BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2073
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2073 (Silva)
As Amended August 21, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 25, 2012) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 22, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Orange County Superior Court to establish a
pilot project mandating that parties electronically file documents
in specified civil cases and requires the Judicial Council to adopt
a rule on mandatory electronic filing before July 1, 2014.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the Orange County Superior Court, by local rule and until
July 1, 2014, to establish a pilot project to require parties to
eligible civil actions to electronically file and serve documents,
provided, among other things:
a) The court has the ability to maintain the official court
record electronically;
b) The court and the parties either have access to more than
one electronic service provider capable of electronically
filing documents with the court, or have direct access through
the court;
c) The fees that may be charged for electronic filing must be
limited as specified, including waived when deemed appropriate;
and,
d) The court has a procedure for filing of nonelectronic
documents to prevent undue hardship or significant prejudice to
any party.
2)Requires the Judicial Council, if a pilot is established under 1)
above, to conduct an evaluation of that pilot and to report to the
Legislature by December 31, 2013.
3)Requires the Judicial Council, before July 1, 2014, to adopt a
uniform rule permitting mandatory electronic filing and service of
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documents in specified civil cases, which shall be informed by the
study in 2) above, and which shall include specified policies on
vendor contracts, privacy, access to public records, unrepresented
parties, parties with fee waivers, hardships, and rules relating
to the integrity of electronic service.
4)Clarifies that upon the adoption of uniform rules for mandatory
electronic filing and service of documents, a trial court may, by
local rule, require mandatory electronic filing, provided the rule
complies with specified requirements.
The Senate amendments clarify that trial courts may, by local rule,
require mandatory electronic filing after the Judicial Council has
adopted its statewide rule.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows parties to consent to electronic service of documents, as
defined, and as permitted by rules. Permits courts to allow
electronic filing of documents pursuant to rules established by
local trial courts and the Judicial Council.
2)Requires the court to permit a party or an attorney to file an
application for a fee waiver as part of the electronic filing
process.
3)Permits a court to require electronic filing of documents in
complex civil litigation cases.
4)Requires the Judicial Council to adopt uniform rules relating to
the integrity of electronic filing and service of documents in the
trial courts, which must include statewide policies on vendor
contracts, privacy, access to public records and rules relating to
the integrity of electronic service.
5)Sets forth rules regarding electronic filing and serving of court
documents.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to
the version approved by the Senate.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)One-time costs in the range of $28,000 to $50,000 (General Fund)
for the Judicial Council to conduct the evaluation of the pilot
project and prepare the report to the Legislature by December 31,
2013.
2)One-time likely minor costs (General Fund) for the Judicial
Council to develop and adopt the uniform rules of court by July 1,
2014.
3)Minor costs within its existing budget allocation of less than
$100,000 (General Fund) to the Orange County Superior Court to
operate the pilot. Ongoing future cost savings in the range of $2
million to the extent the pilot is successful in increasing
efficiencies in court operations.
4)Unknown, significant future cost pressure for start-up
infrastructure and resource needs potentially in excess of
$100,000 to $300,000 per court electing to implement mandatory
electronic filing to modify court case management systems to meet
standard interface requirements necessary to effectuate electronic
filing. To the extent electronic filing results in increased
efficiency of court operations, potentially significant ongoing
future cost savings.
COMMENTS : Existing law allows trial courts to adopt a local rule
permitting parties to electronically file and serve legal documents,
consistent with specified statutes and rules. This bill, sponsored
by the Orange County Superior Court, allows the Orange County
Superior Court, by local rule and until July 1, 2014, to establish a
pilot project to require parties to eligible civil actions to
electronically file and serve documents. The pilot must satisfy a
number of requirements. If the Orange County court establishes the
pilot, the bill requires the Judicial Council, to conduct an
evaluation of that pilot and to report to the Legislature by
December 31, 2013.
The bill also requires the Judicial Council, before July 1, 2014, to
adopt a uniform rule permitting mandatory electronic filing and
service of documents in specified civil cases, which is to include
specified policies on vendor contracts, privacy, access to public
records, unrepresented parties, parties with fee waivers, hardships,
and rules relating to the integrity of electronic service.
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Electronic filing and service of documents is a significant
efficiency for courts that have the capacity to process such
filings. Many state courts throughout the country have electronic
filing capabilities. Some of these courts permit electronic filing,
while others mandate it. Likewise, the federal rules allow federal
courts to accept electronic filing, if they so choose and permit
federal courts to require electronic filing "only if reasonable
exceptions are allowed." Generally, under that approach, only
attorneys are mandated to participate. Pro per litigants are
generally not required to file electronically.
Most trial courts in California today do not have the capacity to
accept electronically filed documents, so most courts operate with
paper filings and paper files that must be processed, stored and
retrieved in time for court hearings. The California Court Case
Management System (CCMS) was to have e-filing capacity. Based on
significant problems, the Judicial Council voted to stop deployment
of CCMS on March 27, 2012. That action included the direction to
develop, in the near term, improved court efficiencies through,
among other things, e-filing. Judicial Council is now launching an
effort that will result in statewide standards for electronic
filing.
Any rule that mandates, as opposed to permits, e-filing must take
into consideration the needs of litigants, particularly
unrepresented litigants, the availability of court resources for
assistance, the costs and other burdens. Such a rule should also
consider the types of cases that are appropriate for a mandate, as
well as the types of documents that should be excluded from
e-filing. A rule should also ensure uniformity in processing, so
attorneys do not have different and potentially conflicting
requirements in different courts. Any rule should also ensure that
parties are not forced to use only one vendor (so local courts do
not get to pick winners), and, should consider the appropriateness
of special fees charged if e-filing is mandated and, if so, how fee
waivers are to be provided.
In support of the bill the Orange County Superior court writes:
Our Court accepts approximately one million civil documents
each year for filing by the court clerk's office. . . E-filing
virtually eliminated the problem of lost or improperly
processed documents. More importantly, once the E-filing is
complete, the documents will be immediately available to the
research attorney and to the judge reviewing the document via
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the court's computer network. . . .
Due to the E-filing presently occurring in Orange County, our
Court has realized substantial budget benefits while
maintaining a high level of service to the attorneys and public
who use the Orange County Superior Court. The successful use
of E-filing and other cost-savings innovations by our Court has
averted the need for employee lay-offs or unpaid furloughs.
E-filing requires less court staff to process cases and manage
the court records. E-filing makes the court records available
faster and sooner to everyone, including the public.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0005297