S.F. _____ H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 602.3204 Ethical standards for 1 shorthand reporters and shorthand reporting firms. 2 1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context 3 otherwise requires: 4 a. “Board” means board of examiners of shorthand reporters. 5 b. “Proceeding” means a court proceeding, deposition, 6 administrative hearing, arbitration hearing, an examination 7 under oath, a sworn statement, or any other proceeding where 8 the reporting services of a shorthand reporter certified by the 9 board is used. 10 c. “Shorthand reporter” means a shorthand reporter certified 11 by the board. 12 d. “Shorthand reporting firm” means a shorthand reporting 13 firm that employs or contracts with a shorthand reporter 14 certified by the board, or an entity that bills for the 15 reporting services of such a shorthand reporter. 16 2. Purpose of standards. The purpose of this section is to 17 ensure the integrity of the record and comparable treatment of 18 all parties in proceedings reported by a shorthand reporter, 19 by establishing ethical standards for shorthand reporters 20 and shorthand reporting firms. A shorthand reporter serves 21 as an officer of the court. The appearance and existence of 22 impartiality are no less important for officers who report 23 proceedings than they are for the judicial officers and other 24 persons whose responsibilities are integral to the fair and 25 impartial administration of justice. 26 3. Applicability. This section applies to shorthand 27 reporting services performed by a shorthand reporter or 28 shorthand reporting firm under the following circumstances: 29 a. Any proceeding in the courts of this state. 30 b. Any proceeding that may be presented to a court in this 31 state for resolution. 32 c. Any proceeding in the courts of another state and 33 reported using the services of a shorthand reporter certified 34 by the board, but only to the extent this section does not 35 -1- LSB 5349XD (4) 85 jm/rj 1/ 6

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ conflict with the laws or rules of the other state. 1 d. Any other proceeding that may be presented to a court 2 of another state for resolution, and is reported using the 3 services of a shorthand reporter certified by the board, but 4 only to the extent this section does not conflict with the laws 5 or rules of the other state. 6 4. Duties. Before accepting a reporting engagement or 7 assignment, a shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm is 8 obligated to make reasonable efforts to ascertain whether any 9 circumstances exist that would violate this section. 10 5. Conflicts of interest. 11 a. A proceeding shall not be reported by a party or employee 12 of a party, a person financially interested in the proceeding, 13 an attorney or an employee of an attorney for a party, or a 14 person related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or 15 affinity to a party, a party’s attorney, or an employee of a 16 party or party’s attorney. 17 b. The compensation of a shorthand reporter or a shorthand 18 reporting firm shall not be based or contingent upon the 19 outcome of the proceeding. 20 c. A shorthand reporter or a shorthand reporting firm shall 21 not acquire a financial interest in the proceeding. 22 d. A shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm shall 23 not provide additional advocacy or litigation support services 24 in a proceeding reported by the shorthand reporter or shorthand 25 reporting firm, including but not limited to trial preparation 26 assistance or deposition summaries. 27 6. Integrity of transcripts. 28 a. The supreme court, with the advice of the board, shall 29 adopt rules prescribing the format of transcripts subject to 30 this section. The rules adopted by the supreme court shall 31 apply whether the transcript is produced in print or electronic 32 format. If the format of a transcript materially varies 33 from the format adopted by the supreme court, the parties to 34 the proceeding shall not be required to pay any fee for the 35 -2- LSB 5349XD (4) 85 jm/rj 2/ 6

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ transcript. 1 b. The supreme court, after consultation with the board, 2 shall also adopt rules establishing dissemination standards to 3 protect the integrity of transcripts subject to this section. 4 7. Fair and reasonable treatment of parties. 5 a. A shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm shall 6 not enter into an agreement for reporting services which 7 provide special or different financial terms or payment dates 8 or other services that are not offered to all other parties in 9 the proceeding. However, different credit terms may be offered 10 based on payment history and credit worthiness of a party to 11 a proceeding. 12 b. Upon the request of a party to a proceeding, the 13 shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm shall provide 14 the requesting party an itemized disclosure of all rates and 15 charges for the services performed during the proceeding. The 16 supreme court, after consultation with the board, shall adopt 17 rules prescribing the form to be used for such a disclosure. 18 If the disclosure is not provided, or if the disclosure is 19 not provided in sufficient time to allow all parties the 20 opportunity to effectively negotiate for any changes necessary 21 to ensure that comparable terms and conditions be made 22 available to all parties, the fee for the original transcript, 23 any copy of the transcript, or of any incidental services shall 24 not exceed the fee set by the supreme court by rule after 25 consultation with the board. 26 c. A shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm shall 27 not charge a fee for a copy of a transcript that exceeds sixty 28 percent of the fee charged for the original transcript. In all 29 cases, fees for incidental services other than the original 30 transcript or a copy of a transcript shall be billed at the 31 same rate for all parties. 32 EXPLANATION 33 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 34 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 35 -3- LSB 5349XD (4) 85 jm/rj 3/ 6

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ This bill relates to the ethical standards of certified 1 shorthand reporters and shorthand reporting firms. 2 The bill defines “shorthand reporter” to mean a shorthand 3 reporter certified by the Iowa board of examiners of shorthand 4 reporters. 5 The bill defines “shorthand reporting firm” to mean a 6 shorthand reporting firm that employs or contracts with a 7 certified shorthand reporter, or an entity that bills for the 8 reporting services of a certified shorthand reporter. 9 The bill also defines “proceeding” to mean a court 10 proceeding, deposition, administrative hearing, arbitration 11 hearing, an examination under oath, a sworn statement, and any 12 other proceeding where the services of a certified shorthand 13 reporter are used. 14 The bill applies ethical standards to any proceeding in the 15 courts of Iowa; any proceeding that may be presented to an Iowa 16 state court for resolution; any proceeding in the court of 17 another state and reported using an Iowa certified shorthand 18 reporter, but only to the extent the provisions of the bill do 19 not conflict with the laws or rules of the other state; and any 20 proceeding that may be presented in the court of another state 21 and reported using an Iowa certified shorthand reporter, but 22 only to the extent the provisions of the bill do not conflict 23 with the laws or rules of the other state. 24 Under the bill, a proceeding shall not be reported by a party 25 or employee of any party, a person financially interested in 26 the proceeding, an attorney or an employee of an attorney for 27 any party, or any person related within the fourth degree of 28 consanguinity or affinity to a party, a party’s attorney, or an 29 employee of such a party or attorney. 30 The bill prohibits the compensation of a shorthand reporter 31 or a shorthand reporting firm based or contingent upon the 32 outcome of the proceeding being reported. The bill also 33 prohibits a shorthand reporter or a shorthand reporting firm 34 from acquiring a financial interest in any such proceeding. 35 -4- LSB 5349XD (4) 85 jm/rj 4/ 6

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ Under the bill, a shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting 1 firm shall not provide additional advocacy or litigation 2 support services in a proceeding reported by the reporter, 3 including but not limited to trial preparation assistance or 4 deposition summaries. 5 The supreme court, with the advice of the board of examiners 6 for shorthand reporters, shall adopt rules prescribing the 7 format of transcripts subject to the bill. The rules adopted 8 by the supreme court shall apply whether the transcript 9 is produced in print or electronic format. The bill also 10 provides that if the format of a transcript materially 11 varies from the format adopted by the supreme court, the 12 parties to the proceeding shall not be required to pay any 13 fee for the transcript. The bill also requires the supreme 14 court, in consultation with the board, to adopt rules 15 establishing dissemination standards to protect the integrity 16 of transcripts. 17 The bill provides that a shorthand reporter or shorthand 18 reporting firm shall not enter into an agreement for reporting 19 services which provide special or different financial terms 20 or payment dates, or other services that are not offered to 21 all other parties in a proceeding. The bill does permit 22 a shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm to offer 23 different credit terms based on payment history and credit 24 worthiness of a party to a proceeding. 25 Upon the request of any party to a proceeding, the bill 26 requires a shorthand reporter or shorthand reporting firm 27 to provide the requesting party an itemized disclosure of 28 all rates and charges for the services performed during 29 the proceeding. If a requested itemized disclosure is not 30 provided, or if the disclosure is not provided in a sufficient 31 time, the bill requires that the fee for the original 32 transcript, a copy of the transcript, or of any incidental 33 services shall not exceed the fees that are set out by rule 34 by the supreme court. The bill requires the supreme court to 35 -5- LSB 5349XD (4) 85 jm/rj 5/ 6

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ consult with the board of examiners of shorthand reporters 1 prior to establishing this rule. 2 The bill specifies that a shorthand reporter or shorthand 3 reporting firm shall not charge a fee for a copy of a 4 transcript that exceeds 60 percent of the fee charged for the 5 original transcript. The bill further specifies that fees for 6 incidental services other than the original transcript or a 7 copy of a transcript shall be billed at the same rate for all 8 parties to a proceeding. 9 A person who violates article 3 of Code chapter 602 10 (certification and regulation of shorthand reporters) commits a 11 simple misdemeanor pursuant to Code section 602.3302. 12 -6- LSB 5349XD (4) 85 jm/rj 6/ 6