Court fee waivers: veterans.

Senator Umberg's proposal to modify California's court fee waiver system would exclude veterans' disability service-connected compensation from income calculations when determining eligibility for court fee waivers. The measure addresses how superior courts evaluate financial qualifications for waiving filing fees and other civil court costs.

Under current law, courts grant fee waivers to applicants whose monthly income falls at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines, as well as those receiving specific public benefits like CalWORKs or SSI. The proposed change maintains these existing qualification pathways while creating a separate provision for veterans' disability compensation, removing it from the monthly income assessment that determines eligibility.

The measure preserves the Judicial Council's role in publishing annual income thresholds for fee waivers adjusted by household size, while modifying how courts calculate monthly income for veterans receiving disability compensation. Superior courts would continue evaluating applicants' ability to pay fees without using funds needed for basic necessities, now with veterans' disability payments excluded from that determination.