Group Announces “Watchdog” List for 2005 Session
California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) today announced its “watchdog” list of California legislators it will be monitoring throughout the 2005 legislative session. These include members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, both of which are responsible for civil justice legislation. For the past several legislative sessions, these committees have operated as wholly-owned subsidiaries of the trial bar – killing common sense reforms and rubber stamping proposals, making it easier to sue.
“CALA’s public education mission is to serve as a ‘watchdog’ for Californians,” said John Merchant, Chairman of California CALA. “We want to make sure legislators look out for the best interests of their constituents, not the special interests of personal injury lawyers.”
Throughout the legislative session, California CALA will publicize members’ votes on critical civil justice proposals and communicate the impacts of those decisions on consumers and taxpayers. California CALA will also distribute the latest research on how personal injury lawyers contributed to legislative candidates in 2004.
Merchant added that from 1996-2003, personal injury lawyers spent more than $10 million on certain elected officials, and in return, expected support for laws that would make it easier to sue Californians and their employers.
“This is a special interest group of maybe 3,000 individuals who spend vast sums of money to create and control a legislature that is supposed to represent 33 million Californians,” Merchant said. “We’re going to make sure the people of California are aware of their antics and the legislators who cater to them.”
The newly-appointed Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committee members California CALA will be monitoring include:
Assembly Judiciary Committee
Dave Jones, Chair (D-Sacramento)
Tom Harman, Vice Chair ( R-Huntington Beach)
Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa)
Ray Haynes (R-Murrieta)
John Laird (D-Santa Cruz)
Tim Leslie ( R-Tahoe City)
Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys)
Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View)
Cindy Montanez (D-San Fernando)
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Senate Judiciary Committee
Joe Dunn, Chair (D-Garden Grove)
Bill Morrow, Vice Chair (R-Oceanside)
Dick Ackerman (R-Tustin)
Gil Cedillo (D- Los Angeles)
Martha Escutia (D-Norwalk)
Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont)
Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica)
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CALA is a nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to educating consumers on the human and financial costs incurred when the legal system is abused for greed, harassment or publicity. More than 30,000 residents in California are CALA supporters.
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