A superior court may appoint as many competent phonographic reporters, to be known as official reporters of such court, and such official reporters pro tempore, as are deemed necessary for the performance of the duties and the exercise of the powers conferred by law upon the court and its members.

No person shall be appointed to the position of official reporter of any court unless the person has first obtained a license to practice as a certified shorthand reporter from the Court Reporters Board of California.

Until an official reporter of any court or official reporter pro tempore has fully completed and filed all transcriptions of the reporter’s notes in any case on appeal which the reporter is required by law to transcribe, the reporter is not competent to act as official reporter in any court. Violation of subdivision (e) of Section 8025 of the Business and Professions Code shall also render an official reporter or official reporter pro tempore incompetent to act as official reporter in any court.

Before entering upon the duties of his office, the official reporter of any court or official reporter pro tempore shall take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office.

Except in counties where a statute provides otherwise, the official reporter shall receive for his services the fees prescribed in this article.

Notwithstanding Section 69948, in Modoc County, the board of supervisors may, by ordinance, prescribe a higher rate of compensation for superior court reporters.

The fee for reporting each default or uncontested action or proceeding is ten dollars ($10). If more than four defaults or uncontested matters are reported in any one day, or two or more defaults are reported in conjunction with any contested case, the fee is forty-five dollars ($45) a day, or any fractional part thereof.

trial court.

For transcription, the reporter may charge an additional 50 percent for special daily copy service.

In any case where a verbatim record is not made at public expense pursuant to Section 69952 or other provisions of law, the cost of making any verbatim record shall be paid by the parties in equal proportion; and either party at his option may pay the whole. In either case, all amounts so paid by the party to whom costs are awarded shall be taxed as costs in the case. The fees for transcripts and copies ordered by the parties shall be paid by the party ordering them. Except as provided in Section 69952, no reporter shall perform any service in a civil action other than transcriptions until his fee for it has been deposited with the clerk of the court or with the reporter.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever a daily transcript is ordered in a civil case requiring the services of more than one phonographic reporter, the party requesting the daily transcript, in addition to any other required fee, shall pay a fee per day, or portion thereof, equal to the per diem rate for pro tempore reporters established by statute, local rule, or ordinance for the services of each additional reporter for the first day and each subsequent day the additional reporters are required. This fee shall be distributed to the court in which it was collected to offset the cost of the additional reporter.

The official reporter shall perform the duties required of him by law. When not actually engaged in the performance of any other duty imposed on him by this code, he shall render stenographic or clerical assistance, or both, to the judge or judges of the superior court as such judge or judges may direct. In addition to the compensation otherwise provided by law, any reporter required to render such stenographic or clerical assistance shall receive such compensation therefor as the superior court may prescribe, not to exceed the sum of twenty dollars ($20) a day, which shall be payable by the county in the same manner and from the same funds as other salary demands against the county.

Transcripts derived from electronic recordings shall include a designation of “inaudible” or “unintelligible” for those portions of the recording that contain no audible sound or are not discernible. The electronic recording device and appurtenant equipment shall be of a type approved by the Judicial Council for courtroom use and shall only be purchased for use as provided by this section. A court shall not expend funds for or use electronic recording technology or equipment to make an unofficial record of an action or proceeding, including for purposes of judicial notetaking, or to make the official record of an action or proceeding in

circumstances not authorized by this section.

relating to performance of the subordinate judicial officer, hearing officer, or temporary judge.

section.

Each superior court shall report to the Judicial Council on or before October 1, 2004, and semiannually thereafter, and the Judicial Council shall report to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2004, and semiannually thereafter, regarding all purchases and leases of electronic recording equipment that will be used to record superior court proceedings, specifying all of the following:

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:

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.

(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.

(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.

same as when an official reporter is present in the courtroom.

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.

(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.

(iii) At least two attorneys who regularly practice in the participating court.

(iv) The chief public defender or their designee if the remote reporting occurred in criminal or juvenile delinquency proceedings.

(B) The Judicial Council shall compile the results from each participating superior court 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.