BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2192 (Salas) - Court Reporters Board of California:
Shorthand reporters fees: Transcript Reimbursement Fund
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|Version: June 30, 2016 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 7 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2192 would extend the operation of the Court
Reporters Board until January 1, 2020. The bill would increase
the license renewal fee for court reporters to $250.
Fiscal
Impact:
Ongoing costs of $1.2 million per year for the continued
operation of the Court Reporters Board (Court Reporters Fund).
Operations of the Board are fully funded with license fee
revenues.
Ongoing costs of $100,000 to $300,000 per year for the
continued operation of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund. This
fund is supported by transfers from the Court Reporters Fund.
Current law requires $300,000 to be transferred annually for
the purposes of the fund. However, in the budget year, only
$100,000 in expenditures is projected.
AB 2192 (Salas) Page 1 of
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Increased fee revenues of about $870,000 per year due to the
increase in the renewal fee from $125 to $250 (Court Reporters
Fund).
Background: Under current law, the Court Reporters Board licenses court
reporters. Court reporters work in state courts (official
reporters) and act as deposition recorders (freelance
reporters). The Board licenses about 6,800 court reporters.
Current law sets the license renewal fee at $125.
Under current law, the Board is required to transfer $300,000
per year from the Court Reporters Fund (the main special fund
supporting the Board's operations) to the Transcript
Reimbursement Fund. The Transcript Reimbursement Fund is used to
pay for the costs of providing free transcripts of court
proceedings for indigent litigants.
Current law sunsets the operation of the Court Reporters Board
on January 1, 2017. Current law requires any unencumbered funds
remaining in the Transcript Reimbursement Fund to be transferred
back to the Court Reporters Fund on January 1, 2017.
Proposed Law:
AB 2192 would extend the operation of the Court Reporters
Board until January 1, 2020. The bill would increase the license
renewal fee for court reporters to $250.
Specific provisions of the bill would:
Extend the operation of the Court Reporters Board and the
Board's authority to appoint an executive officer until
January 1, 2020;
Authorize the Board to transfer funds from the Court Reporters
Fund to the Transcript Reimbursement Fund in $100,000
increments (of the $300,000 total amount required to be
transferred);
Increase the maximum amount of funding that is available to
"pro se" applicants (indigent litigants representing
themselves in court) from $30,000 per year to $75,000;
Extend the operation of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund
program until January 1, 2020;
AB 2192 (Salas) Page 2 of
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Require the Board to submit a report to the Legislature by
November 1, 2018 on the condition of the Court Reporters Fund
and the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, with specified
information on revenues, expenditures, and other issues;
Increase the license renewal fee from $125 to $250.
Related
Legislation: This bill is one of several sunset review bills
authored by the chairs of the Senate and Assembly Business and
Professions Committees to review and extend the operation of
licensing boards and bureaus within the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
Staff
Comments: The Court Reporters Fund has a structural deficit.
Revenues in the current year are projected to be about $930,000
whereas expenditures are projected to be about $1.2 million. The
balance in the Court Reporters Fund has declined in current
years and will not be able to support the operation of the Board
at current expenditure levels in future years.
Current law requires license fee revenues to be transferred from
the Court Reporters Fund to the Transcript Reimbursement Fund.
Because this bill would increase renewal fees paid by licensees
and the operation of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund is not
related to the licensing or enforcement of licensing
requirements on court reporters, this bill will result in a tax
increase.
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