BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2882
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2882 (Committee on Judiciary)
As Amended August 16, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(May 31, 2016) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 19, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY: Seeks to improve the handling of family law issues in
California. Specifically, this bill:
1)Ratifies the authority of the Judicial Council to convert 10
subordinate judicial officer (SJO) positions to judgeships in
2016-17, provided the conversion of these positions will
result in judges being assigned to family or juvenile law
assignments previously presided over by a subordinate judicial
officer. Provides that this authority is in addition to the
existing authority provided to convert 16 SJOs to judges.
2)Allows prospective spouses to combine their last names into a
new last name that is more than one word, without the need to
hyphenate the names.
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3)If a marriage license is lost or damaged before it is returned
to the county recorder, allows a duplicate license to be
issued and returned by the person who solemnized the marriage
for up to one year from the date of the marriage.
4)Allows a petitioner, seeking to adopt a dependent child who
has been freed for adoption by the juvenile court and placed
with that petitioner, to file the adoption request either in
the county where that petitioner resides or the county where
the child was freed for adoption.
5)Requires a private adoption agency, when accepting a child
voluntarily relinquished for adoption to file or allow another
party to file with the court, within 10 court days, the
original and five copies of the request to approve the
relinquishment.
6)Removes an outdated reference to the Franchise Tax Board from
various provisions of the state child support enforcement
statutes that the Department of Child Support Services is
charged with overseeing.
7)Eliminates Welfare & Institutions provisions regarding
development of the child support automation system, which has
now been fully implemented.
8)Makes other technical and conforming changes, including moving
provisions of the Welfare and Institutions Code relevant to
the child support enforcement program to the Family Code.
The Senate amendments delete a reference to a past pilot project
regarding suspension of child support arrears during periods of
incarceration and add a technical, clarifying change to a waiver
of dissolution disclosure declarations.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that the Legislature shall prescribe the number of
judges and provide for the officers and employees of each
superior court. Provides that the Legislature may allow the
trial courts to appoint officers such as commissioners to
perform subordinate judicial duties.
2)Authorizes the courts to appoint subordinate judicial
officers, and sets forth their duties and titles.
3)Authorizes the conversion of 16 subordinate judicial officer
positions in eligible superior courts to judgeships each
fiscal year as specified. Authorizes the Judicial Council to
convert up to an additional 10 SJOs to judgeships each year,
upon vacancy and subsequent legislative authorization, if the
conversion of these additional positions will result in judges
being assigned to family or juvenile law assignments
previously presided over by subordinate judicial officers, but
requires that such authority be ratified by the Legislature by
statutory enactment.
4)Allows prospective spouses to combine their last names into a
new last name that is more than one word, but those names must
be hyphenated.
5)If a marriage license is lost or damaged before it is returned
to the county recorder, allows a duplicate license to be
issued and returned by the person who solemnized the marriage
up to one year from the issuance of the original license.
6)Allows a person seeking to adopt a dependent child who has
been freed for adoption by the juvenile court to file the
adoption request either in the county where that person
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resides or the county where the child was freed for adoption.
7)Requires a private adoption agency, when accepting a child
voluntarily relinquished for adoption, within five court days,
to file with the court the original and 10 copies of the
request to approve the relinquishment.
8)Makes the Franchise Tax Board responsible for various
provisions of the state child support enforcement program for
which the Department of Child Support Services is the single
state agency charged with overseeing.
9)Sets forth the process, rules and funding for development of
the California Child Support Automation System, which was
fully implemented in November, 2008.
10)Sets out the duties of the Department of Social Services and
local child support agencies regarding the state child support
plan and the child support disregard.
11)Sets out rules governing the operation of the Statewide Child
Support Registry of all child support orders in California.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to Senate Appropriations Committee,
annual costs of about $300,000 (General Fund*) for the
conversion of 10 SJOs to judgeships, based on the salary and
benefit differential of the two positions. The Judicial Council
has indicated these costs will be funded through the
reallocation of funds in the Trial Court Trust Fund. *Trial
Court Trust Fund
COMMENTS: This bill is the Committee's annual omnibus family
law bill. It makes a number of non-controversial changes to
family law in California, including allowing conversions of
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subordinate judicial officer positions to judges and updating
and making technical corrections to marriage establishment,
adoption, and Department of Child Support Services enforcement
provisions.
Analysis Prepared by:
Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN:
0004688