BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1403
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 1, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

             AB 1403 (Committee on Judiciary) - As Introduced:  March 12,  
                                        2013 

          Policy Committee:                              JudiciaryVote:10  
          - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes technical and clarifying changes to the Uniform  
          Parentage Act (UPA), in particular, making the Act's provisions  
          gender neutral where appropriate. In addition, this bill allows  
          the Judicial Council to convert 10 subordinate judicial officer  
          positions (SJOs) to judgeships in 2013-14, provided the  
          conversion of these positions results in judges being assigned  
          to family or juvenile law assignments previously presided over  
          by a subordinate judicial officer.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Annual cost of up to $270,000 for conversion of up to 10 SJOs to  
          judgeships.  For each conversion of an SJO position to a  
          judgeship, the additional annual cost, based on salary  
          differences between the two positions, is approximately $27,000.  
          The Judicial Council indicates these additional costs will be  
          funded through a reallocation of money in the Trial Court Trust  
          Fund. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . This committee bill makes two non-controversial  
            changes to family law.  First, it codifies changes to the  
            Uniform Parentage Act that have been firmly established by  
            case law.  The Judiciary Committee notes that while not  
            changing the law, these updates will help ensure that someone  
            reading the Family Code, particularly the vast majority of  
            family law litigants who today are unrepresented by counsel,  
            will have an accurate understanding of the law. 








                                                                  AB 1403
                                                                  Page  2


          Second, the bill ratifies the Judicial Council's authority to  
            convert 10 SJOs to judgeships in the next year, provided those  
            judges replace SJOs in family or juvenile law cases.  This  
            provision seeks to improve family and juvenile law cases by  
            increasing the likelihood that these matters are presided over  
            by judges and not subordinate judicial officers.  

           2)Related Legislation  . SB 405 (Corbett), Chapter 705, Statutes  
            of 2011, ratified the authority of the Judicial Council to  
            convert 10 SJOs to judgeships assigned to family or juvenile  
            law.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081