The California Civil Justice Association (CJAC) has awarded its first annual Civil Justice Gavel award to two state lawmakers whose work exemplifies leadership in the area of legal reform.
The honor is given to one Democrat and one Republican who show willingness to work across the aisle to support fairness and balance in the state’s civil justice system.
This year’s recipients are Sen. Ling Ling Chang, R – Diamond Bar, and Sen. Steven Glazer, D – Orinda.
Chang
| https://chang.cssrc.us/
“Factors considered include the legislator’s voting record on bills that impact California’s legal climate, including opposition to policies that expand harmful private rights of action and excessive litigation, and other leadership on civil justice reform in the Legislature and communities,” a CJAC news release said.
“I’m grateful to be recognized for my work in supporting small businesses and encouraging a healthy legal climate,” Chang told the Northern California Record by email. “I’m proud to continue advocating for fair and reasonable legal standards which benefit consumers, employees and small businesses alike.”
Chang also has worked to streamline regulations that perpetuate the state’s housing crisis. Earlier this year, she supported SB 25, which would “help end abuse of laws like CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] where litigants use the courtroom as a strategy to delay or kill housing development.”
SB 25 is co-authored by Glazer, who told CJAC he was honored to be presented with the Civil Justice Gavel award.
“I look forward to continuing to work towards a balanced legal climate that provides vital protections for California’s consumers while ensuring our small businesses and employers are not unfairly burdened,” Glazer said.
In an effort to protect the livelihoods of the millions of people whose income opportunities have been outlawed by AB 5 and the Dynamex court decision, Chang is backing no fewer than 11 bills that would fully or partially repeal the law. Glazer also has pushed for AB 5 reform.
Chang’s community work includes hosting free forums on ADA compliance, labor laws, and Proposition 65, with a goal of helping small businesses understand state standards and reduce risk of litigation.
"California has the most regulations out of any state, ranking consistently among the worst states to do businesses in,” Chang told the Record. “To keep businesses in California, we need to remove unfair litigation burdens and fight for reasonable standards.”
"We’re delighted to recognize the standout, bipartisan efforts by Senators Chang and Glazer to improve California’s legal climate,” Kyla Christoffersen Powell, president and CEO of CJAC, said. “Over the last year, Senators Chang and Glazer, through their policy leadership, have helped minimize shakedown lawsuits against businesses in their districts and throughout the state.”