BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 711|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 711
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 7/9/15
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/12/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez,
Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu,
McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell,
Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak,
Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/27/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Law libraries: charges
SOURCE: Council of California County Law Librarians
DIGEST: 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. This bill also
defines a "public library" for purposes of the provisions
governing the California State Library to mean any public
library, as defined for purposes of the Education Code, or any
county law library.
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Assembly Amendments add language defining "public library" to
include a county law library, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that there is in each county of this State a board of
law library trustees (board) which governs the law library
established for the county.
2)Provides that a law library shall be free to the judiciary, to
state and county officials, to members of the State Bar, and
to all residents of the county, for the examination of books
and other publications at the library or its branches.
3)Provides that the board may permit the removal of such books
and other publications from the library and its branches as it
considers proper, subject to such rules, and, in its
discretion, the giving of such security, as it may provide to
ensure the safekeeping and prompt return thereof, but no
security shall be required of members of the judiciary or
county officials.
4)Permits the board to provide for the levying of fines and
charges for violations of the rules, and may make charges to
cover the cost of special services, such as making photo
copies of pages of library books, and messenger service.
This bill:
1)Revises the above provision to allow the board to charge for
special services, such as the making of photocopies of pages
of library books, electronic delivery, messenger and other
delivery services, educational programs, special events, and
provisions of supplies or food services.
2)Defines a "public library" for purposes of the provisions
governing the California State Library to mean any public
library, as defined for purposes of the Education Code, or any
county law library.
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Background
County law libraries are public libraries that are required, by
law, to be free to the judiciary, to state and county officials,
to members of the State Bar, and to all residents of the county.
The libraries offer legal materials as well as access to
librarians to assist individuals with their legal research.
Funding for county law libraries comes from a portion of civil
filing fees which are generally codified in statute.
While county law libraries must be free to the public, they are
statutorily authorized to levy fines and charges for violations
of the rules, and make charges to cover the cost of special
services, as specified. This bill seeks to clarify that
provision by expressly allowing libraries to charge for special
services, including electronic delivery, educational programs,
special events, and provisions of supplies or food services.
Comments
The author writes:
Current law ([Business and Professions] Code [Section] 6300
et seq.) establishes county law libraries and provides for
their governance by a board of trustees. The code provides
funding for county law libraries through a portion of civil
filing fees, with each library receiving a designated 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 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
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nearly all county law libraries provide access to digital
resources and other services not specifically referenced in
[Business and Professions Code Section] 6360 as currently
written. While 18 sections of county law library statutes
were updated in 2009 by SB 113 [(Committee on Local
Government, Chapter 332, Statutes of 2009)], Section 6360
was not among them and does not reflect the range of
services provided by modern day county law libraries.
In addition, county law libraries continue to experience
diminishing operations revenues. In fact, over the past 5
years there has been nearly a 32 percent decrease in
revenue. While authorizing additional charges to be imposed
will not solve the funding shortfall, SB 711 will enable
county law libraries to recover the costs of some of the
modern services they provide to the public. Furthermore, SB
711 will insulate county law libraries from having to expend
already scarce resources defending lawsuits alleging that
they have no authority to charge a fee for the various
services they provide to attorneys and the public.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/27/15)
Council of California County Law Librarians (source)
Alameda County law Library
Butte County Public Law Library
Contra Costa County Public Law Library
Fresno County Public Law Library
Los Angeles County law Library
Merced County Law Library
Northern California Association of Law Libraries
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Orange County Employees Association
Orange County Public Law Library
Sacramento County Public Law Library
San Diego County Public Law Library
San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Inc.
Santa Barbara County Law Library
Stanislaus County Law Library
Tom Holmann LGBT Law Association
Tulare County Public Law Library
22 individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/27/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Williams
Prepared by:Benjamin Palmer / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/28/15 11:22:48
**** END ****
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