BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2394
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2394 (Brownley) - As Amended: April 28, 2010
Policy Committee:
JudiciaryVote:10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill, the Levying Officer Electronic Transaction Act,
establishes procedures for sheriffs and marshals to transmit,
receive, and maintain electronically certain records and
documents related to civil law enforcement. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Stipulates that nothing in this Act shall be construed to
require a court or levying officer to comply with any of its
provisions unless the court and the levying officer have (a)
jointly determined that both the court and the sheriff's
department have the resources and the technological capacity
to do so, and (b) have mutually agreed to electronically
process documents as provided in the Act.
2)Permits a levying officer to create, store, print or transmit
an electronic record, including an "email" message in the
place of, and in the same manner as, the paper record or
document upon which the electronic record is based.
3)Provides that in lieu of returning the paper version of an
original writ of execution to a court, the levying officer may
retain the original writ, or an electronic copy of the
original writ, and electronically file with the court only a
return reporting the levying officer's actions, amounts
collected, and costs incurred.
4)Provides that, with respect to deeds and conveyances that the
sheriff must execute and deliver to the purchaser of real
estate sold by the sheriff under authority of law, the deeds
and conveyances may be recorded electronically pursuant to
AB 2394
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this Act.
5)Requires the levying officer to exclude or redact identifying
information, including SSN and financial account numbers, from
any electronic record or document made available to the
public, as well as any writ return filed with the court.
6)Requires a levying officer, at least once every two years, to
file an accounting with the court for all amounts collected
under an earnings withholding order (EWO), including costs and
interest, and authorizes the levying officer to file the
accounting with the court by electronic means.
7)Authorizes the sheriff to serve an EWO, if not by personal
delivery, then by first class mail, postage prepaid (instead
of via registered or certified mail.), and provides that when
service is made by mail, service is complete at the time of
receipt of the EWO as indicated in the form returned by the
employer, or the date of mailing if the date of receipt is not
indicated on the employer's returned form.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Any costs to courts would presumably be absorbable, as courts
are able to "opt in" to the bill's provisions upon determining
they have sufficient resources and technological capability.
The courts could realize significant long-term savings to the
extent that more documents from the levying officers are
transmitted to the courts electronically.
2)As with the courts, sheriff's departments will realize
significant savings. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department conservatively estimates annual savings of $1
million to $1.5 million.
COMMENTS
Purpose . This bill, sponsored by the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department, represents a first step to adapt the Code
of Civil Procedure to modern information technology and promote
systemic migration away from a paper-based model of civil law
enforcement. The author and sponsor believe that there are
significant time and cost savings associated with increased use
of electronic records and documents, and that AB 2394 will
increase the efficiency of the Sheriff's Office by saving
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countless trips to the courthouse or the county recorder's
office to transport original paper versions of documents that
may otherwise be transmitted by fax or email. At the request of
the Judicial Council, the bill provides that there are no
compliance requirements unless the court and the levying officer
agrees: (a) that both the court and the sheriff's department
have the resources and the technological capacity to do so; and
(b) to electronically process documents as provided in the Act.
As an example of the potential savings provided by this bill,
many sheriff offices are six months to three years behind in
filing writ returns with the court. The California State
Sheriff's Association explains, "The reason for the backlog of
returns is the time it takes to physically locate and associate
the "original writ" with the "writ return" prior to a court
visit. Simply put, it takes staff time and effort to locate the
physical file, pull the writ from the file, associate the writ
with the return, and return the file to the shelf. When the
Sheriff has multiple offices, the physical files may be at an
off-site location, causing a further delay?Eliminating the need
for the "original writ" to accompany the writ return to court
frees the Sheriff from a time-consuming and cumbersome task,
thereby allowing a quicker return. The writ return (not the
writ) serves to alert the court that the writ is no longer in
play. The courts are already familiar with the writ return
document. Filing a writ return with the court becomes a "push
button" process (via fax or email) that can be accomplished by
any Sheriff's staff in any location, regardless of where the
physical file is located. Everyone benefits."
As a second cost-saving example, this bill allows the sheriff to
serve EWOs by first class mail rather than by certified mail.
According to the sponsor, it typically costs $5.88 to serve an
EWO by certified mail, of which $2.20 is charged by the Post
Office for return receipt service. By contrast, it typically
costs just $0.73 to send the same EWO materials by first class
mail.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081