BILL NUMBER: SB 56 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Dunn
(Principal coauthor: Senator Ducheny)
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Jones)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Benoit and Bogh)
JANUARY 12, 2005
An act to add Sections 69613 and 69614 to the Government Code,
relating to trial courts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 56, as amended, Dunn. Trial courts: judgeships.
Existing law specifies the number of judges of the superior court
for each county.
This bill would authorize an additional 50
unspecified number of judges of the superior court per year to
be appointed by the Governor in the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08
fiscal years, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the various
counties county superior courts , as
determined by the Judicial Council. The bill would also authorize up
to 161 an unspecified number of
subordinate judicial officer positions in eligible superior
courts, as determined by the Judicial Council, to be converted to
judgeships, according to specified criteria and upon appropriation by
the Legislature. The bill would define the term "subordinate
judicial officer" for purposes of those provisions and would declare
the Legislature's intent to restore an appropriate balance between
subordinate judicial officers and judges in enacting those
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 69613 is added to the Government Code, to read:
69613.
(a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature in the 2005-06 fiscal
year, there shall be 50 _____
additional judges of the superior court for appointment by the
Governor to the various county superior courts, as determined by the
Judicial Council pursuant to uniform criteria for determining the
need for additional superior court judges.
(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature in the 2006-07 fiscal
year, there shall be 50 _____
additional judges of the superior court for appointment by the
Governor to the various county superior courts, as determined by the
Judicial Council pursuant to uniform criteria for determining the
need for additional superior court judges.
(c) Upon appropriation by the Legislature in the 2007-08 fiscal
year, there shall be 50 _____
additional judges of the superior court for appointment by the
Governor to the various county superior courts, as determined by the
Judicial Council pursuant to uniform criteria for determining the
need for additional superior court judges.
SEC. 2. Section 69614 is added to the Government Code, to read:
69614.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to restore an appropriate balance between subordinate judicial
officers and judges in the trial courts by providing for the
conversion, as needed, of subordinate judicial officer positions to
judgeships in courts that assign subordinate judicial officers to act
as temporary judges. The Legislature finds that these positions must
be converted to judgeships in order to ensure that critical case
types, including family, probate, and juvenile law matters can be
heard by judges.
(b) (1) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, no more than
161 _____ subordinate judicial officer
positions in eligible superior courts, as determined by the Judicial
Council pursuant to uniform criteria for determining the need for
converting existing subordinate judicial officer positions to
superior court judgeships, shall be converted to judgeships as set
forth in paragraph (2).
(2) A subordinate judicial officer position shall be converted to
a judicial position when a vacancy occurs in any subordinate judicial
officer position in an eligible superior court and the Judicial
Council files notice of the vacancy with the Secretary of State.
(3) The provisions of Section 12011.5 of the Government Code shall
apply to any appointment to a superior court judgeship converted
from a subordinate judicial officer position.
(c) For purposes of this section, "subordinate judicial officer"
means an officer appointed under the authority of Section 22 of
Article VI of the California Constitution. This section shall not
apply to a subordinate judicial officer established by Section 4251
of the Family Code.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that no subordinate
judicial officer shall involuntarily lose his or her position solely
due to operation of this section. This section does not change the
employment relationship between subordinate judicial officers and the
trial courts established by law.
(e) This section does not limit the authority of the Governor to
appoint a person to fill a vacancy pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 16 of Article VI of the California Constitution.
(f) This section does not entitle a court to an increase in
funding.
(g) The operation of this section shall neither increase nor
decrease the number of judicial and subordinate judicial officer
positions and court support positions for which a county is
responsible by law.