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Feb. 20 and the Senate on March 28. HB 160 was amended in the Senate to include languageprohibiting the assignment of legal malpractice claims in response to the Georgia Supreme Courtruling in Villanueva v. First American Title that malpractice claims are assignable. The Houseagreed to the Senate amendment and the bill was signed by Governor Deal on May 6. (Rep. ChadNimmer's HB 359, while not a Bar bill, was also amended in the Senate to include this languageprohibiting legal malpractice assignment; it passed the Senate on March 22, was agreed to by theHouse on March 26, and signed by the Governor on May 6.)HB 161 - This proposal was brought by the Bench and Bar Committee to update the language usedin the Oath for Bailiffs. Sponsored by Rep. Alex Atwood in the House and Sen. William Ligon inthe Senate, this bill passed the House on Feb. 22 and the Senate on March 25. It was signed byGovernor Deal on May 6.HB 242 and HB 349 - These two bills are the result of recommendations of Governor Deal'sSpecial Council on Criminal Justice Reform. HB 242, sponsored by Rep. Wendell Willard andSen. Charlie Bethel, completely rewrites the juvenile code. The juvenile code revision has beenworked on and supported by the Bar's Young Lawyer Division for many years. HB 349, sponsoredby Rep. Rich Golick and Sen. Charlie Bethel, deals with additional changes in the adult criminaljustice system, which had originally been addressed in the 2012 legislature. The Governor signedHB 242 on May 2 and HB 349 on April 25.SB 185 - This proposal by the Business Law Section updates Uniform Commerce Code (UCC)Article 9, which was last revised in 2001. SB 185 was sponsored by Sen. Jesse Stone and Rep.Mike Jacobs. It passed the Senate on March 5 and the House on March 22; it was signed by theGovernor on May 6.SB 193 - The Family Law Section proposed these changes in the Uniform Interstate FamilySupport Act (UIFSA) to bring the statute into conformance with the 2008 amendments to theuniform law. Sponsored by Sen. Bill Cowsert and Rep. Regina Quick, SB 193 passed the Senateon March 4 and the House on March 14. The bill received final passage when the Senate agreed tochanges made in the House on March 28; the bill was signed by the Governor on May 6.SB 204 - The Appellate Practice Section proposed this bill to adjust the appellate proceduresregarding orders in child custody cases. SB 204 was sponsored by Sen. Bill Cowsert and Rep.Matt Ramsey. It passed the Senate on March 5 and passed the House on March 22; it was signedby the Governor on May 6.Ga. Appellate Resource Center Funding Request: The Resource Center maintained its $800,000funding request in the final FY’14 budget that was passed by the House and Senate. The State Barsupports adequate funding for the Resource Center.Victims of Domestic Violence Funding: While funding for legal services for victims of domesticviolence was continued in the FY '14 budget, due to budget cuts the Judicial Council reduced theappropriation amount by about $26,000 (1.5%) to about $1.73M. The Bar supports adequatefunding for these legal services.95