Electronic Court Hearing Notices

Under current law, the clerk of the court mails notice of the filing of certain petitions and the date and time of hearings on the petition to specified interested parties by registered mail. The bill changes the process so the clerk of the court may send the notice by first-class mail or electronically using the e-filing system of the judicial department. Under current law, if a respondent in a domestic relations action cannot be personally served and is served by publication, the clerk of the court is required to post a copy of the process on a bulletin board in the clerk's office for 35 days after the date of publication and may post the notice online on the court's website. The bill gives the clerk the option of posting the notice online on the court's website rather than on a bulletin board. The bill also updates the time frame for holding certain hearings to multiples of 7 days. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)