Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of shorthand reporters by the Court Reporters Board of California, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law subjects a person or entity to certain penalties if the person or entity engages in specified acts relating to shorthand reporting, including any act that constitutes shorthand reporting, except if the person or entity is a licensed shorthand reporter, a shorthand reporting corporation, or one of specified other persons or entities not subject to those provisions. Existing law requires all fees and other revenues received by the board to be deposited into the Court Reporters' Fund, which is continuously appropriated to carry out the provisions for the licensure and regulation of shorthand reporters. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor.
This bill, on and after January 1, 2021, would authorize an entity that is not a shorthand reporting corporation to engage in those specified acts if the entity is registered with the board as a corporate court reporter provider. The bill would require an entity seeking registration to provide the board with certain information and satisfy specified requirements, including paying an annual registration fee not to exceed $500 to the board and designating a board-certified reporter-in-charge, as specified. By requiring such an entity to pay a fee that is deposited into a continuously appropriated fund and by expanding the purposes of that fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the board to approve an entity's registration or deny the entity's application upon making specified findings. The bill would make a registration valid for 5 years and would also provide for the suspension and revocation of a registration by the board under specified circumstances. The bill would require the board to make available on its internet website a directory of registered entities.
Because a violation of the provisions regulating short hand reporting is a crime, by expanding the provisions to include a new class of certificate holders, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
AB1469: 8050 BPC
02/22/19 - Introduced: 8050 BPC
09/13/19 - Amended Assembly: 8050 BPC
AB 1469: 8050 BPC