New CRB Regulations Clearly Embrace Fair Competition

FOURTH MAJOR DRA VICTORY IN THE FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS AND EQUAL TREATMENT ON THE COURT REPORTING PLAYING FIELD

BREAKING NEWS for those that care about fair competition in the court reporting marketplace.

DRA is proud to share our good news!

We have just learned that final approval was given to DRA's proposed modifications to California's court reporting Professional Standards of Practice regulations governing ethics and conduct. These brand-new regulations now in their very text apply to everyone, including court reporting businesses not owned by licensees that are legally authorized to operate in California.

HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHY THIS MATTERS

For at least 15 years before 2007, the California Court Reporters Board (CRB)'s policy was that non-licensee-owned corporations could not ever be providers of court reporting services since court reporters did not own them. So the CRB said it would take no action against them.

During this time, California was deluged with non-licensee-owned businesses that operated without regulation.

In 2007, Your DRA led a patient, painstaking, multi-year, solo effort to reverse history and change the CRB's and the Attorney General's mind.

DRA's first victory in this effort was persuading the CRB and the Attorney General that we were right.

The second victory came not long afterward when the CRB (based on a complaint filed by DRA) fined a non-licensee-owned Very Large Corporation for violating the California Professional Standards of Practice regulations. (Reflecting the CRB's old view, these regulations at the time only mentioned licensees but state statute made them applicable to all businesses.)

When the corporation refused to pay the fine, the CRB sued them.

The third victory was when the court rejected the Corporation's defense and ruled that in fact DRA was right all along -- a non-licensee-owned firm could in fact be a provider of court reporting services. DRA was the only trade association there in court filing briefs, making arguments, defending its legal theories and the courage of the CRB every step of the way.

(That case revealed a whole new problem - the problem of out-of-state providers operating here without legal authorization. Under the judge's ruling, these corporations can only be stopped by an injunction blocking them from doing business here entirely. This is a problem DRA is working on now.)

WHY THIS MATTERS

This new development is the fourth victory in the effort that we began way back in 2007.

This regulation means that for the first time ever in a CRB regulation, the CRB in plain text for all the world to see has said it has the power to regulate non-licensee providers of court reporting services.

DETAILS

The CRB's brand-new, just-approved Professional Standards of Practice regulations now include the following language:

(a) Consistent with any action that may be taken by the Board pursuant to Sections 8025 and 8025.1 of the Code, the Board may cite a business that renders professional services, namely shorthand reporting services, within the meaning of Corporations Code Section 13401 or cite or discipline any certificate holder, including suspending, revoking, or denying the certification of a certified shorthand reporter, for violation of professional standards of practice.

(b) Every person under the jurisdiction of the Board who holds a license or certificate, or temporary license or certificate, or business that renders professional services, namely shorthand reporting services, within the meaning of Corporations Code Section 13401, shall comply with the following professional standards of practice.

You can find the new Professional Standards of Practice regulations that will go into effect January 2014 here: TITLE 16

HOW DID THIS CHANGE HAPPEN?

It happened because Your DRA filed a petition with the CRB to clarify these regulations and, while that petition was pending, the judge ruled that non-licensee-owned firms could be providers of court reporting services. Your DRA then filed papers and made arguments before the CRB saying that this statement of the law should be included in the Regulations to formalize the CRB's position, and the CRB agreed.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Of course, the fight for basic marketplace fairness is far from over. And basic fairness can never come fast enough. But getting the CRB for the first time to embed in binding regulation the idea that it has authority over these companies is yet another victory in the tough, unglamorous but necessary job of getting a governmental agency to permanently change its mind. This is the foundational work required for the final victory to come - enforcement and a truly level playing field!

AND YOU CAN BET

IT WILL BE YOUR DRA
LEADING THAT FIGHT AS WELL.