BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 711 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 711 (Wolk) - As Amended July 9, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Local Government |Vote:|9 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill authorizes a county law library to impose charges for special services, including electronic delivery, other delivery services, educational programs, special events, and the provision of supplies or food services. The bill also narrowly SB 711 Page 2 defines the term "public library" as used by the State Library, to include county law libraries in order to provide them access to additional grant and other funding opportunities. FISCAL EFFECT: Minor and absorbable costs to the California State Library. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, "County law libraries have greatly expanded the types of services they provide, but modern services are not referenced in the statute nor is there provision for generating revenue by charging for extra services. County law libraries continue to experience diminishing operations revenues. In fact, over the past five years, there has been nearly a 32% decrease in revenue. Authorizing additional charges to be imposed will not solve the funding shortfall county law libraries are currently experiencing, but it will enable county law libraries to generate some revenue from the ancillary services they provide." 2)County Law Libraries. Existing law establishes county law libraries and provides for their governance by a board of trustees. Existing law provides funding for county law libraries through a portion of civil filing fees, with each library receiving a designed amount from such fees. County law libraries are not supported by state or local tax dollars. While statute requires that access to a county law library be free to the public, many county law libraries charge fees or levy fines to help cover the cost of special services. The SB 711 Page 3 fees may be charged for copying materials, having materials faxed or mailed, or for audio or video rentals. The fees help defray the cost of providing these services. County law libraries provide an array of services beyond those specifically cited in statute, in order to address the needs of library users and the broader community. The Council of California County Law Librarians reports that nearly all county law libraries provide access to digital resources and other services not specifically referenced in law. This bill modernizes the list of services for which county law libraries can charge a fee to reflect the full range of services they provide. It is important to note that basic services currently provided to the public, such as access to the collection in print and digitally, reference assistance, etc. would continue to be provided at no charge. 3)Public Libraries. The Library Services Act defines "public libraries" as those run by a single jurisdiction and serves its residents free of charge. They typically include county, city and special district libraries. They are primarily funded through property tax or other local revenue and receive some state General Fund money, although that has dwindled substantially over the last 15 to 20 years. The State Library maintains a list of "public libraries" that is used by grant awarding and other state agencies to determine eligibility for various grants and other funds. The State Library historically has not included county law libraries on the list because they are not defined as traditional public libraries in existing law, nor would they meet all the criteria. SB 711 Page 4 This bill crafts a narrow definition of a public library for the purpose of providing county law libraries access, through the State Library, to additional grant and other funding opportunities, while preventing county law libraries from infringing on state funding provided to traditional public libraries defined under the Library Services Act. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081