THE COURT REPORTER'S BOARD: PROTECTING THE PUBLIC & HELPING INDIGENT PARTIES

After reading the 2024-2028 Court Reporter's Board Strategic Plan, I thought it would be helpful to share the information I found helpful with regard to reporting for those who cannot afford a court reporter. The Court Reporter's Board is for the protection of the people in our great state of California. The following in blue text is straight out of the information contained in the "Strategic Plan."

The Court Reporters Board was established in 1951 by an act of the Legislature. The Board's mandate is to protect the consumers of the state. It does that by:

1. Licensing individual court reporters and registering court reporting firms.

2. Regulating the minimum curriculum which court reporting schools and programs must offer.

3. Disciplining licensees when necessary.

In addition, the Board administers the Transcript Reimbursement Fund (TRF), which reimburses Certified Shorthand Reporters (CSRs) for providing transcripts to indigent civil litigants. All the Board's activities are funded from licensing and examination fees. Thus, the Board is considered a "special fund" or self-funded agency because no tax dollars from the General Fund support the Board, with the exception of the TRF, which received a one-time grant of $500,000 from the General Fund in 2021.

The Board is composed of three public members and two licensees. The Governor appoints one public member and two licensees to the Board. The Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules Committee each appoint one public member. All Board members serve staggered, four-year terms.

The Board currently has approximately 5,500 licensees. In the profession, licensees are known as either "officials" who work in court, or "freelancers," who generally work through court reporting agencies and report mostly depositions. The Board currently has 203 registered court reporting firms.

The Board’s only office exists in Sacramento. There is an executive officer and a staff of four full-time employees. There is an enforcement analyst, an exam/licensing analyst, a TRF Pro Bono Program/school compliance analyst, and a TRF Pro Per Program analyst for the Board.

As you can see, the Transcript Reimbursement Fund protects indigent litigants, but it also protects us as court reporters ensuring that we get paid for our hard work. It is also eye-opening to see that we currently have 5, 500 licensees, which is not many to cover the entire state of California.

I had the privilege of attending the last Court Reporter's Board meeting, and many dedicated individuals are doing their best to find ways to get the word out about our profession and to get more licensees. It was stated that at the last CSR exam, there were 103 students who passed the CSR exam!

Keep sharing about our great profession!

--D. R. Wood, CSR