AB 1524: Courts: fees.

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 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 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 December 1, 2027, to report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding each fee charged by a superior court in the 202627 fiscal year for which the revenue collected by and distributed to the court as a result of the fee exceeds the courts cost of providing the service or product. The bill would also require the Judicial Council, by December 1, 2028, and December 1, 2029, to report certain data to the Legislature, as specified, regarding the 202728 and 202829 fiscal years, respectively.

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 allow a member of the public to request to view or duplicate accessible records, on the premises of the court and with the requesters 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, among other things, damage to the record or unauthorized access to the courts computer systems or networks, as specified. The bill would authorize the court to impose reasonable limits on the use of the requesters 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.