BILL NUMBER: AB 233 CHAPTERED 05/05/00 CHAPTER 15 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 5, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR MAY 5, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE APRIL 13, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 4, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 12, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 3, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dickerson (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aanestad, House, and Maddox) (Coauthor: Senator Johannessen) JANUARY 28, 1999 An act to amend Section 68085 of the Government Code, relating to trial court funding. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 233, Dickerson. Trial court funding. Existing law requires the Judicial Council, in consultation with the California State Association of Counties and the California County Auditors Association, to study and make recommendations to the Legislature on alternative procedures that would improve the collection and remittance of revenues to the Trial Court Trust Fund not later than February 1, 1999. This bill would change that deadline to February 1, 2001, as specified. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 68085 of the Government Code is amended to read: 68085. (a) (1) There is hereby established the Trial Court Trust Fund, the proceeds of which shall be apportioned at least quarterly for the purpose of funding trial court operations, as defined in Section 77003. In no event shall apportionment payments exceed 30 percent of the total annual apportionment to the Trial Court Trust Fund for state trial court funding in any 90-day period. (2) The apportionment payments shall be made by the Controller. For fiscal year 1997-98, the Controller shall make the first apportionment payment within 10 days of the operative date of this section. The final payment from the Trial Court Trust Fund for each fiscal year shall be made on or before August 31 of the subsequent fiscal year. (3) If apportionment payments are made on a quarterly basis, the payments shall be on July 15, October 15, January 15, and April 15. In addition to quarterly payments, a final payment from the Trial Court Trust Fund for each fiscal year may be made on or before August 31 of the subsequent fiscal year. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the fees listed in subdivision (c) shall all be deposited upon collection in a special account in the county treasury, and transmitted herefrom monthly to the Controller for deposit in the Trial Court Trust Fund. (c) (1) Except as specified in subdivision (d), this section applies to all fees collected pursuant to Sections 631.3 and 116.230 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Sections 26820.4, 26823, 26826, 26826.01, 26827, 26827.4, 26830, 26832.1, 26833.1, 26835.1, 26836.1, 26837.1, 26838, 26850.1, 26851.1, 26852.1, 26853.1, 26855.4, 26862, 27081.5, 68086, 72055, 72056, 72056.01, and 72060. (2) If any of the fees provided for in this subdivision are partially waived by court order, and the fee is to be divided between the Trial Court Trust Fund and any other fund, the amount of the partial waiver shall be deducted from the amount to be distributed to each fund in the same proportion as the amount of each distribution bears to the total amount of the fee. (3) Any amounts transmitted by a county to the Controller for deposit into the Trial Court Trust Fund from fees collected pursuant to Section 27361 between January 1, 1998, and the effective date of this paragraph shall be credited against the total amount the county is required to pay to the state pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201 for the 1997-98 fiscal year. (d) This section does not apply to that portion of a filing fee collected pursuant to Section 26820.4, 26826, 26827, 72055, or 72056 which is allocated for dispute resolution pursuant to Section 470.3 of the Business and Professions Code, the county law library pursuant to Section 6320 of the Business and Professions Code, the Judges' Retirement Fund pursuant to Section 26822.3, automated recordkeeping or conversion to micrographics pursuant to Sections 26863 and 68090.7, and courthouse financing pursuant to Section 76238. This section also does not apply to fees collected pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (c) of Section 27361. (e) This section applies to all payments required to be made to the Trial Court Trust Fund by any county or city and county pursuant to Section 77201, 77201.1, or 77205. (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no agency shall take action to change the amounts allocated to any of the above funds. (g) Before making any apportionments under this section, the Controller shall deduct, from the annual appropriation for that purpose, the actual administrative costs that will be incurred under this section. Costs reimbursed under this section shall be determined on an annual basis in consultation with the Judicial Council. (h) Any amounts required to be transmitted by a county or city and county to the state pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the Controller no later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the fees were collected. This remittance shall be accompanied by a remittance advice identifying the collection month and the appropriate account in the Trial Court Trust Fund to which it is to be deposited. Any remittance which is not made by the county or city and county in accordance with this section shall be considered delinquent, and subject to the penalties specified in this section. (i) 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 11/2 percent per month for the number of days the payment is delinquent. Notwithstanding Section 77009, any penalty on a delinquent payment that a court is required to reimburse to a county's general fund pursuant to this section and Section 24353 shall be paid from the Trial Court Operations Fund for that court. (j) Penalty amounts calculated pursuant to subdivision (i) shall be paid by the county to the Trial Court Trust Fund no later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the penalty was calculated. (k) The Trial Court Trust Fund shall be invested in the Surplus Money Investment Fund and all interest earned shall be allocated to the Trial Court Trust Fund semiannually and shall be allocated among the courts in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (a). The specific allocations shall be specified by the Judicial Council, based upon recommendations from the Trial Court Budget Commission. (l) It is the intent of the Legislature that the revenues required to be deposited into the Trial Court Trust Fund be remitted as soon after collection by the courts as possible. As soon as possible, but no later than February 1, 2001, the Judicial Council, in consultation with the California State Association of Counties and the California County Auditors Association, shall study and make recommendations to the Legislature on alternative procedures that would improve the collection and remittance of revenues to the Trial Court Trust Fund.