resources

PML

Authorized By

Pam Manwiller
Deputy Director of Labor Relations, Labor Relations Division

Contact Person

Pam Manwiller
Deputy Director of Labor Relations, , Labor Relations Division
Phone: 916-323-7995
Fax: 916-322-0765
Email: pam.manwiller@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

Not Applicable.