Electronic court reporting.

Removed the requirement that a litigant be a 'low-income litigant who is unrepresented by counsel' in multiple provisions. Any litigant who cannot afford to retain a private court reporter now qualifies, broadening access to electronic recording as an alternative to live reporting.

Added a requirement that courts maintain a reasonable protocol for determining whether official reporters pro tempore assigned to other departments in the same courthouse are available to report civil proceedings before using electronic recording.

Added a requirement that courts maintain records identifying dates, departments, and civil proceedings for which electronic recording was used under this section.

Changed the hiring standard: courts must now offer employment to 'all qualified certified shorthand reporters' (previously 'all certified shorthand reporters') and may reject applicants based on a 'reasonable basis' rather than only 'good cause.'

Added a requirement that the Judicial Council develop and approve official forms for use in trial courts consistent with the bill's provisions.

Removed the prohibition on courts purchasing or leasing electronic recording technology or equipment to make records pursuant to this section, allowing courts to acquire such equipment if they choose.

Added a requirement that courts redact personal information necessary to protect confidentiality when providing records to employee organizations or individual official reporters.

Added a quarterly reporting requirement: each trial court must report to the Judicial Council the number of applications received from certified shorthand reporters, the number offered employment, and the number who accepted. The Judicial Council must make this information publicly available on its website.

Added an exemption for small courts: the recruitment, hiring, and reasonable-efforts requirements (paragraphs 1-3 of subdivision d) do not apply to a court that lacks sufficient work for an additional full-time official reporter.

Added explicit clarification that this section does not apply to the use of electronic recording in limited civil proceedings as already permitted by existing Section 69957.

Electronic recording authority is now explicitly limited to civil proceedings and expressly prohibited in criminal proceedings, except as already permitted for misdemeanor and infraction proceedings under Section 69957.

The bill now requires courts to follow prescribed procedures when using electronic recording in limited civil cases, misdemeanors, and infractions under existing law, including providing public notice that the court is accepting applications from certified shorthand reporters for official court reporter positions.

The trigger for electronic recording changed from a general inability to hire sufficient reporters to a specific focus on civil litigants who cannot afford to hire private court reporters and have requested a verbatim record. The bill now uses the term 'low-income litigant' and requires the party to be unrepresented by counsel in certain contexts.

Six eligibility requirements were added (up from two) that a judicial officer must find before authorizing electronic recording, including: no official reporter reasonably available, the party's inability to secure a private reporter despite reasonable effort or fee waiver status, significant legal or factual issues requiring a verbatim record for appeal, and that delay would be contrary to the interests of justice.

A new notice requirement was added: a low-income, unrepresented litigant seeking a court-made record must provide written notice at least one court day before the hearing (except in emergencies). If court reporters are represented by a recognized employee organization, the court must forward the notice to them the same day.

Section numbering was reorganized: the former Section 2 (adding Government Code Section 69957.5) was renumbered as Section 1, and the urgency clause became Section 3.

The document was reformatted from a traditional legislative print layout with line numbers, page breaks, and headers into a web-based presentation format with navigation elements (home, accessibility, FAQ, search, etc.). The actual statutory text of Section 69957.5, the legislative counsel's digest, and all substantive provisions remain identical.

New Section 69957.5 allows courts to issue general orders authorizing temporary electronic recording in family law, probate, and civil contempt proceedings when they are unable to hire sufficient official reporters after due diligence. Dependency proceedings are explicitly excluded.

Courts are prohibited from purchasing or leasing electronic recording equipment specifically to make records under this new section, and may not displace existing official reporters from their assignments without the reporter's consent.

A judicial officer must find six specific conditions before using electronic recording: the proceeding implicates fundamental rights or liberty interests, a party wants a verbatim transcript, no court reporter is reasonably available, the requesting party could not secure a private reporter (or qualifies for a fee waiver), the proceeding involves significant legal or factual issues requiring a complete record for appeal, and delay would be contrary to the interests of justice.

Parties seeking a verbatim record must notify the court at least five court days before the hearing. If the court's official reporters are represented by a union, the court must forward that notice to the union on the same day.

Courts using electronic recording under this section must actively recruit certified shorthand reporters, offer employment to all applicants unless there is good cause for rejection (with the burden of proof on the court), avoid unreasonable barriers to hiring, and make reasonable efforts to retain pro tempore reporters.

Section 69957(c) now explicitly states that the Judicial Council shall not grant approval for equipment purchased solely for monitoring subordinate judicial officers, and adds a prohibition on courts purchasing or leasing equipment to make verbatim recordings under these provisions.

If official reporters are unionized, the court must meet and confer with the union about recruitment efforts upon request. Unresolved disputes about violations go to binding arbitration through the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The entire new Section 69957.5 sunsets on January 1, 2028, at which point any general orders issued under it are automatically revoked.

An urgency clause (new Section 3) was added, declaring the act an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, or safety. The bill now takes effect immediately upon passage instead of January 1, 2026. The stated justification is that some superior courts face an immediate crisis caused by a shortage of court reporters.

The vote requirement changed from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority in each house, which is the constitutional requirement for urgency statutes.

A redundant sentence in Section 69957(c) was removed. The old text contained both a standalone prohibition on purchasing equipment solely for monitoring subordinate judicial officers AND a prohibition on the Judicial Council granting approval for such purchases. Only the Judicial Council approval restriction remains, eliminating the duplication.

A typo in Section 69957.5(d)(1) was corrected: 'certified short reporters' changed to 'certified shorthand reporters.'

The short title and legislative digest were updated to reflect the urgency declaration and to fix a garbled sentence in the digest that previously read 'prohibit the purchase of equipment for the sole purpose the Judicial Council from granting approval.'