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Senate Bill 962 (Speraw – 1981)

Chapter 395, Statutes of 1981 - SB 962

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Civil Code section 54.3 was amended in 1981 following legislative approval of Senate Bill 962.  (See Exhibit #1c)  Senator Ollie Speraw introduced the bill on March 26, 1981 at the request of the National Federation of the Blind.  (See Exhibits #1a and #12, document PE-4)  Senate Bill 962 was a single-section bill that proposed to amend only section 54.3.  (See Exhibit #1c)

Senate Bill 962 was heard in the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary.  (See Exhibits #3 and #7)  One amendment was made to Senate Bill 962 during legislative consideration.  (See Exhibits #1b and #2)  Following approval by the Legislature on June 28, 1981, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., signed the bill on September 8, 1981 and the bill was recorded by the Secretary of State on September 9, 1981 as Chapter 395 of the Statutes of 1981.  (See Exhibits #1c and #2)

The purpose of the bill is set forth in the Assembly Third Reading analysis of Senate Bill 962 prepared by the Assembly Office of Research as follows:

 
The purpose of this bill is to remove an arbitrary and potentially unfair limit in the assessment of punitive damages where the rights of disabled persons have been infringed.

(See Exhibit #9, page 1)