BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1053 HEARING: 7/6/11
AUTHOR: Gordon FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 6/28/11 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Weinberger
COUNTY FEES
Increases the statutory limits on specified county fees.
Background
County boards of supervisors can levy authorized fees or
charges in amounts reasonably necessary to recover the
costs of providing products or services or the cost of
enforcing regulations. (AB 151, Hannigan, 1983). The fees
or charges may reflect the average cost of providing
products or services or enforcing regulations, plus limited
indirect costs.
Despite generally deregulating county fees 25 years ago,
state law still sets a large number of fees, including
civil fees and county recorder fees. It has been decades
since some statutory fee limits have been updated.
County officials want the Legislature to adjust the
statutory limits for some county fees.
Proposed Law
I. Death record fees . A county must collect a $3 fee from
an applicant for a certified copy of a fetal death or death
record. This $3 statutory base fee amount has not changed
since 1978 (AB 31, Lewis, 1977). The statutory base fee
can be adjusted annually by the percentage change printed
in the Budget Act for those items appropriating funds to
the Department of Public Health (AB 3064, Rosenthal, 1980).
The Department last adjusted the base fee in 1994, when it
was raised to $6. A county retains 85% of the adjusted
base fee revenues and must transmit the remaining 15% to
the State Registrar. In addition to the adjusted base fee
on a certified copy of a fetal death or death record, a
AB 1053 -- 6/28/11 -- Page 2
county must charge a $3 fee to pay for vital records
modernization and improved community health data collection
(AB 430, Cardenas, 2001). A county must charge $3 in
additional fees on certified copies of death records, with
the revenues dedicated to funding a missing persons DNA
database program and safety and security measures to
prevent the fraudulent use of vital records (SB 1818,
Speier, 2000 and SB 247, Speier, 2002). Most counties
charge applicants $9 for a certified copy of a fetal death
record and $12 for a certified copy of a death record.
Assembly Bill 1053 increases the statutory base fee for a
certified copy of a fetal death or death record from $3 to
$12, which is a net increase of $6 above the current amount
of the adjusted base fee. The bill requires the fee
increase to be applied incrementally, imposing a net fee
increase of $2 on January 1, 2012, and additional $2 fee
increases on January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2014. AB 1053
specifies that the issuing agency retains 85% of the base
fee revenues solely to support activities related to the
issuance of certified copies of vital records. AB 1053
requires, after January 1, 2014, that the new statutory
base fee must be adjusted annually by the percentage change
printed in the Budget Act for those items appropriating
funds to the Department of Public Health.
II. Birth certificate fees . A county must collect a $3
fee from a public agency or licensed private adoption
agency applicant for a certified copy of a birth
certificate. Any other applicant for a certified copy of a
birth certificate must pay a $9 fee, $6 of which is
dedicated to funding children's trust funds and a statewide
umbilical cord blood collection program (AB 2994, Imbrecht,
1982 and AB 52, Portantino, 2010). The remaining $3
statutory base fee amount has not changed since 1978 (AB
31, Lewis, 1977). The statutory base fee can be adjusted
annually by the percentage change printed in the Budget Act
for those items appropriating funds to the Department of
Public Health (AB 3064, Rosenthal, 1980). The Department
last adjusted the base fee in 1994, when it was raised to
$6. A county retains 85% of the adjusted base fee revenues
and must transmit the remaining 15% to the State Registrar.
In addition to the adjusted base fee on a certified copy
of a birth certificate, a county must charge another $4 in
fees, with the revenues dedicated to specific purposes (AB
430, Cardenas, 2001 and SB 247, Speier, 2002). Most
AB 1053 -- 6/28/11 -- Page 3
counties charge applicants other than government agencies
or adoption agencies $16 for a certified copy of a birth
certificate.
Assembly Bill 1053 increases the statutory base fee for a
certified copy of a birth certificate from $3 to $12, which
is a net increase of $6 above the current amount of the
adjusted base fee. The bill requires the fee increase to
be applied incrementally, imposing a net fee increase of $2
on January 1, 2012, and additional $2 fee increases on
January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2014. AB 1053 specifies
that the issuing agency retains 85% of the base fee
revenues solely to support activities related to the
issuance of certified copies of vital records. AB 1053
requires, after January 1, 2014, that the new statutory
base fee be adjusted annually by the percentage change
printed in the Budget Act for those items appropriating
funds to the Department of Public Health.
III. Juvenile court appointed counsel . A county board of
supervisors can impose a registration fee of up to $25 on a
parent or other person who is financially responsible for a
minor who is represented by appointed counsel in a juvenile
court proceeding, unless that person is financially unable
to pay (SB 251, Ayala, 1996). The $25 maximum has not
changed since 1996. The Legislature recently increased,
from $25 to $50, the maximum registration fee that a county
may charge an adult defendant who is represented by
appointed counsel (SB 676, Wolk, 2009). Assembly Bill 1053
increases, from $25 to $50, the maximum registration fee
for a minor who is represented by appointed counsel in
juvenile court.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . As costs rise and the demand for
services grows, the county fees that are capped by state
law no longer cover the real costs of providing services.
When fees don't generate enough money to pay for services,
counties' general funds must pay the difference. County
AB 1053 -- 6/28/11 -- Page 4
taxpayers have to subsidize the users of these county
services. Programs that depend on money from counties'
general funds, like law enforcement and libraries, suffer
the fiscal consequences. AB 1053 does not allow county
supervisors to charge new fees. It simply lets county
governments charge the people who use county services fees
that reflect the actual costs of providing those services.
2. Bad timing . In light of the economic challenges
confronting many Californians, some may question the wisdom
of increasing fees on basic documents like birth and death
records, which are often required for school enrollment,
job applications, or important financial transactions. The
Committee may wish to consider whether counties' vital
records fees are already high enough.
3. Appearance vs. reality . Despite the appearance that
counties' fees for birth and death records have kept pace
with inflation since 1978, state law dedicates nearly all
of the additional fee revenues to specific purposes other
than paying for county recorders' costs of providing
services. For example, while the total charge for most
birth certificates increased from $3 to $16, the amount of
each fee that is available to pay for a county recorder's
service costs only increased to $5.10. The $3 statutory
base fee that county recorders received in 1978 would be
worth $10.40 today. Adjusting for inflation, AB 1053 makes
county recorders' statutory base fee revenues from birth
and death records approximately the same as they were 30
years ago.
4. Making adjustments . Because the adjusted base fee for
birth and death records has not been increased since 1994,
and the statutory formula has not increased the calculated
amount since 2001, AB 1053 designates a new statute to
govern annual adjustments to birth and death record fees
after January 1, 2014. However, while current law allows
counties to round fee amounts to the next highest whole
dollar after a statutory adjustment amount is calculated,
the statute designated in AB 1053 does not provide for
rounding. AB 1053 may result in more frequent, but
smaller, base fee adjustments, requiring county recorders
to charge fees that are not in whole dollar amounts.
Instead of changing the statutory adjustment formula, the
Committee may wish to consider whether amending AB 1053 to
place the base fee revenues for county recorders'
AB 1053 -- 6/28/11 -- Page 5
operational costs in a segregated fund would better ensure
that the fee adjustments keep pace with cost increases.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Public Safety Committee: 5-1
Assembly Local Government Committee: 8-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee:12-5
Assembly Floor: 54-24
Support and Opposition (6/30/11)
Support : California State Association of Counties;
Counties of Alameda, Humboldt, Sacramento, San Mateo, Santa
Clara, Solano, Ventura, Yolo; Urban Counties Caucus.
Opposition : Unknown.