Proposed Amendment to Rule 2.11 (Due date and form of payment, licensee fees)

The State Bar seeks public comment on proposed amendment to rule 2.11 regarding the due date and form of payment of licensee fees.

Deadline: July 17, 2022

Direct comments to

Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly and can also be used to upload your comment letter and/or other attachments.

Background

The State Bar collects licensing fees from approximately 190,000 active and 75,000 inactive attorneys annually. When paying by check individual attorneys should calculate fees online through My State Bar Profile and pay by electronic check through the bank portal, or print the resulting coded invoice and mail along with a physical check. Agencies, paying for significant numbers of attorneys, are asked to use the agency billing platform, where they can list the bar numbers of all of those attorneys whose fees should be paid, and then pay the calculated amount online, or print the generated invoice and mail along with a physical check. These outlined processes for payment by check are not being followed by all individual and agency payors, resulting in significant fiscal and operational burdens on the State Bar. Staff seeks a rule change that would expressly authorize the State Bar to require the form and format of payment and to allow for delayed processing, or rejection, of nonconforming payments.

Discussion/proposal

Over the course of the last two billing cycles, it has become clear that the benefits of online payment are not being fully realized. There are two primary areas of concern:

Individual Payors Paying by Check and Not Submitting Proper Fee Statement
Agency Payors Not Using Agency Billing Platform

Staff specifically seeks rule authority, via an amendment to State Bar Rule 2.11, to return noncompliant payments and/or to process noncompliant payments after the February 1 payment deadline annually. Either of these approaches may result in late fees being incurred by those individuals and agencies who fail to adhere to payment instructions. As outlined in item 50-5 on the Board’s May agenda: Annual Recommendation Regarding Licensees Not in Compliance with Minimum Continuing Legal Education Requirements, although the annual payment deadline is February 1, the State Bar provides numerous opportunities for licensees to make payment prior to July 1; the July 1 date is the effective date for any suspensions for failure to pay fees that are ultimately ordered by the Supreme Court in any given year. Attorneys who have not paid their fees as of the February 1 deadline are typically sent seven reminder emails between February 1 and June 30. During that timeframe, licensees can make payments, subject to late fee penalties, and are not subject to suspension. Thus, enactment of the requested rule amendment would likely result in more attorneys being subject to late fee penalties, but should not result in increased numbers of suspensions for failure to pay fees. State Bar staff will conduct extensive outreach to licensees and firms to notify them of the rule change if adopted, and to proactively support compliance well in advance of the onset of the 2023 billing cycle. The State Bar recommends that State Bar rule 2.11 be amended to add subsection (B) as outlined in Attachment A. The proposed rule change will enable the State Bar to reject payments that do not conform to payment guidelines or to process them after the February 1 deadline.

Any fiscal/personnel impact

Implementation of this rule change is estimated to result in savings equivalent to .25 FTE (approximately $50,000 in salary and benefit costs) annually. Additional late fee assessments generated by application of the new rule may result in increased revenue for the State Bar.

Background material

Proposed Amendment to Rule 2.11 (Due Date and Form of Payment, Licensee Fees)

Source

Finance Committee

Deadline

July 17, 2022