BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 973
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 973 (Campos) - As Amended: April 7, 2011
SUBJECT : TRIAL COURT: PUBLIC COMMENT
KEY ISSUE : BEFORE ADOPTING THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET, SHOULD TRIAL
COURTS BE REQUIRED TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, WITH A MEANINGFUL
OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO COMMENT, IN ORDER TO IMPROVE OVERSIGHT
AND ACCOUNTABILITY?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed
fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This bill, sponsored by the American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees, requires each trial court to provide
the public with (1) a draft of the trial court's annual budget,
and (2) the opportunity for input into both the budget process
and any closure of courtrooms or reduction in the hours of the
clerks' offices. The author believes that this bill is
necessary to ensure public oversight and accountability of the
trials courts prior to adoption of their annual budget or any
reduction in court services. This bill is supported by the
Service Employees International Union. The Judicial Council is
neutral on the bill in its present form, but would be in support
if it provided courts with greater flexibility by not requiring
a public hearing for solicitation of comments. There is no
known opposition.
SUMMARY : Requires trial courts to provide notice and an
opportunity for comment before adopting their annual budgets.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a trial court that proposes to close any courtroom or
close or reduce hours of the clerks' office, in the required
60-day advance written notice, to include how the public may
provide written comments on the court's closure or reduction
plan. Requires the court to review and consider all public
comments received. Requires the court, if its closure or
reduction plan changes as a result of the comments received,
to immediately post the revised plan, as provided. Provides
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that any change in the plan pursuant to the comments does not
require additional notification.
2)Requires each trial court, prior to adopting a budget plan for
the fiscal year, to provide the public with notice of, and an
opportunity for input on, the trial court's proposed budget.
Requires that public input be allowed by submission of written
comments, and by holding a public hearing, which must allow
for public comment and must be conducted in a reasonably
accessible location for residents of the county. Allows the
hearing to be conducted at the county courthouse. Requires
that at least 10 court days prior to the public hearing,
notice of the hearing be given, as provided. Requires that,
at least three court days prior to the public hearing, the
proposed budget be made available to the public, as provided.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows the Judicial Council, as part of its trial court budget
process, to seek input from the public as it deems
appropriate. Provides that the trial court budget process may
include, among other things: a) Receipt of budget requests
from the trial courts; b) review of the trial courts' budget
requests; c) annual approval of a schedule for the allocation
of moneys to individual courts and an overall trial court
budget; d) reallocation of funds during the course of the
fiscal year to ensure equal access to the trial courts by the
public, to improve trial court operations, and to meet trial
court emergencies; and e) establishment of rules regarding a
court's authority to transfer trial court funding moneys from
one functional category to another in order to address needs.
(Government Code Section 68502.5. Unless otherwise stated,
all further references are to that code.)
2)Gives the Judicial Council the ultimate responsibility to
adopt a budget and allocate funding for the trial courts and
perform the other activities listed in #1, above, that best
assure the trial courts' ability to carry out their functions,
promote implementation of statewide policies, and promote the
immediate implementation of efficiencies and cost saving
measures in court operations, in order to guarantee equal
access to the courts. (Id.)
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3)Requires trial courts to provide written notification to the
public not less than 60 days prior to closing any courtroom,
or closing or reducing the hours of clerks' office during
regular business hours. Requires the notification to include
the scope of the closure or reduction in hours, and the
financial constraints or other reasons that make the closure
or reduction necessary. (Section 68106).
4)Provides for the inspection and copying of judicial
administrative records, unless the records are exempt. (Rules
of Court, Rule 10.500.)
COMMENTS : This bill, sponsored by the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, requires each trial court
to provide the public with (1) a draft of the trial court's
annual budget, and (2) the opportunity for input into both the
budget process and any closure of courtrooms or reduction in the
hours of the clerks' office.
The author explains the need for the bill:
With the enactment of the Trial Court Funding Act of 1997,
the public lost the ability to provide input in the
administrative operation of the courts. Specifically, with
the removal of the Superior Courts from the responsibility
of the county, the administration of the Superior Courts
were exempted from the requirement to conduct public
meetings.
Neither the Legislature nor the Judicial Council of
California has the ultimate responsibility for the daily
operations of the trial courts and the services provided to
the public; that responsibility rests with each Superior
Court. However, the Superior Courts are not required by
either the Brown Act or the Bagly-Keene Open Meeting Act to
conduct public meetings, and Superior Courts do not
voluntarily do so. This bill simply restores a mechanism
of public accountability by requiring the Superior Courts
to conduct public meetings prior to the adoption of their
annual budget or any changes in court services.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
adds that this bill is necessary to "restore public oversight
and accountability to the California Superior Court system."
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The bill requires trial courts to provide the public with a
meaningful way to provide input on the court's annual budget and
any court closures or service reductions . This bill requires
each trial court, prior to adopting its annual budget, to post
copies of the proposed budget and to hold public hearings on the
budget. Courts would be required to accept public comment both
in writing and orally at the hearing. In addition, courts would
be required to provide the public with an opportunity to comment
on any proposal to close a courtroom or close or reduce hours of
the clerks' office. These requirements allow the public to
provide input on how trial courts, while coping with severe
budget constraints, can still seek to ensure access to justice.
Judicial Council is neutral on the bill in its current form, but
would support it if the bill gave the courts greater flexibility
in soliciting public comment . As drafted, the bill requires
each trial court, prior to adopting a baseline budget, to hold a
public hearing and accept both written and oral comments on the
budget. The Judicial Council is neutral on the bill in its
present form. However, the Judicial Council would be in support
of the bill if it provided courts with greater flexibility and
did not mandate a public hearing. Writes the Judicial Council:
ÝT]he planning of, finding an appropriate facility for, and
setting up and conducting a public hearing requires the use
of already limited staff resources. During a time when
staff resources are being stretched as far as possible in
order to meet the court's workload in light of growing
vacancy rates, diverting staff for this new task could have
the unintended result of impacting the ability of a court
to meet its constitutional and statutory obligations.
Additionally, some courts may not have sufficient unused
space in the courthouse, and would need to lease space from
the county or other entity for this purpose. These
concerns would be alleviated, and the Judicial Council
would be pleased to support Ýthe] bill if it allowed trial
courts the flexibility either to conduct public hearings or
to accept written testimony consistent with the needs of
the community and the available resources of the court.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 973
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American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO (sponsor)
Service Employees International Union
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334