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AB-1865 Court fee waiver: water rights cases.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 03/16/2022 09:00 PM
AB1865:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 16, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1865

Introduced by Assembly Member Bennett

February 08, 2022

An act to amend Section 68632 of add Section 68632.5 to the Government Code, relating to court fees.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1865, as amended, Bennett. Court fee waiver: water rights cases.
Existing law requires the court to grant a fee waiver to an applicant at any stage of the proceedings at both the appellate and trial court levels if the applicant meets specified standards of eligibility and application requirements, including a person who is receiving certain public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income or Medi-Cal, or who has a monthly income of 125% or less of the current poverty guidelines, as specified. An initial fee waiver excuses the applicant from paying, among other fees and costs, fees for the first pleading and other court fees and costs as specified in rules adopted by the Judicial Council.
This bill would additionally require a court to initially grant a fee waiver permission to proceed without paying court fees and costs to a person who was joined or countersued in a case involving a water right held by the person.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 68632.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:

68632.5.
 Permission to proceed without paying court fees and costs shall be granted initially to a person who was joined or countersued in a case involving a water right held by the person, including, but not limited to, an appropriative, groundwater, or riparian water right.

SECTION 1.Section 68632 of the Government Code is amended to read:
68632.

Permission to proceed without paying court fees and costs because of an applicant’s financial condition shall be granted initially to all of the following persons:

(a)An applicant who is receiving public benefits under one or more of the following programs:

(1)Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplementary Payment (SSP) (Article 5 (commencing with Section 12200) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(2)California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKs) (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code) or a federal Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal TANF) grant program (Section 10553.25 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(3)Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States Code) or the California Food Assistance Program (CalFresh) (Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section 18930) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(4)County Relief, General Relief (GR), or General Assistance (GA) (Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(5)Cash Assistance Program for Aged, Blind, and Disabled Legal Immigrants (CAPI) (Chapter 10.3 (commencing with Section 18937) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(6)In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) (Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(7)Medi-Cal (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).

(b)An applicant whose monthly income is 125 percent or less of the current poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of paragraph (2) of Section 9902 of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(c)An applicant who, as individually determined by the court, cannot pay court fees without using moneys that normally would pay for the common necessaries of life for the applicant and the applicant’s family. Only if a trial court finds that an applicant under this subdivision can pay a portion of court fees, or can pay court fees over a period of time, or under some other equitable arrangement, without using moneys that normally would pay for the common necessaries of life for the applicant and the applicant’s family, the court may grant a partial initial fee waiver using the notice and hearing procedures set forth in paragraph (5) of subdivision (e) of Section 68634. “Common necessaries of life,” as used in this article, shall be interpreted consistently with the use of that term in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 706.051 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as that paragraph read prior to January 1, 2012.

(d)A person who files a petition for appointment of a fiduciary in a guardianship or conservatorship, or files pleadings as the appointed fiduciary of a conservatee or ward, when the financial condition of the conservatee or ward meets the standards for a fee waiver pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (c).

(e)A person who was joined or countersued in a case involving a water right held by the person, including, but not limited to, an appropriative, groundwater, or riparian water right.