Store Research
Senate Bill 201 (Song – 1971)
Chapter 244, Statutes of 1971
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Sections of the Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Revenue and Taxation Code, and Water Code relating to civil actions and proceedings were affected in 1971 following legislative passage of Senate Bill 201. (See Exhibit A, #1f) The bill was introduced by Senator Alfred Song on February 1, 1971 and was carried on behalf of the California Law Revision Commission [hereinafter referred to as “the Commission” or “the CLRC”]. (See Exhibit A, #6, document A-2)
Senate Bill 201 was assigned to the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary for consideration of the policy issues raised by the bill. (See Exhibit A, #3 and #5) The bill was amended four times during legislative consideration. (See Exhibit A, #1b through #1e) Thereafter, the bill was presented to Governor Ronald Reagan who approved it on July 1, 1971, and it was recorded by the Secretary of State on that date as Chapter 244 of the Statutes of 1971. (See Exhibit A, #1f and #2)
The Senate Committee on Judiciary analysis of the bill as amended March 25th stated that the purpose of Senate Bill 201 was to “[r]evise the law relating to the joinder of parties and causes and the law relating to counterclaims and cross-complaints.” (See Exhibit A, #3, page 7) This same analysis provided an expanded discussion on most of the proposed changes. (See Exhibit A, #3, in general)
In his Floor Statement, the author of Senate Bill 201, Senator Song, described the bill in general as follows:
Although most areas of California Civil Procedure have been reviewed and modernized in recent years, there has been relatively little change in the California Code Pleading system since its adoption in 1851. Senate Bill 201 streamlines and modernizes a number of aspects of California Pleading.
The Bill revises the law relating to permissive joinder of causes of action. The existing rules are a complex conglomerate of common law and equity rules, complicated by piecemeal attempts at improvement. Senate Bill 201 substitutes the modern Unlimited Joinder Rule adopted in other states that have recently revised their law in this area.
The Bill substitutes clear rules dealing with permissive joinder of plaintiffs and defendants for the conflicting, obsolete, and over-lapping provisions now found in existing law.
The Bill adopts the substance of the provision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure dealing with compulsory joinder of persons needed for a just adjudication. This provision, which has been adopted in the other states that have recently modernized their law, is generally recognized to have satisfactorily dealt with one of the most difficult problem areas of Civil Procedure.
(See Exhibit A, #6, document A-1)