BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1028 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 27, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 1028 (Bonta) - As Amended May 13, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Judiciary |Vote:|10 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill repeals provisions of state law that prevent certain retired judges from administering oaths and affirmations, and establishes a new Commission on Judicial Performance process for certification of retired judges who wish to administer oaths and AB 1028 Page 2 affirmations. Specifically, this bill: 1)Allows all qualified retired judges, including those retired based on disability, to administer oaths and affirmations after receiving certification from the Commission. 2)Establishes a certification process, administered by the Commission, which includes an evaluation from a retired judge's physician to demonstrate that the retired judge can perform the duties required to administer oaths and affirmations. A five-year certification is issued if there is no medical condition that hampers the judge's ability to perform his or her duties to administer oaths and affirmations. If the medical certification indicates that the retired judge does have a medical condition, but it does not presently hamper the judge's ability to perform the required duties, a two-year certification is issued. 3)Authorizes the Commission to charge a fee of up $15 to cover administrative costs for the above. FISCAL EFFECT: Costs to the Commission should be minor and would be covered by the authorized certification fee. COMMENTS: 1)Background. An oath is a promise that a statement or information being given is true, and usually invokes the name of something or someone sacred. An affirmation is an attestation that a statement given is the truth, without the AB 1028 Page 3 invocation. Oaths and affirmations are used when someone is providing testimony, or when swearing in a witness or taking a deposition. For an oath to be official, the oath must be administered by a person who has the legal right to give and affirm the oath. Those who are legally authorized to administer oaths and affirmations in California include a court, judge, clerk of the court, court reporter, notary public, and any officer or person authorized to take testimony in an action or proceeding. While many persons who are authorized to administer oaths and affirmations are monitored by, or under the supervision of, their employers or a regulating body, retired judges who administer oaths and affirmations are not under any supervision. The Commission is responsible for monitoring active judges. It investigates judicial misconduct and incapacity of active judges. Under current law, once a judge retires, he or she is no longer considered to be an employee of the courts and is no longer under the purview of the Commission. To administer oaths and affirmations during retirement, the judge simply must apply for and receive a certification from the Commission, which only certifies that, at the time of retirement, there were no formal disciplinary actions pending against the judge. It does not certify that the retired judge is or has been evaluated and found fit to administer oaths or affirmations. Once a judge receives certification from the Commission, there are no additional requirements and that judge may continue to administer oaths and affirmations for as long as he or she desires. The practice is different for a judge who retired based on disability. Current law prohibits the Commission from providing a certification to a judge who retired due to disability. However, since certification by the Commission is required in order for a retired judge to administer oaths and affirmations, judges who retired due to disability may not administer oath and affirmations. AB 1028 Page 4 2)Purpose. The Commission currently does not have a way to keep track of judges after they retire. A retired judge can receive a certification from the Commission to administer oaths and affirmations but there is no ongoing evaluation or certification system for retired judges who perform these public duties during their retirement years. This bill creates a process for certifying judges to continue to perform this service in their local communities, and creates an avenue for the recertification of judges to ensure that they continue to have mental and physical ability to perform those functions. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081