BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 804 Hearing Date: June 8,
2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Roger Hernández |
|----------+------------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |March 23, 2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant|Mark Mendoza |
|: | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Shorthand reporters: continuing education
requirements.
SUMMARY: Requires the Court Reporters Board of California to establish
continuing education requirements for renewal of a shorthand
reporter certificate.
Existing law:
1) Provides for the certification and regulation of short hand
reporters and for the regulation of shorthand reporting
corporations by the Court Reporters Board (CRB) within the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) § 8000 et seq.)
2) Provides that a certified shorthand reporter (CSR)
certificate is valid for one year, and may be renewed by
applying for the certificate renewal, paying the renewal fee,
and notifying the CRB of any substantially related criminal
convictions or of any disciplinary action taken by any
regulatory agency against the licensee.
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 2
of ?
(Business and Professions Code (BPC) § 8024)
3) Establishes the fees the CRB may charge, including fees for
examinations, initial and renewal CSR certificates. (BPC §
8031)
4) Authorizes the CRB to investigate complaints against
licensees. (BPC § 8008)
5) Authorizes the CRB to suspend, revoke, or deny a certificate,
or take other disciplinary action for negligence,
incompetence, and unprofessional conduct.
(BPC § 8025)
6) Authorizes the CRB to issue administrative citations and
assess fines for violations of the rules and regulations
pertaining to CSRs. (BPC § 8027.5)
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 3
of ?
7) Requires the Director of the DCA, by regulation, to develop
guidelines to prescribe components for mandatory continuing
education (CE) programs administered by the DCA boards and
bureaus to ensure that mandatory CE is used as a means to
create a more competent licensing population, thereby
enhancing public protection and specifies what the guidelines
shall require in terms of providing CE programs. (BPC § 166)
This bill:
1) Requires the CRB to adopt regulations that establish minimum
CE requirements for renewal of a CSR certificate by July 1,
2016.
2) Requires certificate holders, six months after the effective
date of the regulations, to certify completion of minimum CE
requirements to the CRB when renewing a certificate.
3) Requires the CRB to ensure that the CE requirement is
relevant to the practice of shorthand reporting.
4) Requires the CRB to establish a procedure for approving CE
course providers, and requires CE providers to comply with
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 4
of ?
procedures established by the CRB.
5) Permits the CRB to revoke or deny the right of a CE provider
for failure to comply with requirements or regulations as
specified.
6) Authorizes the CRB to establish exceptions to the CE
requirements for individuals who cannot meet the CE
requirements for reasons of health, military service, or
undue hardship.
7) Requires that the CE requirements comply with the guidelines
for mandatory CE established by the DCA.
8) Authorizes the CRB to adopt regulations to implement the
above provisions.
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 5
of ?
9) Authorizes the CRB to establish a fee, as specified, for the
approval of CE providers.
FISCAL
EFFECT: This measure has been keyed "fiscal" by Legislative
Counsel. According to the Assembly Appropriations analysis,
dated April 14, 2015, this bill would have "minor and absorbable
costs to the CRB to implement the changes. Any additional costs
incurred to approve continuing education providers could be
covered by the fee authority granted in the bill."
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. The California Court Reporters Association and the
Deposition Reporters Association of California are Co-Sponsors
of the bill. According to the Author, this bill "requires the
Court Reporters Board of California to adopt regulations to
establish continuing education requirements for renewal of a
shorthand reporter's certification that are relevant to the
practice of shorthand reporting, and requires the board to
establish a procedure for approving providers of (CE) courses.
The Judicial Council rules mandate CE for all staff,
including court reporters, but does not specifically mandate
that the official court reporter obtain CE specifically as it
relates to the job of court reporting.
Once a shorthand reporter passes their initial test for
licensing, they do not ever have to be retested in order to
renew their license. The only time a CSR is ever retested
for a license is if the CSR relinquishes their licenses then
decides down the road to begin working again or becomes
re-licensed."
2.Court Reporters. There are two types of CSRs (commonly known
as court reporters). "Official" reporters are individuals who
work as employees of the court system. "Freelance" reporters
are individuals hired privately by court reporting businesses,
firms, or attorneys to report depositions. In order to obtain
a license, CSRs must attend a CRB-approved court reporting
school and pass two written exams and a performance exam.
There are 14 shorthand reporting schools in California and
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 6
of ?
approximately 7,000 CSRs. The CRB issues a CSR certificate
for a one-year period, which expires on the last day of the
birth month of the licensee.
3.Enforcement Data. When a consumer makes a complaint against a
licensee, the CRB reviews the complaint for jurisdiction and
severity. Where the Board notices an error or mistake that is
benign to the consumer, it may choose not to sanction the
licensee-CSRs will often refund the payment for an
unsatisfactory transcript. However, where the error greatly
harms the consumer, the Board will initiate enforcement
proceedings, which can include fines, license revocation
citation, fine, probation, suspension and, in the most
egregious of cases, revocation.
Currently, the CRB receives about 100 consumer complaints a
year, which is divided between untimely production of
transcripts, inaccuracy, and other deficiencies. In the
2013-2014 Fiscal Year, the CRB received 106 complaints.
For the same year, other similarly-sized boards received
similar numbers: the Acupuncture Board received 189; the
Board of Optometry received 238; the Osteopathic Medical
Board received 360; and the Physician Assistant Board
received 351.
4.Judicial Counsel Continuing Education Requirement. In 2007,
the Judicial Counsel of California adopted a CE requirement
for all personnel employed by the Court, including court
reporters (California Rules of Court, Title 10, Division 2,
Chapter 7). It requires court employees to take at least 8
hours of CE every
2 years.
While not specific to court reporting, employees have two
choices for CE: (1) they may choose from approved providers;
or (2) they may choose a course that is relevant to the work
of the courts or the judicial branch, is one hour long, and
has identified anticipated learning outcomes (how new
knowledge, skills, or abilities will be applied,
demonstrated, or used). The Court's executive officers,
managers, and supervisors must grant employees enough leave
to complete the education, develop educational plans, and
ensure proper reimbursement for travel.
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 7
of ?
5.Continuing Education for Court Reporters: A Legislative
Sunset Review Issue. The issue of CE was discussed several
times during the CRB's sunset review process. In 1996, the
process covered the pros and cons of CE requirements, but the
CRB deleted a CE proposal from its 1994 legislation when it
learned that the Governor would not approve it.
At that time, the CRB stated that many in the profession
believe that the Board's pre-license testing system keeps the
standard of entry at an appropriate level, and the intensity
demanded in the day-to-day requirements in the occupation
drives the individual licensees to seek and find the
educational training requirements necessary on their own
initiative. However, others believed that, because the
industry changes quickly, there should be higher standards
for the profession.
In the end, the Joint Committee's recommendation did not
include pursuing CE. The issue was again raised in the
2004-2005 review of the Board; however, the Joint Oversight
Committee did not recommend establishing a CE requirement.
6.Necessity of CE for CSRs and Consumer Protection. The
Co-Sponsors and Author of the bill note that the difficulty of
the profession, the constant changes in legal terms, and the
steady stream of new and complex technologies increase the
risk of harm to the legal rights of consumers. In addition,
many other states require CSRs to complete CE. Therefore,
they state that the CRB should require CSRs to complete CE.
Further, the CRB has also noted industry changes that may
lead to consumer harm. It noted that the court reporting
business model has changed, which now results in a larger
percentage of independent contractors working for large
corporate firms owned by non-licensees.
In the past, CSRs primarily worked in firms owned by
licensees that strongly encouraged the CSRs to stay current
with changes in technology and litigation support services.
Now, however, CSRs tend to work as independent contractors
that are hired by large conglomerates. Because the larger
conglomerates tend not to provide as much oversight of CSRs,
CSRs working as independent contractors have less incentive
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 8
of ?
to stay current with the profession.
However, the CRB does not track the number of CSRs that work
as independent contractors, for firms, or for the courts.
Further, the enforcement data shows that CRB has not received
a particularly high number of consumer complaints. Therefore,
it is not clear what impact this industry change has made.
One answer may be that issues in quality are rectified
through the normal processes-sometimes inaccuracies can be
resolved through the fact checking and proofreading process
CSRs go through before delivering a final product. Without
data, though, there is no clear answer and no issue to
rectify.
Nonetheless, imposing CE may be a useful preventive measure,
given the risk to a litigant's legal rights. However, past
analyses have noted a distinction between licensees that
voluntarily seek out CE to better themselves and unwilling
licensees that take CE because it is required. Because CSRs
that consistently produce inaccurate transcripts may be
disciplined by the CRB or have trouble finding work, they
already have reasons to stay up to date with their practice.
Therefore, an additional mandatory requirement may impact
educational outcomes.
There is also an argument that CSRs (and all professions) can
benefit from CE, and there are many professional
organizations in support. For example, there are ethical
rules that court reporters must follow, and CE may strengthen
faith in the profession. Therefore, the benefits to the
profession and consumers will have to be weighed against the
costs of a CE requirement to the consumers, licensees, and
the CRB.
7.Prior Legislation. SB 671 (Price, 2011) would have required
the CRB to adopt regulations to establish CE requirements for
renewal of CSR certificate and requires the CRB to establish a
procedure for approving providers of CE courses. ( Status : This
bill was vetoed by Governor Brown).
AB 2189 (Karnette, 2008) would have required the CRB to
establish continuing education requirements for renewal of a
shorthand reporter's certificate and makes other changes
related to the certification and regulation of shorthand
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 9
of ?
reporters.. ( Status : This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown).
8. Policy Issues :
a) Prior unsuccessful bills. Legislation requiring CE for
CSRs has been passed and vetoed two separate times in past
legislative sessions. The most recent was SB 671 (Price)
of 2011. The provisions of SB 671 were substantially
similar to those contained in this bill; however, it was
vetoed by Governor Brown, citing concerns about the burden
of CE requirements. According to the Governor's veto
message:
"This bill would make license renewal for court reporters
contingent on continuing education. The whole idea of
legally mandated 'continuing education' is suspect in my
mind. Professionals already are motivated to hone their
skills - or risk not getting business.
Requiring them to pay fees to 'continuing education
providers' is an unwarranted burden."
The Committee may wish to inquire of the Author, what, if
anything, has been done to alleviate the Governor's
concerns as explained in his veto message.
b) Silent on dual credit. Currently, this bill would add
on an additional continuing education requirement to CSRs.
Thus, CSRs would have to attend and fulfill both the CE
requirements by the Judicial Council and CRB. The Author
may wish to inquire with the Judicial Council about whether
or not continued education acquired via a CRB-approved
course provider would satisfy its CE requirements. In
other words, will a licensed CSR who is employed by the
court and who must complete the continuing education
required by the Judicial Council be required to fulfill as
separate continuing education requirement to renew their
license from the Board?
c) Court Reporter fees for attendance. When attending a
continuing education seminar, professionals pay about
$35-$45 per session. This bill does not specify a range
for how much licensees would have to pay to attend a
CRB-approved, continuing education course.
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 10
of ?
d) Unspecified hours for CE. The bill does not specify the
number of hours of continuing education would be required
for each annual license renewal period. As stated above,
the Judicial Council requirement for official reporters is
to complete eight hours of continuing education every two
years. The Board will need to determine an appropriate
number of hours through its regulatory process.
1.Arguments in Support. The California Court Reporters
Association (Co-Sponsor) writes, "Under current law, there are
no requirements in place to ensure that a CSR is maintaining
the education needed to stay updated on rules, regulations,
statutes and advancing technologies that affect the
profession. While in many cases, continuing professional
development and education is undertaken voluntarily, some
reporters who practice in more isolated settings may not have
access to information related to advancements or changes in
the profession. Consumers of the products and services,
offered by a CSR, expect to receive the latest available
technology, i.e., real-time reporting, Internet text
streaming, transcript repositories, exhibit scanning and
linking to transcripts, and much more.
Continuing education requirements ensure that every CSR can
produce a verbatim record that continues to be held to the
highest possible standard."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Court Reporters Association (Sponsor)
Deposition Reporters Association of California (Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Northern California Court Reporters Association
Sacramento Official Court Reporters Association
AB 804 (Roger Hernández) Page 11
of ?
San Diego Superior Court Reporters Association
Service Employees International Union
Opposition:
None on file as of June 2, 2015.
-- END --