Bill Text: CA AB875 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled

California Assembly Bill 875

Bill Title: Courts: data reporting.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-29 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB875 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB875-Enrolled.html

Enrolled September 14, 2023

Passed IN Senate September 11, 2023

Passed IN Assembly September 12, 2023

Amended IN Senate September 01, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 875

Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel

February 14, 2023

An act to add Section 68652 to the Government Code, relating to courts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 875, Gabriel. Courts: data reporting.

Existing law, the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act, requires the appointment of legal counsel to represent low-income parties in civil matters involving critical issues affecting basic human needs in courts selected by the Judicial Council. The act requires the Judicial Council to develop one or more programs to provide competitive grants to provide legal counsel to low-income persons who require legal services in civil matters involving specific types of civil matters, including, among others, housing-related matters, probate conservatorships, guardianships, and domestic violence and civil harassment restraining orders. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to consider various factors, including, among others, the unmet need for legal services in the geographic area to be served, in selecting and renewing participating programs. Existing law requires program applicants, among other things, to describe how the program would be administered and the means by which the program would serve the particular needs of the community, such as by providing representation to limited-English-speaking clients.

Commencing January 1, 2025, this bill would require courts to report specified information to the Judicial Council each month regarding unlawful detainer cases, aggregated by ZIP Code. The bill also would require courts to report to the Judicial Council case summary data on COVID-19 Rental Debt in Small Claims Court, aggregated by ZIP Code. The bill would require the Judicial Council, every 4 months, to post all information received about unlawful detainer cases in a publicly available electronic spreadsheet that may be downloaded from its internet website.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 68652 is added to the Government Code, to read:

68652.

(a) Each court shall report to the Judicial Council the total number of each of the following data points for unlawful detainer cases, monthly, aggregated by ZIP Code:

(1) Cases filed each month.

(2) Cases in which defendants were represented by counsel at case closing.

(3) Cases in which a fee waiver was granted.

(4) Cases that were subject to default, stipulated, or other types of pretrial judgments.

(5) Cases that went to trial, and of those that went to trial, how many were a bench trial and how many were a jury trial.

(6) Cases that were dismissed before trial at the plaintiff’s request.

(7) Cases that resulted in judgment for plaintiff or for defendant.

(b) Each court shall report to the Judicial Council the following case summary data on COVID-19 Rental Debt in Small Claims Court (SC-500), aggregated by ZIP Code:

(1) The number of cases filed each month.

(2) The number of cases in which a fee waiver was granted.

(c) The data points provided to the Judicial Council pursuant to subdivision (a) shall only pertain to unlawful detainer cases filed on or after January 1, 2025.

(d) The Judicial Council, every four months, shall post all information received pursuant to subdivision (a) in a publicly available electronic spreadsheet that may be downloaded from its internet website.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.