Assemblyman Obernolte’s Bill To Increase Number of Judges in San Bernardino County Passes Committee

SACRAMENTO –Assemblyman Obernolte (R-Hesperia) announced that his Assembly Bill 2446 passed out of Assembly Judiciary Committee today with unanimous support. This bill seeks to fund 10 additional superior court judgeships and would also increase the number of appellate justices in the San Bernardino/ Riverside Division of the 4th Appellate District Court of Appeal from seven to eight.

“As a member of the Legislature, I have fought for more funding for both our court houses and additional justices,” Assemblyman Obernolte said. “In light of California’s $6 billion budget surplus, it is past time to invest in our judicial system. This bill would ensure that the 11 most critically needed judicial positions in the state are funded. Every Californian deserves to have a timely access to justice.”

Currently, California is facing an extreme shortage of judges throughout the state. A judicial workload study conducted in 2016 concluded that California immediately needs more than 180 additional judges to meet the current workload requirements of our state’s 58 Superior Courts. The majority of the needed judgeships are in San Bernardino and Riverside counties followed by the central valley. San Bernardino’s assessed need alone is 48 additional judges and Riverside County’s need is 47. Together, these two counties alone account for nearly 50 percent of the needed judgeships across the state. Furthermore, the report indicated that six of the first 10 new judges should go to the Inland Empire region.

AB 2446 will be next referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Assemblyman Jay Obernolte represents the 33rd Assembly District, which includes the San Bernardino County communities of Adelanto, Apple Valley, Baker, Barstow, Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Big River, Crestline, Fort Irwin, Hesperia, Johnson Valley, Lake Arrowhead, Lenwood, Lucerne Valley, Needles, Oak Hills, Phelan, Running Springs, Silver Lakes, Trona, Twentynine Palms Base, Twin Peaks and Victorville.