BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       


           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1371|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 445-6614         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  SB 1371
          Author:   Morrow (R)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 3/19/02
          AYES:  Escutia, Ackerman, Haynes, Kuehl, O'Connell, Peace,  
            Sher


           SUBJECT  :    Court reporting

           SOURCE  :     California Law Revision Commission


           DIGEST  :    This bill consolidates two court reporting  
          statutes, clarifies that a transcript in longhand is to be  
          provided to a nonparty if he or she is entitled to receive  
          the transcript whether or not he or she was entitled to  
          attend the proceeding, and makes other technical  
          nonsubstantive changes to the court reporting statutes.

          (NOTE:  This bill is part of a package of bills sponsored  
          by the California Law Revision Commission to clean up the  
          codes after trial court unification.)

          ANALYSIS  :    Existing law governs the use of a court  
          reporter in an unlimited civil case or felony case.  In  
          these cases, a shorthand reporter must be used on order of  
          the court, at the request of the district attorney or the  
          attorney for the defendant in a felony case.

          Existing law governs the use of a court reporter in a  
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1371
                                                                Page  
          2

          limited civil case or a misdemeanor or infraction case.  In  
          these cases, a shorthand reporter must be used upon order  
          of the court.

          This bill consolidates these two statutes, by broadening  
          Section 269(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure to make it  
          applicable to all limited and unlimited civil cases,  
          felony, misdemeanor and infraction cases and eliminating  
          Section 274c of the Code of Civil Procedure.

          The bill makes other technical nonsubstantive changes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  3/20/02)

          California Law Revision Commission (source)
          California Court Reporters Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          the California Law Revision Commission was charged by the  
          Legislature to examine the statutes affected by the trial  
          court unification law, enacted in 1996.  In its 1998  
          report,  Trial Court Unification: Revision of Codes,  28 Cal.  
          L. Revision Comm'n Reports 51, 86, the Commission  
          recommended further study of the role of court reporters in  
          a county in which the courts have unified.  This bill, a  
          result of that recommendation, consolidates duplicative  
          provisions relating to court reporters, reorganize others,  
          and delete references in the Government Code to court  
          reporters used in municipal courts (which have been  
          eliminated by trial court unification).


          RJG:cm  3/20/02   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****