BILL NUMBER: SB 2090 CHAPTERED 09/30/00 CHAPTER 1009 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 22, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Senator Murray FEBRUARY 25, 2000 An act to amend Sections 8017 and 8027 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to shorthand reporters. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 2090, Murray. Shorthand reporters. (1) Existing law provides for a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of the practice of shorthand reporting, defined as the making by means of written symbols or abbreviations in shorthand or machine shorthand of a verbatim record of any oral court proceeding, deposition, or proceeding before any grand jury, referee, or court commissioner and the accurate transcription thereof. This bill would additionally define the practice for those purposes to include making a verbatim record of any court ordered hearing and would specify that nothing within this definition requires the use of a certified shorthand reporter when not otherwise required by law. (2) Under existing law, the Court Reporters Board in the Department of Consumer Affairs specifies the course of study for a court reporting program and requires schools providing this program to immediately notify it of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of the school or program. This bill would specify that a school is required to offer all components of the minimum prescribed course of study established by the board and to immediately notify the board, and any student who is to be enrolled after this notice is sent, of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court reporting program or any component of the program. This bill would also require the school to discontinue the court reporting program in its entirety within 2 years of sending this notice to the board, unless this period is extended by the board, as specified. (3) Because a violation of any of the provisions regulating the practice of shorthand reporters is a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 8017 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 8017. The practice of shorthand reporting is defined as the making, by means of written symbols or abbreviations in shorthand or machine shorthand writing, of a verbatim record of any oral court proceeding, deposition, court ordered hearing or arbitration, or proceeding before any grand jury, referee, or court commissioner and the accurate transcription thereof. Nothing in this section shall require the use of a certified shorthand reporter when not otherwise required by law. SEC. 2. Section 8027 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 8027. (a) As used in this section, "school" means a court reporter training program or an institution that provides a course of instruction approved by the board, and is approved by the Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, is a public school in this state, or is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. (b) A court reporting school shall be primarily organized to train students for the practice of shorthand reporting, as defined in Sections 8016 and 8017. Its educational program shall be on the postsecondary or collegiate level, and shall be a residence program; its educational program shall not be a correspondence program. It shall be legally organized and authorized to conduct its program under all applicable laws of the state, and shall conform to and offer all components of the minimum prescribed course of study established by the board. Its records shall be kept and shall be maintained in a manner to render them safe from theft, fire, or other loss. The records shall indicate positive daily and clock-hour attendance of each student, apprenticeship and graduation reports, high school transcripts or equivalent, or self-certification of high school graduation or equivalency, transcript of other education, and student progress to date. (c) Any school intending to offer a program in court reporting shall notify the board within 30 days of the date on which it provides notice to, or seeks approval from, the California Department of Education, the Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, or the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, whichever is applicable. The board shall review the proposed curriculum and provide the school tentative approval, or notice of denial, within 60 days of receipt of the notice. The school shall apply for provisional recognition pursuant to subdivision (d) within no more than one year from the date it begins offering court reporting classes. (d) The board may grant provisional recognition to a new court reporting school upon satisfactory evidence that it has met all of the provisions of subdivision (b) and this subdivision. Recognition may be granted by the board to a provisionally recognized school after it has been in continuous operation for a period of no less than three consecutive years from the date provisional recognition was granted, during which period the school shall provide satisfactory evidence that at least one person has successfully completed the entire course of study established by the board and complied with the provisions of Section 8020, and has been issued a certificate to practice shorthand reporting as defined in Sections 8016 and 8017. The board may, for good cause shown, extend the three-year provisional recognition period for not more than one year. Failure to meet the provisions and terms of this section shall require the board to deny recognition. Once granted, recognition may be withdrawn by the board for failure to comply with the requirements of this section. (e) Application for recognition of a court reporting school shall be made upon a form prescribed by the board and shall be accompanied by all evidence, statements, or documents requested. Each branch, extension center, or off-campus facility requires separate application. (f) All recognized and provisionally recognized court reporting schools shall notify the board of any change in school name, address, telephone number, responsible court reporting program manager, owner of private schools, and the effective date thereof, within 30 days of the change. All of these notifications shall be made in writing. (g) A school shall notify the board in writing immediately of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court reporting program or any of the program's components. Within two years of the date this notice is sent to the board, the school shall discontinue its court reporting program in its entirety. The board may, for good cause shown, grant not more than two, one-year extensions of this period to a school. If a student is to be enrolled after this notice is sent to the board, a school shall disclose to the student the fact of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court reporting program or any of its program components. (h) The board shall maintain a roster of currently recognized and provisionally recognized court reporting schools including, but not limited to, the name, address, telephone number, and the name of the responsible court reporting program manager of each school. (i) The board shall maintain statistics which display the number and passing percentage of all first-time examinees, including, but not limited to, those qualified by each recognized or provisionally recognized school and those first-time examinees qualified by other methods as defined in Section 8020. (j) Inspections and investigations shall be conducted by the board as necessary to carry out this section. (k) All recognized and provisionally recognized schools shall print in their school or course catalog the name, address, and telephone number of the board. At a minimum, the information shall be in 8-point bold type and include the following statement: "IN ORDER FOR A PERSON TO QUALIFY FROM A SCHOOL TO TAKE THE STATE LICENSING EXAMINATION, THE PERSON SHALL COMPLETE A PROGRAM AT A RECOGNIZED SCHOOL. FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS THAT A COURT REPORTING PROGRAM MUST MEET IN ORDER TO BE RECOGNIZED, CONTACT: THE COURT REPORTERS BOARD OF CALIFORNIA; (ADDRESS); (TELEPHONE NUMBER)." (l) Each court reporting school shall file with the board, not later than June 30 of each year, a current school catalog which shows all course offerings and staff, and for private schools, the owner, except that where there have been no changes to the catalog within the previous year, no catalog need be sent. In addition, each school shall also file with the board a statement certifying that the school is in compliance with all statutes and the rules and regulations of the board, signed by the responsible court reporting program manager. (m) No school offering court reporting shall make any written or verbal claims of employment opportunities or potential earnings unless those claims are based on verified data and reflect current employment conditions. (n) Any person teaching an academic course, that is a course other than machine shorthand or typing, in a court reporting program shall meet one of the following criteria: (1) Possess a minimum of an Associate of Arts degree and, in addition, either a minimum of two years of experience teaching the subject being taught or at least two years' work experience in a job substantially related to the subject being taught. (2) Possess a current license as a certified shorthand reporter and, in addition, either a minimum of two years of experience teaching the subject being taught or at least two years' work experience in a job substantially related to the subject being taught. (3) Possess a minimum of four years' experience teaching the subject being taught or a minimum of four years' work experience in a job substantially related to the subject being taught. (4) Possess a minimum of a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in the subject being taught. (o) The pass rate of first-time exam takers for each school offering court reporting shall meet or exceed the average pass rate of all first-time test takers for a majority of examinations given for the preceding three years. Failure to do so shall require the board to conduct a review of the program. In addition, the board may place the school on probation and may withdraw recognition if the school continues to place below the above described standard on the two exams that follow the three-year period. SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.