BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1742
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 11, 2005

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

             AB 1742 (Judiciary Committee) - As Amended:  April 18, 2005 

          Policy Committee:                              JudiciaryVote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill: 

          1)Extends a filing fee surcharge for civil cases-set to expire  
            on June 30, 2005-until June 30, 2006 or until the Judicial  
            Council's proposal for a Uniform Civil Fee (UCF) is  
            implemented, whichever happens first. 

          2)Enacts several non-controversial changes to improve court  
            operations, including:

             a)   Clarifying and streamlining small claims court  
               procedures by, for example, providing that, when a claim is  
               filed in the small claims court, the case shall be  
               scheduled for hearing no earlier than 20 days and not more  
               than 70 days from the date of the order. 

             b)   Deleting the January 1, 2006 repeal date for provisions  
               authorizing sanctions for the filing of frivolous lawsuits,  
               thereby continuing indefinitely the courts' sanctioning  
               authority in this area. 

             c)   Allowing courts to make temporary custody and visitation  
               orders before a venue change, as they currently can for  
               support orders, and adds actions under the Uniform  
               Parentage Act to the existing authority to make these  
               temporary orders in separation and dissolution cases.

           FISCAL EFFECT 

          Revenue gain to the Trial Court Trust Fund of $14 million by  
          extending the sunset on the filing fee surcharge - which is  








                                                                  AB 1742
                                                                  Page  2

          generally $20 - by one year.

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . The Judicial Council has developed a proposal to  
          streamline and simplify civil filing fees by incorporating the  
          various surcharges and add-on fees into a single fee, to be  
          charged for the same services in all 58 counties. The council  
          expects that the earliest the UCF could be implemented is  
          November 1, 2005. AB 1742 is intended to provide bridge funding  
          to maintain the existing filing fee surcharge. In addition, the  
          bill makes a variety of non-controversial changes to civil law  
          and procedure, as well as several technical statutory changes to  
          improve court operations and practice.
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081