AB 1692 Assembly Bill

BILL NUMBER: AB 1692	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Bill Berryhill and Logue

                        JANUARY 27, 2010

   An act to amend Section 13332.18 of, and to add Section 13332.185
to, the Government Code, relating to the General Fund.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1692, as introduced, Bill Berryhill. General Fund: fines.
   Under existing law, with specified exceptions, revenues derived
from the assessment of fines and penalties by any state agency may
not be expended unless the Legislature specifically provides
authority for the expenditure of these funds in the annual Budget Act
or other legislation. Existing law directs that various fines and
penalties be deposited in various special funds related to the agency
that collected the revenue. Existing law creates the General Fund to
consist of money received into the State Treasury that is not
required by law to be credited to any other fund.
   This bill would require, notwithstanding any other law, that any
fine or penalty imposed by the Department of Toxic Substances
Control, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the
Department of Industrial Relations, the State Air Resources Board, or
the State Water Resources Control Board for a violation of a
regulation adopted by that state agency be deposited into the General
Fund. The bill would also make a statement of findings.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The agencies, boards, departments, and offices of
the state generally strive to promulgate regulations that benefit the
people of the state.
   (b) The people of the state expect that their government will
enact laws and promulgate regulations to protect the health and
welfare of the people of this state and that these laws and
regulations will tend to maximize benefits to society while
minimizing costs.
   (c) Administrative and regulatory actions can have significant and
far-reaching consequences for individuals, nonprofit organizations,
and businesses throughout the state.
   (d) When the law allows the same agency responsible for seeking
out violations and imposing fines to directly benefit by placing fine
moneys in its operating budget, it provides an incentive for the
agency to act in a manner that raises a question as to the motivation
for enforcement of regulations.
   (e) It is the exclusive province of the Legislature to determine
the budget of state agencies, and, especially in times of economic
despair, an agency should not be permitted to fill a budget shortfall
by increasing collection of fines through regulatory activity.
   (f) The primary object of enforcement of regulations promulgated
by agencies is for the protection of the people of this state, and
any fines collected from enforcement of these regulations should
revert to the General Fund so the Legislature may determine how those
moneys will best serve the people of this state.
  SEC. 2.  Section 13332.18 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   13332.18.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and
except as specified in subdivision (b) and in Section 13332.185
 , revenues derived from the assessment of fines and penalties
by any state agency shall not be expended unless the Legislature
specifically provides authority for the expenditure of these funds in
the annual Budget Act or other legislation. A fine or penalty is a
charge imposed by an agency or department for wrongdoing, in excess
of the cost of investigating, processing, or prosecuting the conduct
for which the charge is assessed, or the cost of collecting it. A
charge reasonably related to a service provided by a department or
agency is not a fine or penalty for purposes of this section.
   (b) This section shall not apply to the following:
   (1) Any governmental cost fund if the use of revenues subject to
this section that are deposited in that fund for General Fund
purposes is prohibited by the California Constitution or the United
States Constitution.
   (2) Late charges collected by state agencies.
   (3) Funds collected by a state agency that are required to be
maintained by that agency for purposes of administration of a federal
program.
   (4) A fund established for restitution to victims of the conduct
for which the fine or penalty was imposed or for repairing damage to
the environment caused by the conduct for which the fine or penalty
was imposed.
   (5) The following funds, though the omission of any other fund
from the list contained in this paragraph shall not be grounds for
inferring the applicability of this section:
   (A) The Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
   (B) The Restitution Fund.
   (C) The Peace Officers' Training Fund.
   (D) The Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund.
   (E) The Corrections Training Fund.
   (F) The Local Public Prosecutors and Public Defenders Training
Fund.
   (G) The Victim-Witness Injury Fund.
   (H) The Traumatic Brain Injury Fund.
   (I) The Industrial Relations Construction Industry Enforcement
Fund.
   (J) The Workplace Health and Safety Revolving Fund.
   (K) The Oil Spill Response Trust Fund.
   (L) The Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund.
   (M) The Environmental Enhancement Fund.
   (N) The Recovery Account of the Real Estate Fund.
   (O) The Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund.
   (P) The State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund.
   (Q) The Motor Vehicle License Fee Account in the Transportation
Tax Fund.
   (R) Funds for programs established pursuant to the Food and
Agricultural Code that can be terminated through an industry
referendum vote.
   (c) For the purposes of this section, revenues derived from the
assessment of fines and penalties includes interest accrued from the
assessment of the fines and penalties.
  SEC. 3.  Section 13332.185 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
   13332.185.  (a) The applicability of this section is limited to
the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Division of
Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial
Relations, the State Air Resources Board, and the State Water
Resources Control Board.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 13332.18 or any other law, a fine or
penalty imposed by a state agency included in subdivision (a) for a
violation of a regulation adopted by that state agency shall be
deposited into the General Fund.