Judiciary.

(1) The Public Employees' Retirement System provides pension benefits based in part upon credited service. The Public Employees' Retirement Law provides that credit for service generally is accrued based upon service rendered and compensated in a fiscal year, and that time during which a member is absent without compensation is not allowed for computing service. Existing law, in effect until July 1, 2010, authorizes the Judicial Council to provide that the courts be closed for the transaction of judicial business for one day per month, which would be treated as a holiday, and to adopt court rules to implement these provisions, subject to specified conditions. This bill would require that, for all retirement purposes, credit for service and compensation earnable for members of the Public Employees' Retirement System employed by a trial court that are subject to mandatory furloughs be based on the amount that would have been credited had the employee not been subject to mandatory furloughs. The bill would define mandatory furloughs and trial court employee in these regards. (2) Existing law sets the fees for filing first papers and other filing fees in civil actions, including various probate proceedings. This bill would make technical, conforming changes in related provisions specifying the distribution of the proceeds of those fees. (3) Existing law authorizes a court to use electronic recording equipment for the internal personnel purpose of monitoring judicial officer performance, if notice is provided to litigants that the proceeding may be recorded for that purpose, as specified. This bill would modify that provision to authorize a court to use electronic recording equipment for the internal personnel purpose of monitoring the performance of subordinate judicial officers, hearing officers, and temporary judges while proceedings are conducted in the courtroom, if notice is provided to the subordinate judicial officer, hearing officer, or temporary judge, and to the litigants, that the proceeding may be recorded for that purpose, as specified. (4) Existing law permits the referral of fines, state or local penalties, forfeitures, restitution fines, or restitution orders imposed by specified courts upon a person for criminal offenses under certain conditions to the Franchise Tax Board for collection. Existing law requires a board of supervisors to provide that disbursements of amounts collected by the Franchise Tax Board be made in accordance with specified priorities of payment. Existing law provides, until January 1, 2012, that any statute that takes effect after January 1, 2009, that increases the amount of any item that would be subject to disbursement under these provisions shall not be disbursed until all specified reimbursable costs have been disbursed. Existing law imposes a fee of $30, until July 1, 2011, and thereafter, a fee of $20, upon every conviction for a criminal offense, other than parking offenses, for funding of court security. This bill would provide that the court security fees collected pursuant to the latter provision shall be disbursed in accordance with the specified priorities of payment described above, and not first be subject to disbursement for those specified reimbursable costs.