BILL ANALYSIS Ó 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