BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 804|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 804
Author: Roger Hernández (D)
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 7-2, 6/8/15
AYES: Hill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson, Mendoza,
Wieckowski
NOES: Bates, Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-1, 6/22/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/23/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Shorthand reporters: continuing education
requirements
SOURCE: California Court Reporters Association
Deposition Reporters Association of California
DIGEST: This bill requires the Court Reporters Board of
California (CRB) to adopt regulations establishing minimum
continuing education requirements as a condition for renewal of
a court reporters certificate and to establish a procedure for
approving providers of continuing education courses.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/31/15 change the CRB's deadline to
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Page 2
adopt regulations for continuing education requirements to July
1, 2017, outline the specifics of the continuing education
requirements, underscore that the CRB will collaborate with the
Judicial Council to develop a list of courses that satisfy both
entities' requirements, and make various technical and
clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides for the certification and regulation of short hand
reporters and for the regulation of shorthand reporting
corporations by the 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. (BPC § 8024)
3)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,
2017. 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
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certificate. Requires the CRB to ensure that the CE
requirement is relevant to the practice of shorthand
reporting. Requires the CRB to establish a procedure for
approving CE course providers, and requires CE providers to
comply with procedures established by the CRB. Permits the
CRB to revoke or deny the right of a CE provider for failure
to comply with requirements or regulations as specified.
2)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.
3)Provides that the continuing education requirements for a CSR
to include a minimum of two hours of course credits in ethics
and professional conduct; additionally, provides that the CE
requirement is not less than 8 hours and not more than 12
hours every 2 years.
4)Provides that the CRB will collaborate with the Judicial
Council to develop a list of courses that satisfy both the CSR
and Judicial Council's CER requirements.
Background
The issue of CE has been raised several times during the
Legislature's oversight of CRB. Years ago CRB stated that many
in the profession believe that the 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. Other stakeholders have held that because the
industry changes quickly, there should be higher standards for
the profession.
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 may have less incentive to stay current
with the profession. While it is not clear what impact this
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industry change has made, imposing CE may be a useful preventive
measure, given the risk to a litigant's legal rights.
Proponents of this bill cite the difficulty of the profession,
the constant changes in legal terms, and the steady stream of
new and complex technologies as contributing to an increased
risk of harm to the legal rights of consumers. Proponents also
highlight the fact that many other states require CSRs to
complete CE as rationale for this measure.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill will
result in one time staff costs for CRB to develop and adopt
regulations for CE requirements, ongoing staff costs to process
CE documentation for licensees, and a negligible revenue
increase to the extent CRB establishes the maximum fee of $40 to
approve continuing education providers.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/1/15)
California Court Reporters Association (source)
Deposition Reporters Association of California (source)
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Judicial Council of California
Northern California Court Reporters Association
Sacramento Official Court Reporters Association
San Diego Superior Court Reporters Association
Service Employees International Union
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/1/15)
None received
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters believe that there is
nothing in current law to ensure that a CSR is maintaining the
education needed to stay updated on rules, regulations, statutes
and advancing technologies that affect the profession.
Supporters note that 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 and that continuing
education requirements ensure that every CSR can produce a
verbatim record that continues to be held to the highest
possible standard.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/23/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu,
Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo
Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer,
Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood,
Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Campos, Jones, Salas
Prepared by:Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
9/1/15 20:29:42
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