BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 648|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 648
Author: Jones-Sawyer (D)
Amended: 9/4/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 6/18/13
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-24, 5/13/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Court reporters
SOURCE : Judicial Council
DIGEST : This bill requires for each proceeding anticipated to
last one hour or less, the $30 fee to be charged only to the
party, or parties if filing jointly, that filed the paper that
resulted in the proceeding being scheduled. This bill requires
the fee to be charged once per case for all proceedings
conducted within the same hour if the total time taken by those
proceedings is one hour or less. This bill provides for the
deposit of the fees collected into the Trial Court Trust Fund
(TCTF); provides for the distribution of those fees back to the
courts from which the fees were collected, and waives the fees
for a person who has been granted a fee waiver.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/13 clarify that the $30 fee is
charged only for the reasonable cost of the court reporting
services provided at the expense of the court by an official
court reporter pursuant to existing law, and specify that if no
fee has been charged, and another party subsequently requests a
court reporter, that party is charged the fee if the court
determines that a reporter is to be provided by the court.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Requires, in relevant part, that an official reporter or
official reporter pro tempore of the superior court take down
in shorthand all testimony, objections made, rulings of the
court, exceptions taken, arraignments, pleas, sentences,
arguments of the attorneys to the jury, and statements and
remarks made and oral instructions given by the judge or other
judicial officer, in certain cases, including, among others,
in a civil case, on the order of the court or at the request
of a party. (Code of Civ. Proc. Sec. 269.)
2.Establishes the TCTF. (Gov. Code Sec. 68085.)
3.Requires that, among other fees, the fees collected by the
trial courts for official court reporters be deposited in a
bank account established by the Administrative Office of the
Courts (AOC). The AOC must distribute those deposits as
provided, with the remainder going to the TCTF. (Gov. Code
Sec. 68085.1.)
4.Requires that for each civil proceeding lasting more than one
hour, a fee equal to one-half day of services be charged to
the parties, on a pro rata basis, and that the fees collected
be used only to pay the cost for services of an official court
reporter, as specified. (Gov. Code Sec. 68086(a)(1)(B).)
5.Requires that for that each civil proceeding lasting less than
one hour, a fee of $30 be charged for the reasonable cost of
services of an official court reporter, as specified. (Gov.
Code Sec. 68086(a)(1)(A).)
6.Authorizes the granting of a court fee waiver to a litigant
who cannot afford to pay the fee, as specified. (Gov. Code
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Sec. 68631.)
This bill:
1.Requires that for each proceeding anticipated to last one hour
or less, a $30 fee be charged for the reasonable cost of the
court reporting services provided at the expense of the court
by an official court reporter, pursuant to Section 269 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, as follows:
A. The fee must be charged to the party, or parties if
filing jointly, that filed the paper that resulted in the
proceeding being scheduled;
B. All parties paying the fee must deposit the fee with the
court clerk as specified by the court, but not later than
the conclusion of each day's court session;
C. The fee must be charged once per case for all
proceedings conducted within the same hour if the total
time taken by those proceedings is one hour or less;
D. If the total time taken exceeds one hour, the fee must
be charged and collected pursuant to the provision
governing fees for court reporters in proceedings
anticipated to last more than one hour, as outlined above;
E. The fee must be deposited into the TCTF and distributed
back to the courts from which the fees were collected on a
dollar-for-dollar basis; and
F. The fee must be refunded to the remitting party or
parties if no court reporting services were provided at the
scheduled proceeding.
1.Requires this fee be waived for a person who has been granted
a fee waiver pursuant to existing law.
2.Makes other technical and clarifying amendments.
Background
Existing law requires that an official reporter or official
reporter pro tempore of the superior court take down in
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shorthand all testimony, objections made, rulings of the court,
exceptions taken, arraignments, pleas, sentences, arguments of
the attorneys to the jury, and statements and remarks made and
oral instructions given by the judge or other judicial officer,
in specified cases. These cases include, among others, civil
cases that are ordered by the court or requested by a party.
Separately, existing law, with the enactment of AB 233 (Escutia
and Pringle, Chapter 850, Statutes of 1997) consolidated all
court funding at the state level, giving the Legislature
authority to make appropriations and the Judicial Council
responsibility to allocate funds to state courts. In doing so,
it required that all court reporters fees collected by the trial
courts be deposited into the TCTF, where nearly all
court-collected fees are now deposited. The court reporter fees
are then returned to the trial courts as part of their annual
allocation and are distributed on a pro rata basis, as opposed
to on the basis of the dollars collected.
More specifically, the Government Code requires that certain
fees be charged and be used to pay for the cost for services of
an official court reporter in civil proceedings. In proceedings
anticipated to last more than one hour, a fee equal to the
actual cost of providing that service must be charged per
one-half day of services to the parties, on a pro rata basis,
for the court reporter services on the first and each succeeding
judicial day those services are provided. All parties must
deposit their pro rata shares of these fees with the court clerk
as specified by the court, but not later than the conclusion of
each day's court session.
Last year, a budget trailer bill added that for each proceeding
lasting less than one hour, a fee of $30 dollars must be charged
for the reasonable cost of the services of official court
reporters in civil proceedings, pursuant to existing law, SB
1021 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 41,
Statutes of 2012). This bill seeks to provide specificity
regarding the payment of that fee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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Potential minor increase in fee revenue (Trial Court Trust
Fund) due to the clarifying procedures established for court
reporter fee assessment and collection.
Minor, absorbable administrative costs to the trial courts to
operationalize the clarified assessment and collection
procedures.
Minor, absorbable administrative costs to the Judicial Council
related to the allocation of the fees to the individual
courts.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/5/13)
Judicial Council (source)
California Court Reporters Association
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "The 2012
public safety Budget Trailer Bill SB 1021 (Senate Budget and
Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 41, Statutes of 2012) created a
new $30 fee to be assessed against litigants for court reporter
services in civil proceedings lasting less than one hour. The
statute did not provide clear guidance, however, on how to
implement this fee. The Judicial Council's Policy Coordination
and Liaison Committee and the Joint Legislation Working Group of
the Trial Court Presiding Judges and Court Executives Advisory
Committees therefore recommend addressing the lack of
specificity and resulting confusion to better enable courts to
collect revenue from this new source. This proposal will
streamline procedures and create sufficient flexibility and
guidance for the courts and for litigants on how this new fee
will be assessed."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-24, 5/13/13
AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla,
Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier,
Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Roger
Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Weber, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
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NOES: Achadjian, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Fox,
Beth Gaines, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Logue,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen,
Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Ammiano, Holden, Lowenthal, Medina,
Salas, Vacancy
AL:ej 9/5/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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