BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1756 (Skinner) - Court records: sealing and destruction.
Amended: May 1, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: June 30, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1756 would provide that only a person 26 years
of age or older may be charged the existing fee of up to $150
for petitioning the court for an order to seal his or her
criminal record.
Fiscal Impact:
Potential ongoing revenue loss to courts and counties
potentially in the range of $200,000 (Local/General Fund) due
to the prohibition on charging a fee to a person under 26
years of age to seal his or her juvenile record.
Potential state-reimbursable costs (General Fund) by removing
county and city authority to charge a fee to recoup actual
costs. Although counties and cities may not currently be
charging a fee, this measure would prohibit local agencies
from ever charging a fee to recoup such costs.
Background: Existing law states that a person who petitions for
an order sealing a juvenile misdemeanor record may be required
to reimburse the court for the actual cost of services rendered,
whether or not the petition is granted and the records are
sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined by the court, not
to exceed $150, and to reimburse any county for the actual cost
of services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted, at
a rate to be determined by the county board of supervisors, not
to exceed $150, and to reimburse any city for the actual cost of
services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted, at a
rate to be determined by the city council, not to exceed $150.
(PC � 1203.45(g))
Existing law further provides that the "father, mother, spouse,
or other person liable for the support of a minor person, the
person himself or herself if he or she is an adult, or the
AB 1756 (Skinner)
Page 1
estates of those persons, unless indigent," be liable for the
cost to the county and court for any investigation related to
the sealing and for the sealing of any juvenile court or arrest
records pertaining to that person. Upon a petition filed for an
order sealing a record, the father, mother, spouse, or other
person liable for the support of the minor, that person if he or
she is an adult, or the estate of that person, may be required
to reimburse the county and court for the actual cost of
services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and
the records sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined by
the county board of supervisors and court, respectively, not to
exceed $150. (WIC � 903.3(b))
Ability to make these reimbursements is to be determined by the
court and shall not be a prerequisite to a person's eligibility.
The court may order reimbursement in a case which the petitioner
appears to have the ability to pay, without undue hardship, all
or any portion of the cost for services established.
Proposed Law: This bill would limit the imposition of a fee by a
court, a county, or a city to seal juvenile court records to
persons 26 years of age or older.
Staff Comments: By removing the authority of courts, counties,
and cities to charge a fee of up to $150 for the sealing of
records to persons under 26 years of age, the provisions of this
measure could result in an ongoing moderate loss of revenue to
the courts, counties, and cities.
Based on a survey of 34 counties, including Los Angeles,
Alameda, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Sacramento, and
Santa Clara, completed by the East Bay Community Law Center, the
average number of juvenile record sealing petitions filed
annually per county is 170, or 5,780 petitions in total for the
34 counties. Assuming statewide petitions of about 6,000 to
account for smaller counties, and removing Los Angeles County
(which does not charge a fee for petitions and represents over
55 percent of petitions) results in about 2,700 petitions.
Assuming 25 percent of these petitions would have the fee
waived, the potential annual loss of revenue assuming an average
fee of $100 per petition would be $200,000.
Many cities and counties, including Los Angeles County, do not
currently charge a fee for the actual costs of services rendered
AB 1756 (Skinner)
Page 2
for the sealing of records. However, by prohibiting cities and
counties from charging a fee, now or at any point in the future,
to recoup the actual costs for services rendered, this bill
could result in General Fund costs should local agencies file
claims with the Commission on State Mandates (CSM) and the
prohibition on recouping local agency costs are determined to be
a reimbursable state mandate by the CSM.