John Burton Withdraws Bill!

Directly from the ACCAMA:


Newsletter

Victory! Burton Pulls SB 730 in Face of Enormous Opposition
August 16, 2004

We have just received word that California Senate President John Burton has decided to withdraw SB 730--the bill to abrogate the LaMusga decision and create unrestricted move-aways.

Thanks to the thousands of you who responded to our campaign and supported us. Today the bonds between tens of thousands of California children and their noncustodial parents have been preserved.

Usually our side loses the battle in the media, which helps precipitate a defeat in the legislature. This time was clearly different. The Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways garnered a ton of press attention, most of it quite favorable. To learn more about ACCAMA's impact, visit ACCAMA in the Media.

However, please remember that our opponents will be back next year, probably in January. There will be a different sponsor and a different bill number but they will be back. The Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways will fight any bill which disregards the loving bonds between children and both of their parents.

Below is the compilation of recent news on the fight against SB 730 which I had intended to send out today.

Best Wishes,Glenn SacksAlliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways

There have been many positive developments for our side in the past week:
Numerous professional organizations have come out against SB 730. These include: the California Judge's Association; the State Bar of California, Family Law Section; the Los Angeles County Bar, Family Law Section; the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists; the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts - California Chapter; and the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers - Southern California Chapter.

Psychologists Richard A. Warshak, Ph.D. and Sanford L. Braver, Ph.D. released a statement this week urging the legislature not to pass SB 730. See Mental Health Professionals Condemn SB 730. Warshak and Braver co-authored a brief filed on behalf of the LaMusga children which was signed by over 50 mental health professionals. To read that brief, click here.
ACCAMA has now been endorsed by over 50 mental health and family law professionals. To see the list of ACCAMA endorsers, click here.

Governor Schwarzenegger has issued a statement condemning "gut and amend" bills like SB 730 and expressing his aversion to signing them. A recent Los Angeles Times article, Last-Minute Legislation Challenged (8/13/04), described such bills as legislation which "shows up seemingly out of nowhere and gets rushed through the Assembly and Senate without much public scrutiny." The article mentions SB 730 specifically, and one of Schwarzenegger's spokespeople said: "A gut-and-amend is not going to be looked upon favorably unless there is a compelling public interest."

ACCAMA offers a special thanks to Assemblyman Tom Harman, Vice Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and his legislative director David Weaver for their assistance on SB 730.

ACCAMA update on Burton's Bill

I found a few spare minutes and I got the following in an email so I am simply going to paste it verbatim:


Newsletter

Revised Draft of SB 730--Watered Down, but Still a Step in the Wrong DirectionAugust 4, 2004
A draft of the revised version of SB 730--the anti-LaMusga move-away bill now in the California legislature--has just been released. In part because of the efforts of the Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways in organizing large scale opposition to this bill, the bill has been watered down significantly from its original.

To read the new draft of SB 730, click here. To read the original, in which custodial parents were to be granted the right to move without even obtaining a court order, click here.

Nevertheless, even the revised version of SB 730 is still a significant step in the wrong direction. LaMusga is a very moderate opinion. LaMusga still puts the burden of proof on the nonmoving parent, and would still allow most custodial parents to move with their children. The revised SB 730 abrogates LaMusga, and makes it even more difficult for nonmoving parents to block a move.

As previously mentioned, SB 730 will reportedly be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on August 10. For up to date information on the LaMusga bill and information on how to take action, click here.

Chronology of events regarding SB 730 and LaMusga

August 4, 2004Revised draft of SB 730 released. To read it, click here.

July 27, 2004Letters to Sacramento by ACAAMA supporters total over 1,000.

July 26, 2004Opponents and proponents of SB 730 meet with Anthony Williams, principal consultant to California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton. Several endorsers and supporters of the Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways speak, including Garrett C. Dailey, who represented Gary LaMusga in the California Supreme Court, and family law attorney Peter M. Walzer. Dailey presents Williams with 600 letters from ACCAMA supporters expressing their opposition to SB 730.

July 25, 2004California Supreme Court denies petition to rehear LaMusga.

July 24, 2004Over three dozen family law attorneys and mental health professionals endorse ACCAMA. For a list of endorsers, click here.

July 20, 2004 Nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlesinger, an outspoken opponent of the 1996 Burgess decision, endorses ACCAMA's campaign on the air. See Dr. Laura Joins Campaign Against Unrestricted Move-Aways (MND Newswire, 7/23/04).

July 13, 2004Over 300 ACCAMA supporters write to California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton. Burton's principal consultant Anthony Williams invites ACCAMA representatives to discuss the anti-LaMusga bill.

July 11, 2004Los Angeles radio talk show host Glenn Sacks announces the formation of the Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways, and calls his listeners to action.
June, July, 2004Prominent California family law attorneys write letters to Burton opposing anti-LaMusga bill. To read the letters, click here.

June, 2004Draft of SB 730 is leaked. Draft states "the custodial parent has a presumptive right to change the residence of the child and does not need a court order allowing him or her to do so." Draft is available here.

April 29, 2004California Supreme Court decides In Re: Marriage of LaMusga in favor of the father, Gary LaMusga. See: LaMusga opinion at [PDF], "Is a Pool More Important than a Dad?" (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/4/04) and Court: Closer scrutiny in custody case moves (Sacramento Bee, 4/30/04).

February, 2004Burton introduces SB 1367, which instructs courts that a custodial parent's request to change residence cannot be "frustrated by undue delay." See California Senate Leader to Family Courts: Don't Consider Children's Best Interests (Daily Breeze [Los Angeles], 4/6/04) Burton later pulls SB 1367 in favor of SB 730.

October, 2003In his last days in office Governor Davis signs SB 156, which reaffirms the Burgess decision. See New California Move-Away Law Hurts Children of Divorce (Long Beach Press Telegram, 10/18/03).

June, 2003Arizona State University professors Sanford Braver, Ira Ellman and William Fabricius release a study which finds that move-aways are correlated with damaging long-term consequences for children. See Relocation of children after divorce and children's best interests: New evidence and legal considerations and New Study, Case May Help California Children of Divorce (Pasadena Star-News & Affiliated Papers, 6/5/03)

August 28, 2002California Supreme Court agrees to hear LaMusga. Read all briefs from all sides here.

More John Burton News

I received a link to this article in my email:

Talk Radio Campaign Blocks CA. Senate Leader's 'Stealth' Family Law Bill

Apparently Mr Burtons plan has become common knowledge. From the article:

"Hundreds of angry parents deluged the offices of California State Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) with calls, faxes and e-mails yesterday, protesting a "stealth" family law bill which Burton reportedly planned to sneak through the legislature in his last months in office.

The protestors, called to action by KMPC Los Angeles radio talk show host Glenn Sacks, seek to block a proposed bill which would abrogate the California Supreme Court's recent decision in the LaMusga move-away case. Anthony Williams, one of Burton's principal consultants, has now agreed to meet with leaders of the newly formed Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways to discuss the bill."

To see what you can do link to the ACCAMA website.