SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
HARD AT WORK
SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SBAND’ S LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
HARD AT WORK
TONY J. WEILER SBAND Executive Director
The New Year is well underway, and my hope is that yours is going well! With an oddnumbered year, it also means the biennial legislative session is underway.
SBAND’ s Legislative Committee is hard at work reviewing bills that may impact the legal profession or the administration of justice. The Board of Governors( BOG) meets weekly to review bills on which the Legislative Committee has recommended a position. The stated objectives of SBAND include promoting the administration of justice and upholding the honor of the profession. We are guided by our Legislative Policy, some of which I will outline below.
As an integrated bar, SBAND endeavors to speak for the Association as a whole while fully recognizing it is a practical impossibility to gain unanimity of opinion on almost any issue. The most controversial issues are almost always the most divisive, and they are also invariably the ones on which the Association is asked to comment. The Legislative Policy is intended to set parameters for Association legislative activities. Further, as an integrated bar and pursuant to Keller v. California, SBAND license fees are used to regulate the profession and improve the quality of legal services available to the people of North Dakota.
Since the Association’ s role in legislative proposals varies depending on the nature of the proposal under consideration, the Legislative Policy delineates categories and parameters for Association action.
Generally, the expertise of the Association’ s committees, sections, and members are respected and welcomed. This is especially true with the myriad of bills and measures dealing with the complex laws affecting commerce, such as the Uniform Commercial Code, trade regulation, and business organization laws; laws relating to estates and trusts; laws relating to family law; or those particularly affecting the practice of law, such as regulation of attorneys, budget appropriation for the judiciary, proposed changes in litigation procedures, etc.
Legislators and legislative committees often seek out the views of knowledgeable representatives of the Association in these areas and pay close attention to their recommendations. Within that framework, the Association has a significant impact on legislation and will maintain a policy of supporting, opposing, and proposing legislation in this area.
Sections of the Association may propose and support legislation that falls within their areas of expertise. Any legislation, however, must first be reviewed by the BOG to indicate the position, if any, of the Association. If the Association opposes the legislation, the section may not propose it. Any proposed legislation, or testimony in support of or in opposition to any legislation, should first be sent to the executive director of SBAND. If a section representative testifies on behalf of the section, there must be a clear disclaimer the position is that of the section and not of SBAND. It is also important for sections to be mindful of those issues that are political in nature and attempt to avoid positions on issues that fall within that category.
When it comes to broader issues of social policy, the Association’ s role and influence is necessarily different. These are issues that generally have strong political overtones. The Association will take great pains to recognize this important distinction and will generally avoid taking positions on issues of this nature.
Another category of proposals are those which may be termed“ technical” issues. These are bills and measures affecting specific areas of the law in which various sections or committees have a particular interest and expertise. Representatives of the Association may be invited to impartially explain the probable legal consequences of the proposed bill or measures.
The Legislative Committee and the BOG are empowered to consider any and all legislation that is considered by interim committees or is introduced during a legislative session and may seek the introduction of legislation the Association favors. It is a balancing process in which clear guidelines are hard to articulate. In deciding to press a point of view, the Association shall consider( 1) how and to what degree the matter really affects the vital concerns of lawyers,( 2) whether the Association, in any contact with the legislature, is likely to be regarded as merely an interest group or as a more impartial( and, therefore, more credible) expert, and( 3) what the likelihood is that the Association’ s efforts will be successful.
Any member of the Association who objects to a position taken by the Association, especially one the member determines is not germane under Keller, may file an objection in accordance with the Association’ s Keller Policy implemented by the BOG in 2015.
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