BILL NUMBER: AB 619 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Garcia
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to amend Section 70377 of the Government Code, relating to
court facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 619, as introduced, Garcia. Court facilities.
Existing law establishes the State Court Facilities Construction
Fund for the planning, design, construction, rehabilitation,
renovation, replacement, leasing, or acquisition of state court
facilities. Existing law levies a state court construction penalty,
as specified, upon every fine, penalty, and forfeiture imposed and
collected for all criminal offenses and all parking offenses for
which a parking penalty, fine, or forfeiture is imposed. Moneys
deposited in the county treasury under those provisions must be
transmitted to the Controller for deposit in the State Court
Facilities Construction Fund. Existing law further requires that any
amounts required to be transmitted by a county to the Controller
under these provisions be remitted no later than 45 days after the
end of the month in which the penalties were collected. Any
remittance made later than this time is considered delinquent and is
subject to specified penalties. Upon receipt of a delinquent payment,
the Controller is required to calculate a penalty on the delinquent
payment by multiplying the amount of the delinquent payment at a
daily rate equivalent to 11/2% per month for the number of days the
payment is delinquent. Existing law requires the county to pay the
penalty amount calculated pursuant to these provisions to the
Controller, as specified, and requires the Controller to deposit
these moneys in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund.
This bill would require the Controller to calculate the interest
on the delinquent payment, as specified, and would revise the formula
for calculating the penalty. The bill would also require a county,
city and county, or court to pay the interest or penalty amounts
calculated under these provisions, as specified, to the State Court
Facilities Construction Fund. The bill would authorize the Controller
to permit a county, city and county, or court to pay the interest or
penalty amounts under a payment schedule if the interest or penalty
amount causes a hardship to that entity. Further, the bill would
require that payment be made by the entity responsible for the error
or other action that caused the failure to pay, as determined by the
Controller in a notice given to that party by the Controller, and
would define that entity as including a party that collects the funds
but is not responsible for remitting them to the state if that party
failed to provide or delayed providing the remitting party with
information necessary for remitting the funds. The bill also provides
that these changes apply to all delinquent payments for which the
Controller has not issued a final audit before January 1, 2014.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 70377 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
70377. (a) Any amounts required to be transmitted by a county
or city and county, or court to the Controller
state pursuant to this article
section shall be remitted to the State
Treasurer no later than 45 days after the end of the month in
which the fees, assessments, or penalties were collected.
This remittance shall be accompanied by a remittance advice
identifying the collection month and the appropriate account in the
State Court Facilities Construction Fund or the Immediate and
Critical Needs Account of the State Court Facilities Construction
Fund to which it is to be deposited. Any remittance made later
than this time shall be considered delinquent and subject to the
interest and penalties specified in this section.
(b) Upon receipt of any delinquent payment required pursuant to
this section, the Controller shall calculate a penalty on
any delinquent payment by multiplying the amount of the delinquent
payment at a daily rate equivalent to 1 1/2
percent per month for the number of days the
payment is delinquent. do the following:
(1) Calculate the interest on the delinquent payment by
multiplying the amount of the delinquent payment at a daily rate
equivalent to the rate of return on money deposited in the Local
Agency Investment Fund pursuant to Section 16429.1 from the date the
payment was originally due to either 30 days after the date of the
issuance by the Controller of the final audit report concerning the
failure to pay or the date of payment by the entity responsible for
the delinquent payment, whichever comes first. In calculating the
interest under this paragraph, the Controller shall apply the average
monthly Local Agency Investment Fund rate over the period of
delinquency.
(2) Calculate a penalty at a daily rate equivalent to 11/2 percent
per month from the date 30 days after the date of the issuance by
the Controller of the final audit report concerning the failure to
pay.
(c) Penalty Interest or penalty
amounts calculated pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be paid by the
county , city and county, or court to the
Controller State Court Facilities Construction Fund or
the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court
Facilities Construction Fund, whichever is appropriate, no
later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the
interest or penalty was calculated. All money received
by the Controller under this section shall be deposited in the State
Court Facilities Construction Fund. Payment shall be
made by the entity responsible for the error or other action that
caused the failure to pay, as determined by the Controller in a
notice given to that party by the Controller.
(d) If the penalty imposed by this section results from a
court's failure to comply with the requirements for timely deposit
of money with the county treasury, the court shall reimburse the
county general fund in an amount equal to the actual penalty.
Notwithstanding Section 77009, the court may pay
this any penalty or interest imposed
pursuant to this section due to an error or other action by the court
from money received from the Trial Court Trust Fund. This
section does not require an increase in a court's allocation from the
Trial Court Trust Fund.
(e) The Controller may permit a county, city and county, or court
to pay the interest or penalty amounts according to a payment
schedule in the event of a large interest or penalty amount that
causes a hardship to the paying entity.
(f) The party responsible for the error or other action that
caused the failure to pay may include, but is not limited to, the
party that collected the funds who is not the party responsible for
remitting the funds to the State Court Facilities Construction Fund
or the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court
Facilities Construction Fund, if the collecting party failed to
provide or delayed providing the remitting party with sufficient
information needed by the remitting party to distribute the funds.
(g) The changes made to this section by the act adding this
subdivision shall apply to all delinquent payments for which the
Controller has not issued a final audit before January 1, 2014.