BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 749
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
749 (Bloom) - As Amended April 16, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires that an official court reporter take down in
shorthand all testimony and all statements and remarks of judges
and all persons appearing at child custody and Domestic Violence
Prevention Act proceedings.
AB 749
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT:
The Judicial Council indicates that 26 counties currently are
not providing court reporters in family law proceedings.
Assuming each of these counties, on average, would have to hire
one full-time court reporter at an average annual cost of
$100,000 for salary and benefits, statewide costs would be $2.6
million. [Trial Court Trust Fund]
(The Judicial Council notes that family law calendars are not
organized to group child custody and domestic violence hearings
apart from other family law cases.
COMMENTS:
Background and Purpose. Court reporters take shorthand notes of
court proceedings and produce a verbatim record of what
transpires in court. Today court reporters are only mandated in
some court proceedings, generally criminal and juvenile court
proceedings. The lack of mandate for court reporters in civil
actions coupled with budget cuts to the courts has resulted in
many civil courtrooms across the state operating without court
reporters, unless the parties decide to provide and pay for
their own reporters. In family law cases, where life-altering
decisions are made every day and the vast majority of litigants
are unrepresented, court reporters are almost nonexistent.
Without a court reporter to take down the proceedings, there is
no report of what transpires in court. As a result, parties may
be unable to draft orders accurately, and there is effectively
no right to appeal. This bill mandates that court reporters
take down all proceedings in child custody and domestic violence
cases.
AB 749
Page 3
In preparing for an informational hearing in February 2013
intended to identify and better understand the impacts of budget
reductions on the trial courts, the Assembly Judiciary Committee
independently surveyed the 58 trial courts to assess what
measures had been taken to address the cuts. The committee
discovered that fully 30 courts had ceased providing court
reporters for civil, family and probate proceedings. In those
courts, parties who wish to have an official record of
proceedings must hire and pay the substantial cost of providing
their own private court reporter.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081