Jury duty.

Assembly Member Essayli's proposal to expand public access to California's juror compensation pilot program would require the Judicial Council to publish its findings on juror diversity and participation on its website. The pilot program, which studies the effects of increased compensation and mileage reimbursement rates on jury participation, currently requires reporting only to the Legislature.

The legislation maintains the existing framework requiring the Judicial Council to select at least six trial courts, including Alameda County, to participate in the two-year study. Participating courts collect demographic information from jurors to evaluate whether higher compensation rates correlate with changes in jury pool composition. The Judicial Council must submit its analysis to the Legislature by September 1, 2026, at which point the new public disclosure requirement would take effect.

The bill authorizes the Judicial Council to engage external consultants for conducting the study, while establishing January 1, 2027 as the sunset date for all provisions. The measure requires no additional state appropriations, though the Judicial Council would need to allocate resources for online publication of the findings.