AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 3, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

URGENCY STATUTE

Introduced by Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Kalra (Chair), Bauer-Kahan, Bryan, Connolly, Harabedian, Pacheco, Papan, Stefani, and Zbur)

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Macedo)

March 11, 2026

An act to amend Section 8020.5 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 69959.5 of the Government Code, relating to court reporters, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

(1) Existing law establishes the Court Reporters Board of California for the licensure and regulation of shorthand reporters. Existing law generally requires an applicant for a license to, among other requirements, pass an examination consisting of 3 parts, one of which is labeled Dictation/Transcription (Machine/Skill). Under existing law, successful completion of the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR) or Certified Verbatim Reporter-Stenotype (CVR-S) certification administered through the National Verbatim Reporters Association satisfies the requirement to pass the Dictation/Transcription portion of the examination.

This bill would also allow successful completion of the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification administered through the National Court Reporters Association to satisfy the requirement to pass the Dictation/Transcription portion of the examination.

(2) Existing law authorizes the superior court of 13 specified counties to conduct pilot projects, beginning on July 1, 2025, to study the potential use of remote court reporting to make the verbatim record of certain court proceedings under specified requirements. Existing law requires all pilot projects to terminate no later than July 1, 2026, and further requires the Judicial Council to prepare a report for the Legislature with the results from each participating superior court. Existing law repeals these provisions on June 1, 2027.

This bill would extend the duration of the pilot program and would require all pilot projects to terminate no later than July 1, 2028, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029. The bill would require the superior courts in the Counties of Los Angeles, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Mateo, and Tulare to submit data and information to the Judicial Council, as specified, and would require the Judicial Council to present that information and its own report to the Legislature by January 1, 2027.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 8020.5 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

8020.5.

(a) (1) The California state licensing examination shall consist of the following three divisible parts:

(A) English.

(B) Professional Practice.

(C) Dictation/Transcription (Machine/Skill).

(2) (A) The passing grades for the Dictation/Transcription part of the examination is 95 percent.

(B) (i) The passing grades for English and Professional Practice, the two written knowledge parts of the examination, shall be determined by the Angoff criterion-referenced method.

(ii) The passing scores may vary moderately with changes in test composition.

(iii) Any examinee who obtains a grade that equals or exceeds the passing score determined by the Angoff criterion-referenced method shall be deemed to have passed the applicable portion of the examination if the other requirements of this section are met.

(b) The board shall notify each examinee electronically or in writing of their pass or fail examination results.

(c) (1) An applicant shall take and pass all three parts of the examination within three consecutive years to have passed the examination.

(2) The three-year period shall begin from the date of the examination or any part of the examination for which the applicant is first scheduled.

(d) (1) After a period of four months has elapsed, an applicant may repeat any part of the examination.

(2) An applicant shall not repeat any part of the examination unless or until a new version of the examination has been introduced.

(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), an applicant who passes a part of the examination shall receive conditional credit for passing that part and may retake the remaining parts.

(f) The period of time designated in subdivision (c) may be extended by the board for a period of time not to exceed one year upon the showing of extraordinary extenuating circumstances.

(g) (1) Successful completion of the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), Certified Verbatim Reporter-Stenotype (CVR-S) certification administered through the National Verbatim Reporters Association, or successful completion of the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification administered through the National Court Reporters Association satisfies the requirement to pass the Dictation/Transcription examination under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(2) Applicants who passed the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), Certified Verbatim Reporter-Stenotype (CVR-S), or Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification are subject to the requirements identified under subdivision (a) for the English examination and the Professional Practice examination, all of which must be passed within three consecutive years, pursuant to subdivision (c), to have passed the California state licensing examination.

SEC. 2.

Section 69959.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:

69959.5.

(a) For purposes of this section, “remote court reporting” means the use of a stenographic reporter who is not present in the courtroom to produce a verbatim record of court proceedings that are transmitted by audiovisual means to the reporter.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 69959, the Superior Courts of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Tulare, and Ventura are authorized to conduct pilot projects, beginning on July 1, 2025, to study the potential use of remote court reporting to make the verbatim record of certain court proceedings. Participating superior courts shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(1) The remote court reporting shall be performed only by full-time official reporters licensed pursuant to Section 8024 of the Business and Professions Code and employed by the participating superior court who have at least two years of courtroom experience in a California superior court. Court reporters who participate in the remote court reporting pilot project shall be treated in the same manner as other official reporters employed by the court, including, but not limited to, compensation, benefits, classification, seniority, job description, and bargaining units.

(2) The official reporters shall be physically located in a court facility while performing the remote court reporting. Alternatively, the superior court and the exclusive representative of the official reporters may meet and confer and reach agreement by June 30, 2025, to include additional offsite locations to test remote court reporting. Such an agreement shall also specify the equipment needed for these locations and how the participating court will provide that equipment.

(3) (A) No more than 20 percent of the total full-time official court reporters, or for courts with fewer than 10 full-time official court reporters, 2 court reporters, in the participating court may be in the pilot project.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in counties with a population of 2,000,000 or more, no more than 10 percent of the total full-time official court reporters in the participating court may be in the pilot project.

(C) The participating superior court shall equip courtrooms with necessary equipment by no later than June 30, 2025. For the purposes of this chapter, “necessary equipment” means:

(i) Individual microphones for each participant, including the judicial officer, witnesses, jury box, counsel table, and lectern or podium or other place where participants may speak.

(ii) (I) Cameras with a dedicated frontal view of the judicial officer, witnesses, jury box, counsel tables, and lectern or podium or other place where participants may speak.

(II) Notwithstanding subclause (I), the camera in the jury box shall not be utilized any time jurors or prospective jurors are present. The camera shall be removed from the courtroom, covered, or otherwise disabled in a manner to permit a juror or prospective juror and court personnel to easily recognize the camera is not active.

(iii) Speakers that allow the court reporter to be heard clearly throughout the courtroom.

(iv) Speakers and microphone for the court reporter.

(v) Camera for the court reporter.

(vi) Two-way means of communication between the court reporter and the judicial officer. Court reporters shall be given the ability to mute and unmute their own audio to maintain communication with the judicial officer.

(4) A participating court may elect to use remote court reporting in limited civil, law and motion for unlimited civil cases, family law, child support, probate, juvenile dependency, juvenile delinquency, and felony and misdemeanor criminal proceedings except preliminary hearings, trials, and death penalty cases.

(5) Transcripts created through remote court reporting as part of the pilot project may be used whenever a transcript of court proceedings is required. The fees of the official reporter and costs of transcript preparation for remote court reporting shall be the same as when an official reporter is present in the courtroom.

(6) Court reporters participating in the pilot project shall not be held responsible for failures in technology or equipment. If technology or audibility issues inhibit the court reporter’s ability to accurately capture and certify a verbatim record, the court shall temporarily suspend the proceeding until the issues can be resolved. A trial court shall not retaliate or threaten to retaliate against a court reporter who notifies the judicial officer that technology or audibility issues are impeding the creation and certification of the verbatim record of a proceeding.

(7) (A) Each participating superior court Los Angeles, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Mateo, and Tulare superior courts shall submit data and information to the Judicial Council on the results of the pilot project. In compiling feedback on the results, each superior court shall obtain feedback from the following individuals who participated in the pilot project:

(i) At least two judicial officers or, if only one judicial officer participated, that judicial officer.

(ii) At least two court reporters chosen by the exclusive bargaining representative of the official court reporters or, if only one court reporter participated, that court reporter.

(B) The Judicial Council shall compile the results from each participating superior court the superior courts listed in subparagraph (A) and prepare a report for the Legislature. This report shall be presented to the Legislature, along with each participating superior court’s individual report, in accordance with Section 9795, within six months of the conclusion of the pilot project. no later than January 1, 2027.

(c) (1) All pilot projects authorized pursuant to this section shall terminate by no later than July 1, 2028. A participating superior court shall terminate its pilot project earlier if the court determines that the use of remote court reporting is prejudicing the rights of litigants or the interests of justice.

(2) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to mend the gap between the pilot project set to expire July 1, 2026, and the implementation of this extended program for court reporting services, it is necessary that this bill take effect immediately.