BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 56|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 56
Author: Dunn (D), et al
Amended: 5/27/05
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/26/05
AYES: Dunn, Morrow, Cedillo, Escutia, Figueroa, Kuehl
NOES: Ackerman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-1, 5/26/05
AYES: Migden, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton,
Escutia, Florez, Murray, Ortiz, Poochigian, Romero
NOES: Aanestad
SUBJECT : New and converted judicial positions
SOURCE : Judicial Council of California
DIGEST : This bill, upon legislative appropriation,
authorizes an unspecified number of new superior court
judgeships for each of the next three fiscal years.
Placement of the new positions will be determined by the
Judicial Council of California pursuant to uniform criteria
for determining the need for additional trial court judges.
This bill also, upon legislative appropriation, permits
the conversion of an unspecified number of existing
subordinate judicial officer (SJO) positions to judgeships
in eligible superior courts upon a vacancy of a SJO
position. Eligibility for conversion would be determined
by the Judicial Council pursuant to uniform criteria for
CONTINUED
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determining the need for converting SJO positions to
judgeships. The Governor may fill by appointment the new
vacant judicial position. Candidates for appointment will
be subject to review by the State Bar's Commission on
Judicial Nominees Evaluation.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, Article VI, Section 4 of the
California Constitution, provides that the Legislature
shall prescribe the number of judges and provide for the
officers and employees of each superior court.
Existing law, Article VI, Section 22, provides that the
Legislature may provide for a court's appointment of
officers such as commissioners to perform subordinate
judicial duties.
This bill, upon appropriation of the Legislature, creates
an unspecified number of superior court judges to be
appointed by the Governor in the 2005-06, 2006-07, and
2007-08 fiscal years, to the various counties as determined
by the Judicial Council pursuant to uniform criteria.
This bill also authorizes up to SJO positions in eligible
superior courts, as determined by the Judicial Council, to
be converted to judgeships, according to uniform specified
criteria and upon appropriation by the Legislature. This
bill declares the Legislature's intent in enacting this
provision to restore an appropriate balance between
subordinate judicial officers and judges and to ensure that
critical case types can be heard by judges.
Background
According to the Judicial Council's September 2004 fact
sheet on the California Judicial Branch, there are 1,498
authorized superior court judges positions and another
414.6 (in terms of full-time equivalents) commissioners and
referees, for a total of 1,915 "Authorized Judicial
Positions (AJPs)." Judicial Council, however, points that
current workloads require the services of 2,270 "Judicial
Position Equivalents", which include the AJPs plus the
services of assigned judges, temporary judges, and
temporary commissioners and referees.
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Projected Costs of New Judgeships
According to the Judicial Council, the average ongoing cost
for a new judgeship is estimated to be $755,000 annually,
which varies by court depending on costs of support staff
and individual court facility needs.
This cost estimate includes the salary and benefits for a
new judge ($172,000), salary and benefits for five support
staff and 1.1 bailiffs ($389,000), and office space,
operating expenses and equipment (including
facilities and court security costs) for the judge and
staff ($193,000).
The Judicial Council estimates the first year costs of this
bill at $3 million, based upon its assumption that the
Governor will not make the appointments until June 1 of
next year. This may be a reasonable assumption, given the
condition in this bill that the judgeships are created only
upon appropriation by the Legislature. The full year cost
for 50 positions averages about $37 million annually for
each group of 50 judges.
Within the $37 million estimate is the estimated facilities
cost of an averaged $3.5 million for each group of 50 new
judgeships. Because most (15 of 50) of the first group can
be housed by existing facilities, the annual additional
facilities cost for the first 50 is "only" $2.267 million.
However, costs escalate to an annual $3.646 million for the
second group of 50 (29 of
50 will need leased space) and to $4.652 million for the
third group (37 of 50 will need leased space). These
estimates are based on the assumption that the new
positions will be housed in leased space until new or
renovated facilities are built. Building costs for
permanent space will be much more expensive.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
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Major Provisions 2005-06 2006-07
2007-08 Fund
Judgeships $2,946 $38,410 $75,193+
General
SJO conversion ----------- $3,470 annually
---------- General
Capital outlay -- -- --
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/05)
Judicial Council of California (source)
California District Attorney's Association
California Judges Association
Orange County Bar Association
San Diego County Bar Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the Judicial Council,
the bill's sponsor, California faces a "judicial gap" which
must be bridged in order to avoid serious and far-reaching
ramifications, including a significant decrease in
Californians' access to the courts, compromised public
safety, an unstable business environment, and, in some
courts, enormous backlogs that inhibit fair, timely, and
equitable justice.
RJG:mel 5/28/05 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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