BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2629
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2629 (Roger Hernández) - As Amended April 20, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill, for the first time since 1990, increases fees charged
by court reporters for original transcripts and for copies-in
increments and by a total of about 45% over the next five years.
AB 2629
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Court expenditures on transcripts averaged $20.5 million over
the last three full fiscal years. Based on this amount and the
incremental increases scheduled in the bill, General Fund costs
to the court would increase by $1.6 million in 2017-18, by
another $3.4 million in 2018-19, and by another $4.4 million in
2021-22, when the increases would be fully phased-in.
COMMENTS:
Background and Purpose. A court transcript is a verbatim record
of what occurred at a court hearing. Without that official
record of what transpired at a court proceeding, litigants may
be unable to draft orders effectively and will generally not be
able to appeal decisions, and those attempting to recount what
actually happened during proceedings will be unable to so with
any degree of accuracy.
The fees charged by court reporters for transcripts have not
been increased since 1990. In the 25 years since the fee
increase, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as calculated by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, has increased by over 80%. This
bill, sponsored by the California Court Reporters Association
(CCRA), increases the fee by approximately 45%, through step
increases over the next five years, commencing in 2017.
(Transcript fees are assessed for each 100 words, known as the
"folio rate.") The author argues that this bill advances a
modest transcript fee adjustment in order to bring parity and
fair compensation for court reporters. The bill is supported by
court reporter associations and SEIU.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
AB 2629
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319-2081