BILL NUMBER: AB 159	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones
   (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Benoit and Carter)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Levine and Lieber)

                        JANUARY 18, 2007

   An act to add Sections 69110, 69614.2, and 69615 to the Government
Code, relating to courts.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 159, as introduced, Jones. Courts: judgeships.
   Existing law specifies the number of judges for the superior court
of each county and for each division of each district of the court
of appeal.
   This bill would authorize 50 additional judges, upon appropriation
by the Legislature in the 2007-08 fiscal year, to be allocated to
the various county superior courts, pursuant to uniform criteria
approved by the Judicial Council. The bill would authorize an
unspecified number of additional appellate judges, upon appropriation
by the Legislature in the 2007-08 fiscal year.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature and
authorize 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 further 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 69110 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   69110.  Upon appropriation by the Legislature in the 2007-08
fiscal year, there shall be ____ additional appellate judges.
  SEC. 2.  Section 69614.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   69614.2.  Upon appropriation by the Legislature in the 2007-08
fiscal year, there shall be 50 additional judges allocated to the
various county superior courts, pursuant to the uniform criteria
described in subdivision (b) of Section 69614, as updated and
approved by the Judicial Council on ____.
  SEC. 3.  Section 69615 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   69615.  (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 ____
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.