BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2612|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2612
Author: Achadjian (R)
Amended: 4/30/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/19/12
AYES: Evans, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/29/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Courts: witness fees
SOURCE : California Highway Patrol
DIGEST : This bill increases the amount that the
subpoenaing party must advance, together with the subpoena,
from $150 to $275 for each day that the public employee is
required to remain in attendance pursuant to the subpoena.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows specified public employees
to be subpoenaed as a witness with regard to events or
transactions they perceived or investigated in the course
of their duties. (Government Code (GOV) Section 68097.1)
Existing law provides that any peace officer, as defined,
firefighter, state employee, trial court employee, or
county employee, who is subpoenaed as a witness, shall
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receive the salary or other compensation to which he or she
is normally entitled to from the public entity, as well as
the actual necessary and reasonable traveling expenses
incurred in complying with the subpoena. (GOV Section
68097.2(a))
Existing law requires that the party at whose request the
subpoena is issued to reimburse the public entity for the
full cost to the public entity incurred in paying for the
employee's salary or other compensation and traveling
expenses, as provided, for each day that the employee is
required to remain in attendance pursuant to the subpoena.
(GOV Section 68097.2(b))
Existing law requires that the public entity refund any
excess amount paid if the actual expenses later prove to be
less than the amount tendered, and that the party at whose
request the subpoena is issued pay the difference between
the amount tendered and the actual expenses incurred by the
public entity if the amount proves to be more than the
amount tendered. (GOV Section 68097.2(c)-(d))
Existing law specifies that the amount of $150, together
with the subpoena, must be tendered on the person accepting
the subpoena for each day that the specified employee is
required to remain in attendance pursuant to the subpoena.
(GOV Section 68097.2(b))
This bill raises the above amount from $150 to $275.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/16/12)
California Highway Patrol (source)
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Police Officers Association
California State Sheriffs Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Peace Officers Research Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
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Assembly Bill 2612 would increase the subpoena deposit
amount from $150 to $275 per day, to reflect a
reasonable amount to cover the current cost to the
public entity. The $150 court subpoena deposit Ý(CSD)]
has not been increased since 1986 even though salaries
and travel expenses have increased dramatically since
then. Consequently, the cost of appearance often
exceeds $150. While the public entity is entitled to
collect the amount owed by sending an invoice for the
balance due, there are occasions when these invoices
are ignored.
Due to the California Highway Patrol's (CHP) regular
interaction with the public, CHP employees frequently
testify in court on civil cases. This has resulted in
uncollected fines being especially detrimental for this
agency. The average cost of a civil court appearance
by a CHP officer is $400. CHP currently has an
outstanding balance of uncollected appearance fees of
over $225,000 for the period of 1990 to 2011. The
proposed increase would allow CHP and other agencies to
recoup more of the costs associated with civil court
appearances by requiring a large amount of the
appearance fee to be deposited up front, thereby
decreasing the amount of potential unpaid fees the CHP
or other agencies must pursue. This would result in
public agencies reducing personnel-hours needed for
collection, decreasing commission charges being paid to
collection agencies, and it would minimize write-offs
when fees cannot be collected.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP), the sponsor of this
bill, adds "Ýt]his increase is a reasonable amount to cover
costs associated with employees' salary, travel expenses,
administrative costs, and benefits. ? AB 2612 would benefit
all public entities involved with the civil subpoena
deposit process."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/29/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
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Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Fletcher, Halderman, Hall,
Knight, Mansoor
RJG:d 7/18/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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