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�A�� LEAGUE URGES CONTINUED LEGAL ADVOCACY UPDATE OPPOSITION TO AB 2406 Tort Claims Act Filing Compliance Required The League would like to thank those cities The League previously filed a friend-of-the- th� t sent in their letters of opposition to AB 2406. court brief with the California Supreme Court urging Untcartunately the bill passed out of the Assembly the court to reverse the court of appeal ruling that on Tf„�rsday, May 27, and is now moving to the concluded an individual suing a public agency is Senate. not required to state that the individual complied with the claims statute when filing a lawsuit. The League urges cities to continue to oppose this measure by sending another letter of opposi- The California Supreme Court agreed with the tion to your Senator. If enacted, AB 2406 would League's arguments, reversed the court of appeal dramatically increase liability for cities and poten- ruling and concluded that an individual must file a tially increase local fire protection staffing costs. claim for money or damages with a public agency as provided by the claims statute before the indi- AB 2406 requires the State Fire Marshal to vidual may sue the public agency. This outcome compare each fire departmenYs National Fire Will allow public agencies to dismiss claims at an Incident Reporting System, NFIRS (which would early stage in litigation and decreases municipal include specific response time and staffing objec- liability. tives) to the highly controversial staffing "stan- The League thanks Jonathan Hobbs with dards" adopted in 2001 by the National Fire Pro- Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann 8 Girard, for tection Association (NFPA 1710). Unfortunately, Writing the friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the this standard is virtually impossible to meet and League. was opposed by most local officials in California and across the country because it is an one size- The name of the case is State of California v. fits-all-policy that is unsuitable for many jurisdic- Superior Court (Bodde) Cal. 3d_�, __ Cal. tions. AB 2406 would not be fiscally feasible for Rptr. 3d __ (May 24, 2004). cities, counties, and special districts without a fire station located every mile and a half. The inc�usion of mandated reporting require- LOOKING FOR CALIFORNIA'S BEST TO ments further increases the potential fiscal im- pacts ofA6 2406 on state and local governments FILL A POSITION IN YOUR CITY? and also creates a perception that would increase Western City Magazine's job opportunity liability for cities, counties and special districts. section is the source for job seekers looking Significant on-going state-reimbursable costs to for positions in local government. According local fire departments will be necessary — totaling to our reader survey, the job opportunity nearly $7 million per year for increased reporting section is the best read section of our requirements; and significant on-going costs of magazine! $200,000 GF to the State Fire Marshall for staff to compile, analyze, and publish data. When you place an ad in Western Cify Magazine, it will be posted at no additional An opposition letter is available to download at charge on our website, which receives over - www:cacities.org/legtracking. Please fax letters of 80,000 hits per month. opposition to your Senator and Assembly Member to this bill ASAP! Don't forget to send a copy to Call to place your recruitment ad today! League PolicyAnalyst Genevieve Morelos at We Have What you Need gmorelos@cacities.org. 800-262-1801 or visit our website www.westerncity.com PAGE 2/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site--www.cacities.org