AB 1208 will undermine uniformity of the laws and rules governing state courts and harm statewide court programs, creating uncertainty and unpredictability for California employers and other litigants, and driving more employers from the state and harming the economy.

Other problems with AB 1208 include:

• Grants the Legislature inappropriate influence over management of the judicial branch, including prioritizing funding and making substantive decisions about how to promote efficiencies and cost-saving measures, and ensure equal access to justice.
• Allows two to three courts to override important judicial branch policies and statewide needs. 
• Prevents helping courts in dire emergencies. By requiring the Judicial Council to allocate every dollar that is appropriated for trial court operations, the bill eliminates the ability of the Judicial Council to set aside money to assist courts dealing with especially difficult fiscal circumstances.  
• Allows a single court to benefit at the expense of the entire justice system. For example, a court could choose to keep extra funds to upgrade its facilities, preventing the branch from using those resources to provide legal services for the poor system wide or prevent court shutdowns at a court facing greater financial hardship.