BILL NUMBER: AB 1435	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 6, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 23, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 19, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Evans

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2005

   An act to amend Sections 70312, 70325, 70375, 70403, and 76100 of
the Government Code, relating to courts.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1435, as amended, Evans.  Court facilities.
   (1) Under existing law, if responsibility for court facilities is
transferred from a county to the Judicial Council, the county is
relieved from the responsibility of providing those facilities.
Existing law also specifies that this provision does not relieve a
county of its obligation to make certain county facilities payments.

   This bill would revise an erroneous cross-reference contained in
those provisions.
   (2) Existing law establishes a State Court Facilities Construction
Fund, and specifies that the authority for certain penalties and
filing fees expires proportionally as of the date of the transfer of
responsibility for facilities from the county to the Judicial
Council, except as specified.
   This bill would instead provide that the authority for those
penalties and filing fees expires proportionally on the June 30th
following the date of transfer of responsibility.
   (3) Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of any county
to establish in the county treasury a Courthouse Construction Fund
into which penalties collected by the counties on fines for criminal
offenses are deposited for the purpose of assisting the county in the
acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, and financing of
courtrooms or of a courtroom building or buildings containing
facilities necessary or incidental to the operation of the justice
system. Existing law requires counties to make reports to the
Administrative Office of the Courts and to the Department of Finance
accounting for the receipt and expenditure of these funds, as
specified, and provides that funds used for purposes other than ones
specifically permitted must be repaid.
   This bill would authorize moneys in the Courthouse Construction
Fund to also be used for the purpose of assisting the county in the
acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, and financing of court
facilities. This bill would specify that certain of the changes it
makes are declarative of existing law and would require that these
provisions be used to make determinations regarding whether the funds
described above were used for authorized purposes. The bill would
require the Judicial Council to submit a report on county receipts
and expenditures in connection with these funds to the Legislature on
or before January 1, of each year.
   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.  Section 70312 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   70312.
   If responsibility for court facilities is transferred from the
county to the Judicial Council pursuant to this chapter, the county
is relieved of any responsibility under Section 70311 for providing
those facilities. The county is also relieved of any responsibility
for deferred or ongoing maintenance for the facility transferred,
except for the county facilities payment required by Section 70353.
Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, or by the agreement
between the Judicial Council and the county under this chapter, the
Judicial Council shall have ongoing responsibility for providing
trial court facilities. If responsibility for all court facilities
within a county has been transferred pursuant to this chapter, that
county shall have no responsibility for providing court facilities.
This section does not relieve a county of its obligation under
Article 5 (commencing with Section 70351) or its obligations under
any agreement entered into pursuant to this chapter.
  SEC. 2.  Section 70325 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   70325.
   (a) (1) If title to a building proposed to be transferred pursuant
to this chapter is subject to a bonded indebtedness, the county
shall retain the revenue sources used to pay the bonded indebtedness
in which case the county shall be required to continue to make the
payments on the bonded indebtedness.
   (2) As an alternative to paragraph (1), the county and the state
may agree that the county shall transfer the revenue sources to the
state, in which case, the state shall be required to make the
payments on the bonded indebtedness in the amount of the revenue
received. If the amount payable on the bonded indebtedness exceeds
the amount of the revenue transferred to the state, the county shall
be responsible for paying the remaining amount. If a revenue source
is used to pay the bonded indebtedness on several buildings and not
all of those buildings are being transferred to the state, the county
shall transfer the proportion of the revenue used to pay the bonded
indebtedness on the buildings transferred to the state. Except for
revenue sources subject to Section 70375, any revenue source
transferred by the county to the state under this paragraph shall be
transferred back to the county by the state when the bonded
indebtedness on the building is retired.
   (b) Except in the case of a shared use building or historical
building whose title is not being transferred from the county, the
agreement concerning transfer of responsibility for court facilities
contained in a building subject to bonded indebtedness shall specify
when title to the building will transfer, which shall not be later
than the date of final payment of the bonded indebtedness on the
building. A county shall not extend the term of the final maturity
date of, or increase the amount of, any bonded indebtedness on a
building containing court facilities whose responsibility has been
transferred to the state without the consent of the Administrative
Director of the Courts. For the purposes of this subdivision, the
amount of the bonded indebtedness shall not be deemed to be increased
if the amount is refunded for an amount not greater than the
original principal amount of the indebtedness plus any costs relating
to the refunding of the bonded indebtedness.
   (c) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this chapter,
during the period and to the extent which bonded indebtedness is
outstanding with respect to any court facility, the state shall not
have any equity or other ownership rights in, to, or with respect to,
the court facility. A county may not sell, assign, or transfer any
rights or interests in that facility, or otherwise further encumber
the facility, other than those rights, interests, or encumbrances
required by legal documents establishing the bonded indebtedness. If,
during the period of bonded indebtedness outstanding with respect to
a court facility, the state is required to vacate the facility
through the operation or enforcement of the legal documents
establishing the bonded indebtedness, the county shall be responsible
for providing the state with suitable and necessary court facilities
at least equal to those occupied by the state immediately prior to
the date on which the state was compelled to vacate the facility.
  SEC. 3.  Section 70375 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   70375.
   (a) This article shall take effect on January 1, 2003, and the
fund, penalty, and fee assessment established by this article shall
become operative on January 1, 2003, except as otherwise provided in
this article.
   (b) In each county, the amount authorized by Section 70372 shall
be reduced by the following:
   (1) The amount collected for deposit into the local courthouse
construction fund established pursuant to Section 76100.
   (2) The amount collected for transmission to the state for
inclusion in the Transitional State Court Facilities Construction
Fund established pursuant to Section 70401 to the extent it is funded
by money from the local courthouse construction fund.
   (c) The amount authorized by Section 70373 shall be reduced by the
following in the following counties:
   (1) In the County of Riverside, the amount collected pursuant to
Section 26826.1 of the Government Code for transmission to the state
for inclusion in the Transitional State Court Facilities Construction
Fund established pursuant to Section 70401.
   (2) In the County of San Bernardino, the amount collected pursuant
to Section 76236 of the Government Code for transmission to the
state for inclusion in the Transitional State Court Facilities
Construction Fund established pursuant to Section 70401.
   (3) In the City and County of San Francisco, the amount collected
pursuant to Section 76238 of the Government Code for transmission to
the state for inclusion in the Transitional State Court Facilities
Construction Fund established pursuant to Section 70401.
   (d) The authority for all of the following shall expire
proportionally on the June 30th following the date of transfer of
responsibility for facilities from the county to the Judicial
Council, except so long as money is needed to pay for construction
provided for in those sections and undertaken prior to the transfer
of responsibility for facilities from the county to the Judicial
Council:
   (1) An additional penalty for a local courthouse construction fund
established pursuant to Section 76100.
   (2) A filing fee surcharge in the County of Riverside established
pursuant to Section 26826.1.
   (3) A filing fee surcharge in the County of San Bernardino
established pursuant to Section 76236.
   (4) A filing fee surcharge in the City and County of San Francisco
established pursuant to Section 76238.
   (e) For purposes of subdivision (d), the term "proportionally"
means that proportion of the fee or surcharge that shall expire upon
the transfer of responsibility for a facility that is the same
proportion as the square footage that facility bears to the total
square footage of court facilities in that county.
  SEC. 4.  Section 70403 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   70403.
   (a) Each county shall submit a report to the Administrative
Director of the Courts and the Director of Finance accounting for all
receipts and expenditures from the local courthouse construction
fund established pursuant to Section 76100 for the period from
January 1, 1998, to the date of transfer of the fund pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 70402 or December 31, 2005, whichever is
earlier.
   (b) If the county retains the fund under subdivision (a) of
Section 70325 for payment on existing bonded indebtedness of a
courthouse facility, the county shall submit annual updates on all
receipts and expenditures from the local courthouse construction
fund, within 90 days of the end of each fiscal year, to the
Administrative Director of the Courts and the Director of Finance.
   (c) Any expenditures made from the fund for a purpose other than
those specified in Section 76100 must be repaid to the state for
deposit in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund pursuant to
Section 70402. Either the Administrative Director of the Courts or
the Director of the Department of Finance may provide the county with
notice that an expenditure made from the fund was for a purpose
other than as specified in Section 76100. If the county disagrees
with the determination, it may appeal the determination to the Court
Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee pursuant to Section 70303.
   (d) On or before January 1, 2007, and on or before each January 1,
thereafter, the Judicial Council shall submit a report to the budget
and fiscal committees of the Legislature based on the information
received from counties pursuant to this section  , including any
amounts required to be repaid by counties  .
  SEC. 5.  Section 76100 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   76100.
   (a) Except as provided in Article 3 (commencing with Section
76200), for the purpose of assisting any county in the acquisition,
rehabilitation, construction, and financing of courtrooms, a
courtroom building or buildings containing facilities necessary or
incidental to the operation of the justice system, or court
facilities, the board of supervisors may establish in the county
treasury a Courthouse Construction Fund into which shall be deposited
the amounts specified in the resolutions adopted by the board of
supervisors in accordance with this chapter. The moneys of the
Courthouse Construction Fund shall be payable only for the purposes
set forth in this subdivision and in subdivision (b) and at the time
necessary therefor, subject to the requirements set forth in Chapter
5.7 (commencing with Section 70301).
   (b) In conjunction with the acquisition, rehabilitation,
construction, or financing of court buildings referred to in
subdivision (a), the county may use the moneys of the Courthouse
Construction Fund for either of the following:
   (1) To rehabilitate existing courtrooms, an existing courtroom
building or buildings, or court facilities, for other uses if a new
courtroom, a courtroom building or buildings, or court facilities are
acquired, constructed, or financed.
   (2) To acquire, rehabilitate, construct, or finance excess
courtrooms, an excess courtroom building or buildings, or excess
court facilities, if that excess is anticipated to be needed at a
later time.
   (c) Any excess courtroom, excess courtroom building or buildings,
or excess court facilities, that are acquired, rehabilitated,
constructed, or financed pursuant to subdivision (b) may be leased or
rented for uses other than the operation of the justice system until
the excess courtrooms, excess courtroom building or buildings, or
excess court facilities, are needed for the operation of the justice
system. Any amount received as lease or rental payments pursuant to
this subdivision shall be deposited in the Courthouse Construction
Fund.
   (d) The fund moneys shall be held by the county treasurer separate
from any funds subject to transfer or division pursuant to Section
1463 of the Penal Code.
   (e) The amendments made to subdivision (a) by the act adding this
subdivision are declarative of existing law and shall be used for
determinations made pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 70403.