Good news! Union Court Reporters in California defeated an attempt to expand faulty electronic recording in Superior Courthouses. SB 662 (Rubio) was held on suspense in the State Senate, which means it will fail to make it out of its house of origin.
SB 662 was a bill introduced by Senator Susan Rubio (LA/San Bernardino) in 2023. It was turned into a two-year bill and came back in 2024. SB 662 was heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on January 18, 2024, where it was stopped from moving forward. This bill would have expanded the use of electronic recordings (ER) to any civil court proceeding, including family law. We, the Union Court Reporters, understood that expansion would have affected the accuracy of the record for all California court users – so, we made phone calls, sent letters, testified, lobbied, and rallied to defeat the attack on the profession.
Even though SB 662 is no longer a threat, we must continue to work hard to fill vacant CSR jobs by increasing and publicizing recruitment and retention efforts. Despite $30 million in ongoing funding earmarked for the retention and recruitment of official CSRs to the Superior Courts, many of our Courts remain woefully understaffed due to management indifference.
Did you know that Superior Courts across California gave back a combined total of nearly $10 million dollars of their recruitment and retention budgets in Fiscal Year 2022/23? In our region, Ventura Superior gave back $216,011 (43%), San Bernardino Superior gave back $565,543 (29%), LA Superior gave back $3.5 Million (37%), with only Riverside Superior Court successful allocating all 100% of its $1,756,704 annual recruitment and retention budget. We can’t let management squander another year of the funding that WE lobbied the legislature to get them!
We’ll have more information at our upcoming SEIU Statewide Courts Meeting on Fri., Jan. 26 at 12:30 PM. Join the meeting by clicking this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86150442292?pwd=RrYKa5qVAsPob9DNotScv4bbx5hVg3.1
Or join by phone by calling (253) 205-0468, passcode: 873020
For worksite issues or contract questions, please call (877) 721-4968 to talk with an SEIU 721 Member Connection organizer M-F from 8 AM-5 PM. They’ll hear your concerns and provide answers to your questions and help you contact your Union steward or worksite organizer if necessary.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our meeting on Fri., Jan. 26. Together, we win!