48 of 58 Counties Will Unify

2 Vote Not to Unify; Voting Under Way in 1

SPECIAL REPORT

PROPOSITION 220

J U D I C I A L  C O U N C I L O F  C A L I F O R N I A &127;
A D M I N I S T R A T I V E  O F F I C E  O F  T H E C O U R T S

A U G U S T  7 , 1 9 9 8

For updates see "Of Current Interest,"

Judicial Branch of California Web site,www.courtinfo.ca.gov

As of August 7, the Judicial Council (JC) reports that courts in 48 of the state’s 58 counties have decided to unify, and their votes have been certified by the council’s Executive and Planning Committee or the county registrar of voters, the two options specified by the rules of court for certifying voting actions.

To date, courts in two counties—Kern and Los Angeles—have voted not to unify; their results have also been certified by the committee. Voting in San Diego County is under way; its voting period ends August 26. As of August 7, all unifications are in effect, except for Orange and San Bernardino (August 10), Colusa and San Benito (September 1), and San Francisco (De-cember 31). Prop. 220, passed by 64 percent of voters statewide in the June 2 election, amends the state Constitution to permit the superior and the municipal court judges within a county to create a "unified"or single superior court if a majority of both the superior and the municipal court judges so vote.

The California Rules of Court allow courts to call for a vote every six months through December 31, 1999. Beginning January 1, 2000, courts may vote once every 12 months. More frequent voting requires JC approval.

Here are the latest details on unification actions:

Unanimous Written Consent Certified by JC = 37

Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo,Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Men-docino, Merced, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Ventura, Yolo

Unanimous Written Consent Certi-fied by County Registrar = 3

Alameda, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Bar-bara, Santa Clara, Tulare

Did Not Pass, Voting Results Certi-fied = 2

San Diego