California Business and Professions Code 8030.8 – (a) For purposes of this chapter, documentation accompanying an …
(a) For purposes of this chapter, documentation accompanying an invoice is sufficient to establish entitlement for reimbursement from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund if it is filed with the executive officer on an application form prescribed by the board that is complete in all respects, and that establishes all of the following:
(1) The case name and number and that the litigant or litigants requesting the reimbursement are indigent persons. If the applicant is an indigent person appearing pro se the application shall be accompanied by a copy of the fee waiver form approved by the court in the matter for which the applicant seeks reimbursement.
Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 8030.8
- applicant: includes an indigent person appearing pro se to represent themself at any stage of the case and applying to receive funds from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund established in Section 8030. See California Business and Professions Code 8030.4
- board: means any entity listed in Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession. See California Business and Professions Code 31
- Case: means a single legal proceeding from its inception, through all levels of hearing, trial, and appeal, until its ultimate conclusion and disposition. See California Business and Professions Code 8030.4
- Certified shorthand reporter: means a shorthand reporter certified pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 8020) performing shorthand reporting services pursuant to Section 8017. See California Business and Professions Code 8030.4
- Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fee-generating case: means any case or matter that, if undertaken on behalf of an eligible client by an attorney in private practice, reasonably may be expected to result in payment of a fee for legal services from an award to a client, from public funds, or from an opposing party. See California Business and Professions Code 8030.4
- Indigent person: means any of the following:
California Business and Professions Code 8030.4
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
- Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
(2) The applicant is qualified under the provisions of this chapter.
(3) The case is not a fee-generating case, as defined in Section 8030.4.
(4) The invoice or other documentation shall evidence that the certified shorthand reporter to be reimbursed was, at the time the services were rendered, a duly licensed certified shorthand reporter.
(5) The invoice shall be accompanied by a statement, signed by the applicant, stating that the charges are for transcripts actually provided as indicated on the invoice.
(6) The applicant has acknowledged, in writing, that as a condition of entitlement for reimbursement that the applicant agrees to refund the entire amount disbursed from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund from any costs or attorney’s fees awarded to the applicant by the court or provided for in any settlement agreement in the case.
(7) The certified shorthand reporter’s invoice for transcripts shall include separate itemizations of charges claimed, as follows:
(A) Total charges and rates for customary services in preparation of an original transcript and one copy or a copy of the transcript of depositions.
(B) Total charges and rates for expedited deposition transcripts.
(C) Total charges and rates in connection with transcription of court proceedings.
(b) For an applicant claiming to be eligible pursuant to subdivision (j), (l), or (m) of Section 8030.4, a letter from the director of the project or center, certifying that the project or center meets the standards set forth in one of those subdivisions and that the litigant or litigants are indigent persons, is sufficient documentation to establish eligibility.
(c) For an applicant claiming to be eligible pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 8030.4, a letter certifying that the applicant meets the requirements of that subdivision, that the case is not a fee-generating case, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 8030.4, and that the litigant or litigants are indigent persons, together with a letter from the director of a project or center defined in subdivision (j), (l), or (m) of Section 8030.4 certifying that the litigant or litigants had been referred by that project or center to the applicant, is sufficient documentation to establish eligibility.
(d) The applicant may receive reimbursement directly from the board if the applicant has previously paid the certified shorthand reporter for transcripts as provided in Section 8030.6. To receive payment directly, the applicant shall submit, in addition to all other required documentation, an itemized statement signed by the certified shorthand reporter performing the services that describes payment for transcripts in accordance with the requirements of Section 8030.6.
(e) The board may prescribe appropriate forms to be used by applicants and certified shorthand reporters to facilitate these requirements.
(f) This chapter does not restrict the contractual obligation or payment for services, including, but not limited to, billing the applicant directly, during the pendency of the claim.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 625, Sec. 72. (SB 1443) Effective January 1, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2025, by its own provisions.)