BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 804
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
804 (Roger Hernández)
As Amended August 31, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 76-0 |(April 23, |SENATE: |28-12 |(September 2, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
SUMMARY: Requires the Court Reporters Board of California (CRB)
to establish continuing education (CE) requirements for renewal
of a shorthand reporter certificate. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CRB to adopt regulations that establish minimum
CE requirements for renewal of a Certified Shorthand Reporter
(CSR) certificate by July 1, 2017.
2)Requires certificate holders, six months after the effective
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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 ensure that the CE required includes a
minimum of two hours of course credits in ethics and
professional conduct of shorthand reporting.
5)Requires the CRB to ensure that the CE required is not less
than eight hours and not more than 12 hours of course credits
every two years.
6)Requires the CRB to establish a procedure for approving CE
course providers, and requires CE providers to comply with
procedures established by the CRB.
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7)Authorizes the CRB to establish a fee, as specified, for the
approval of CE providers.
8)Permits the CRB to revoke or deny the right of a CE provider
for failure to comply with requirements or regulations as
specified.
9)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.
10)Requires that the requirements comply with the guidelines for
mandatory CE established by the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA).
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11)Requires the CRB, in collaboration with the Judicial Council,
to develop a list of courses that satisfy both these CE
requirements and the requirements of Rule 10.474 of Title 10
of the California Rules of Court. The courses on the list may
be used to satisfy both these requirements and the
requirements of Rule 10.474.
12)Authorizes the CRB to adopt regulations to implement the
above provisions.
The Senate amendments:
1)Add three additional obligations for the CRB, requiring that:
a) The CRB ensure that the CE required includes a minimum
of two hours of course credits in ethics and professional
conduct of shorthand reporting;
b) The CRB ensure that the CE required is not less than
eight hours and not more than 12 hours of course credits
every two years; and,
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c) The CRB, in collaboration with the Judicial Council,
develop a list of courses that satisfy both these CE
requirements and the requirements of Rule 10.474 of Title
10 of the California Rules of Court. The courses on the
list may be used to satisfy both these requirements and
Rule 10.474.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, one-time staff costs of $51,000 in 2016-17 and
$43,000 in 2017-18 for the Board to develop and adopt
regulations to establish continuing education requirements and
establish a process for approving providers of continuing
education. (Court Reporters Fund).
Ongoing staff costs of $21,000 in 2017-18 and $34,000 annually
thereafter to process continuing education documentation from
licensees. (Court Reporters Fund)
Negligible revenue increase to the extent the Board established
the maximum fee of $40 to approve continuing education
providers. The Board has only identified eight potential
providers currently offering courses or seminars that would
address the bill's continuing education requirements.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is co-sponsored by the California Court
Reporters Association and the Deposition Reporters Association
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of California. According to the author, this bill "requires the
[CRB] 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.
"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."
Background. Currently, the CRB receives about 100 consumer
complaints a year, which is divided between untimely production
of transcripts, inaccuracy, and other deficiencies. In the
2013-14 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.
The CRB has 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. Because the larger conglomerates tend not to
provide as much oversight of CSRs, CSRs working as independent
contractors have less incentive 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 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.
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Nonetheless, imposing CE may be a useful preventive measure,
given the risk to a litigant's legal rights. 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.
Prior Veto. Legislation requiring CE's 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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0002061