BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1028
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Date of Hearing: May 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1028 (Bonta) - As Amended May 13, 2015
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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
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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
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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.
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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