Existing law, the Uniform Civil Fees and Standard Fee Schedule Act of 2005, establishes a set fee schedule for courts to implement for, among other things, filings, service, and changes of venue.
Existing law authorizes courts that have made videoconferencing services available to charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of permitting the parties to appear by videoconference and requires that fee to be deposited into the Trial Court Trust Fund.
This bill would instead prohibit the court from charging a fee to appear by videoconference that exceeds the pro rata cost to the court, as defined, of providing the service.
Existing law authorizes the court to charge a reasonable fee that does not exceed the costs of providing the service or product, if the Judicial Council approves the fee, as specified.
The bill would instead prohibit the court from charging a fee that exceeds the pro rata cost to the court of providing the service or product. The bill would require any fee not explicitly authorized by statute or rule to be approved by the Judicial Council. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, by March 1, 2027, to report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding each fee charged by a superior court prior to December 31, 2026, that was not explicitly authorized or prohibited by statute or rule. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, by March 1, 2028, and March 1 of each year thereafter, to report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding each new fee charged by a superior court in the preceding calendar year.
Existing law authorizes trial court records to be created, maintained, and preserved in any form of communication or representation, including paper, optical, electronic, magnetic, micrographic, or photographic media or other technology. Existing law requires those court records be made reasonably accessible to the public for viewing and duplication, with a reasonable provision controlling for the costs of duplication, as specified.
This bill would require court records maintained in electronic form to be viewable at the court and be available for duplication at a cost, as specified. The bill would give a member of the public the right to request to view or duplicate accessible records, on the premises of the court and with the requester's equipment in a manner that does not make physical contact with the record, without being charged any fees or costs to reproduce the record, unless reproduction would result in damage to the record or unauthorized access to the agency's computer systems or networks, as specified. The bill would authorize the court to impose reasonable limits on the use of the requester's equipment that are necessary to protect the safety of the records or prevent the copying of the records from being an unreasonable burden, as specified.

Statutes affected:
AB 1524: 70630 GOV, 70631 GOV
03/18/25 - Introduced: 70630 GOV, 70631 GOV
04/23/25 - Amended Assembly: 68150 GOV, 68150 GOV, 70630 GOV, 70631 GOV