BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1181
                                                                  Page  1


          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1181 (Cedillo)
          As Amended August 2, 2010
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :35-0  
           
           JUDICIARY           10-0        APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley,    |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway,          |
          |     |Evans, Hagman, Jones,     |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |Knight, Monning, Nava,    |     |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De  |
          |     |Huffman                   |     |Leon, Gatto, Hall,        |
          |     |                          |     |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen,  |
          |     |                          |     |Norby, Skinner, Solorio,  |
          |     |                          |     |Torlakson, Torrico        |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Temporarily reauthorizes and revises the Transcript  
          Reimbursement Fund (TRF) for very low-income parties in court  
          who are unable to afford transcript services.  Specifically,  
           this bill  : 

          1)Extends the sunset on the TRF and the accompanying provisions  
            to January 1, 2013.

          2)Permits a person appearing pro se at any stage of the case to  
            apply to receive funds from the TRF subject to a limit of  
            $1,500 per case and not to exceed $30,000 annually for all  
            cases.  

          3)Requires pro se applicants to refund reimbursements if they  
            prevail in the action or lose their court fee waiver because  
            they are found not to be indigent.

          4)Requires the Court Reporters Board (Board) to report to the  
            Legislature regarding expenditures and claims paid.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, extended annual expenditure, for two years, of about  
          $330,000 from the TRF, assuming an additional $30,000 in  
          reimbursements to pro se litigants.  Administrative costs for  
          the Board to process additional costs and to report to the  








                                                                 SB 1181
                                                                  Page  2


          Legislature should be minor and absorbable.
           
          COMMENTS  :   The author explains the bill as follows:

               The Transcript Reimbursement Fund (TRF) was  
               established by the legislature in 1981 and is  
               funded through the Certified Shorthand Reporters  
               annual license renewal fees.  The purpose of the  
               TRF is to provide court transcripts and  
               depositions at little or no cost to non-profit  
               legal service centers and pro bono attorneys on  
               behalf of indigent litigants in civil cases.  This  
               Fund is to sunset by January 1, 2011.  Since this  
               is a valued program serving the indigent community  
               it is vital for the court process to have an  
               extension of the program.

               According to the Court Reporters Board,  
               approximately a quarter of all TRF claims are  
               denied because they are submitted by a litigant  
               who represents himself/herself in a lawsuit (known  
               as in pro per litigants) rather than have an  
               attorney.  Many of these clients have obtained a  
               fee waiver for their cases and often assume that  
               it applies to transcript costs as well.  These  
               people are unable to afford the costs of  
               transcripts and often time forego their efforts to  
               pursue civil litigation or defend themselves in an  
               action.  Typical cases involving requests for TRF  
               assistance, in addition to those who represent  
               themselves, include: dissolution of  
               marriage/custody issues, evictions, unlawful  
               terminations, and probate disputes.  These  
               litigants could be helped with the use of  
               underutilized funds from the TRF to be expanded to  
               include individuals representing themselves.

               In addition, current law does not allow TRF funds  
               to be used for the reimbursement of instant visual  
               display reporting rates for court reporters  
               providing such services to counsel.  Instant  
               visual display reporting is a near instant text  
               delivery of court proceedings and did not exist at  
               the time the law was written.  Allowing the  








                                                                  SB 1181
                                                                  Page  3


               reimbursement for instant visual display services  
               would ensure speedy and efficient transcripts to  
               litigants.

          Authorization for the TRF currently sunsets on January 1, 2011,  
          along with the sunset of the Board itself.  As indicated by the  
          author, without TRF, there would be fewer resources available to  
          indigent litigants to obtain transcripts that permit them to  
          evaluate and prepare for their case.  In addition, without a  
          court transcript, indigent litigants are unable to bring an  
          appeal, which has serious access implications for the  
          administration of justice.  Extending the sunset for the TRF  
          would help to ensure that indigent litigants continue to be able  
          to access this pool of funds.

          The Board makes available at least $300,000 each year for the  
          TRF.  Based on data provided by the Board, in the nearly 30  
          years since TRF's  inception in 1981, the amounts expended on an  
          annual basis has ranged from a high in 1993-94 of $417,778 to a  
          low in 2002-03 of $146,649.  In the 10 years between 1986-87 and  
          1995-96, expenditures exceeded the $300,000 budget on nine  
          occasions.  However, since 1996-97, expenditures have not  
          exceeded $272,000.  

          Under existing law, an "applicant," or certified shorthand  
          reporter in a case handled by an applicant, may apply for  
          reimbursement from TRF for the allowable charges for preparing  
          an original transcript, a copy of the transcript, or both if  
          appropriate, of court or deposition proceedings for litigation  
          conducted in California.    

          An applicant includes a "qualified legal services project," a  
          "qualified support center," "other qualified project," or "pro  
          bono attorney," as those terms are defined, which generally  
          includes those non-profit organizations, attorneys, law firms,  
          or legal corporations providing legal services to an indigent  
          person.  In addition, the case may not be a fee generating case,  
          which is generally defined as a case that, if undertaken by an  
          attorney in private practice, may reasonably be expected to  
          result in payment of a fee from an award to a client, from  
          public funds, or from an opposing party.  Because of concerns  
          that the huge volume of unrepresented parties could overwhelm  
          the fund, these provisions have historically exclude persons  
          appearing pro se to represent themselves at any stage of the  








                                                                  SB 1181
                                                                  Page  4


          case.  


           Analysis Prepared by :    Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334  
          FN: 0006023