BILL NUMBER: AB 163	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mendoza

                        JANUARY 22, 2007

   An act to amend Section 71601 of the Government Code, relating to
courts.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 163, as introduced, Mendoza. Trial courts: limited-term
employees.
   Existing law defines the term "trial court employee" for purposes
of the Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act. In
defining this term, the act provides that any temporary employee
shall not be employed in the trial court for a period exceeding 180
calendar days, except for court reporters under certain conditions.
   This bill would additionally provide, in Los Angeles County, that
any limited-term law clerk shall not be employed in the trial court
for a period exceeding 180 calendar days. The bill would further
provide that any such limited-term law clerk employed for more than
180 calendar days is a regular employee.
   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 71601 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   71601.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
 shall  apply:
   (a) "Appointment" means the offer to  ,  and acceptance
by  ,  a person of a position in the trial court in
accordance with this chapter and the trial court's personnel
policies, procedures, and plans.
   (b) "Employee organization" means either of the following:
   (1) Any organization that includes trial court employees and has
as one of its primary purposes representing those employees in their
relations with that trial court.
   (2) Any organization that seeks to represent trial court employees
in their relations with that trial court.
   (c) "Hiring" means appointment as defined in subdivision (a).
   (d) "Mediation" means effort by an impartial third party to assist
in reconciling a dispute regarding wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment between representatives of the trial court
and the recognized employee organization or recognized employee
organizations through interpretation, suggestion, and advice.
   (e) "Meet and confer in good faith" means that a trial court or
representatives as it may designate, and representatives of
recognized employee organizations,  shall  have the
mutual obligation personally to meet and confer promptly upon request
by either party and continue for a reasonable period of time in
order to exchange freely information, opinions, and proposals, and to
endeavor to reach agreement on matters within the scope of
representation. The process  should   shall
include  an  adequate  amount of  time for the
resolution of impasses where specific procedures for resolution are
contained in this chapter or in a local rule, or when the procedures
are utilized by mutual consent.
   (f) "Personnel rules," "personnel policies, procedures, and plans,"
and "rules and regulations" mean policies, procedures, plans, rules,
or regulations adopted by a trial court or its designee pertaining
to conditions of employment of trial court employees, subject to meet
and confer in good faith.
   (g) "Promotion" means promotion within the trial court as defined
in the trial court's personnel policies, procedures, and plans,
subject to meet and confer in good faith.
   (h) "Recognized employee organization" means an employee
organization that has been formally acknowledged to represent trial
court employees by the county under Sections 3500 to 3510, inclusive,
prior to the implementation date of this chapter, or by the trial
court under Rules 2201 to 2210, inclusive, of the California Rules of
Court, as those rules read on April 23, 1997, Sections 70210 to
70219, inclusive, or Article 3 (commencing with Section 71630) of
this chapter.
   (i) "Subordinate judicial officer" means an officer appointed to
perform subordinate judicial duties as authorized by Section 22 of
Article VI of the California Constitution, including, but not limited
to, a court commissioner, probate commissioner, referee, traffic
referee, juvenile referee, and judge pro tempore.
   (j) "Transfer" means transfer within the trial court as defined in
the trial court's personnel policies, procedures, and plans, subject
to meet and confer in good faith.
   (k) "Trial court" means a superior court  or a municipal
court  .
   () "Trial court employee" means a person who is both of the
following:
   (1) Paid from the trial court's budget, regardless of the funding
source. For the purpose of this paragraph, "trial court's budget"
means funds from which the presiding judge of a trial court, or his
or her designee, has authority to control, authorize, and direct
expenditures, including, but not limited to, local revenues, all
grant funds, and trial court operations funds.
   (2) Subject to the trial court's right to control the manner and
means of his or her work because of the trial court's authority to
hire, supervise, discipline, and terminate employment. For purposes
of this paragraph only, the "trial court" includes the judges of a
trial court or their appointees who are vested with or delegated the
authority to hire, supervise, discipline, and terminate.
   (m)  (1)    A person is a "trial court employee"
if and only if both paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision () are
true irrespective of job classification or whether the functions
performed by that person are identified in Rule 810 of the California
Rules of Court. The phrase "trial court employee" includes those
subordinate judicial officers who satisfy paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subdivision (). The phrase "trial court employee" does not include
temporary employees hired through agencies, jurors, individuals hired
by the trial court pursuant to an independent contractor agreement,
individuals for whom the county or trial court reports income to the
Internal Revenue Service on a Form 1099 and does not withhold
employment taxes, sheriffs, and judges whether elected or appointed.
Any temporary employee, whether hired through an agency or not, shall
not be employed in the trial court for a period exceeding 180
calendar days, except that for court reporters in a county of the
first class, a trial court and a recognized employee organization may
provide otherwise by mutual agreement in a memorandum of
understanding or other agreement. 
   (2) In Los Angeles County, any limited-term law clerk, whether
hired through an agency or not, shall not be employed in the trial
court for a period exceeding 180 calendar days. Any such limited-term
law clerk employed for more than 180 calendar days is a regular
employee.