---
type: "Bill"
title: "Courts: judgeships."
description: "Courts: judgeships."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20072008"
identifier: "AB 159"
citation: "California AB 159 (20072008)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts: judgeships."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jones"]
version_count: 10
action_count: 24
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2007-01-18"
last_action: "2007-10-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/33df2e24-3ec9-489f-9229-1ef833989a6a"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159"
source_hash: "e90628e67a0419adaa58197db6b9ff1f9b22c24e84066ae2eb635e38555fe535"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 159 (20072008) — Courts: judgeships.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **01/18/07 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15999INT)
2. **03/22/07 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15998AMD)
3. **06/01/07 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15997AMD)
4. **06/21/07 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15996AMD)
5. **07/17/07 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15995AMD)
6. **09/05/07 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15994AMD)
7. **09/07/07 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15993AMD)
8. **10/14/07 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15991CHP)
9. **AB159** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159)
10. **09/25/07 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200720080AB159&version=20070AB15992ENR)

## Votes

- Assembly 3rd Reading AB159 Jones By Corbett — **pass** (pass) · upper
- AB 159 JONES Assembly Third Reading — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended, and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Placed on Appropriations Suspense file. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- AB 159 Jones Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jones — primary (person)
- Benoit — principal coauthor (person)
- Carter — principal coauthor (person)
- Cedillo — principal coauthor (person)
- Garcia — coauthor (person)
- Levine — coauthor (person)
- Lieber — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2007-01-18** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2007-01-19** From printer. May be heard in committee February 18.
- **2007-03-22** Referred to Standing Committee on Judiciary. `referral-committee`
- **2007-03-22** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Standing Committee on Judiciary Read second time and amended. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-passage, amendment-introduction, referral-committee`
- **2007-03-26** Re-referred to Standing Committee on Judiciary. `referral-committee`
- **2007-04-10** From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Standing Committee on Appropriations Re-referred. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 10). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee`
- **2007-04-25** In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to Standing Committee on Appropriations suspense file. `referral-committee`
- **2007-06-01** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 13. Noes 4.) (May 31). Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2007-06-04** Read second time. To third reading. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2007-06-06** Read third time, passed, and to Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 1. Page 1984.) `passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2007-06-07** In Senate. Read first time. To Standing Committee on Rules for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2007-06-21** Referred to Standing Committee on Judiciary. `referral-committee`
- **2007-06-21** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Standing Committee on Judiciary. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-introduction, referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2007-07-16** From committee: Amend, do pass as amended, and re-refer to Standing Committee on Appropriations (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) . `amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2007-07-17** Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Standing Committee on Appropriations. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2007-08-20** In committee: Placed on Appropriations suspense file.
- **2007-09-05** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) . Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2, amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2007-09-07** Read third time, amended, and returned to third reading. `reading-1, reading-3, amendment-passage`
- **2007-09-10** Read third time, passed, and to Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2539.) `passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2007-09-11** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
- **2007-09-11** Senate amendments concurred in. To enrollment. (Ayes 73. Noes 1. Page 3285.) `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2007-10-02** Enrolled and to the Governor at 10:45 a.m.
- **2007-10-14** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2007-10-14** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 722, Statutes of 2007.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/33df2e24-3ec9-489f-9229-1ef833989a6a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).