BILL NUMBER: AB 1697 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hall
FEBRUARY 1, 2010
An act to amend Sections 69922 and 69926 of the Government Code,
and to amend Section 1465.8 of the Penal Code, relating to courts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1697, as introduced, Hall. Court security.
(1) The Superior Court Law Enforcement Act of 2002 authorizes the
presiding judge of each superior court to contract with the sheriff
or marshal for the necessary level of law enforcement services in the
courts. The act requires a sheriff to attend all superior court held
within his or her county whenever required, but authorizes the court
to use court attendants in courtrooms hearing noncriminal,
nondelinquency actions. The act requires the superior court and the
sheriff or marshal to enter into a memorandum of understanding
specifying the agreed upon level of court security services, and
their cost and terms of payment. The act provides that the cost of
services specified in the memorandum of understanding shall be based
on the estimated average cost of salary and benefits for equivalent
personnel classifications in that county, not including overtime pay.
The act provides for a working group on court security, as
specified.
This bill would provide that any person providing superior court
law enforcement functions, as defined, shall be in the employ and
under the direction of the county sheriff. The bill would provide
that the cost of services specified in the memorandum of
understanding shall be based on the actual county-by-county
allocation for an unspecified fiscal year, as determined by the
working group on court security established pursuant to the act.
(2) Existing law imposes a fee of $30 upon every conviction for a
criminal offense, other than parking offenses, for funding of court
security until July 1, 2011, and a court security fee of $20
thereafter. Existing law provides that proceeds of the court security
fee be transferred monthly from the counties for deposit in the
Trial Court Trust Fund to fund trial court operations, including
those marshals and sheriffs as the court deems necessary for court
operations.
This bill would continue the increased court security fee until
July 1, 2016, and would require the Administrative Office of the
Courts, commencing July 1, 2010, and on each July 1 thereafter, to
adjust the court security fee, as specified. The bill would require
the Administrative Office of the Courts to publish the current dollar
amount of the court security fee on its Internet Web site. The bill
would require proceeds of the court security fee to be deposited in a
separate account of the Trial Court Trust Fund for the sole purpose
of funding sheriffs and marshals for superior court security.
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. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Section 69926 of the Government Code provides that court
security for superior courts shall be provided by the county sheriff
or marshal.
(b) Court security services are provided by sheriffs and marshals
for a number of public safety reasons, including their extensive
peace officer training, jurisdiction over the inmates in local jails,
including the transport of inmates to and from the jail to court
proceedings, and sheriff's and marshal's personnel in the courts
serving as bailiffs. Sheriffs and marshals have the longstanding
proven expertise and training to provide this much needed and
necessary function in California.
(c) The sheriffs and marshals of the State of California are
committed to continuing to provide the highest level service and
security in California's courtrooms.
(d) Instability in court security funding and a cumbersome funding
mechanism create burdens on the state, on local courts, and on
county sheriffs and marshals. State funding continues to be impacted
by salary and retirement adjustments at the local level without any
real state input into growth in those areas. County sheriffs and
marshals and local courts struggle with continual lack of certainty
in funding and complications from the manner in which court security
funding is administered and confusion in the application of existing
law.
(e) The provision of court security services is not broken. The
cumbersome process by which court security is funded needs to be
simplified to create maximum efficiencies for court security services
and cost containment for the state.
SEC. 2. Section 69922 of the Government Code is amended to read:
69922. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
law, whenever required, the sheriff shall attend all superior court
held within his or her county. A sheriff shall attend a noncriminal,
nondelinquency action, however, only if the presiding judge or his or
her designee makes a determination that the attendance of the
sheriff at that action is necessary for reasons of public safety.
The
(b) The court may use court
attendants in courtrooms hearing those noncriminal, nondelinquency
actions. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the presiding judge or his or her designee may provide that a
court attendant take charge of a jury, as provided in Sections 613
and 614 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The
(c) Any person providing superior court law enforcement functions,
as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 69921, shall be in the
employ and under the direction of the county sheriff.
(d) The sheriff shall obey all
lawful orders and directions of all courts held within his or her
county.
SEC. 3. Section 69926 of the Government Code is amended to read:
69926. (a) This section applies to the superior court and the
sheriff or marshal's department in those counties in which either of
the following apply:
(1) The sheriff's department was otherwise required by law to
provide court security services on and after July 1, 1998.
(2) Court security was provided by the marshal's office on and
after July 1, 1998, the marshal's office was subsequently abolished
and succeeded by the sheriff's department, and the successor sheriff'
s department is required to provide court security services as
successor to the marshal.
(b) The superior court and the sheriff or marshal shall enter into
an annual or multiyear memorandum of understanding specifying the
agreed upon level of court security services, cost of services, and
terms of payment. The cost of services specified in the memorandum of
understanding shall be based on the estimated average cost
of salary and benefits for equivalent personnel classifications in
that county, not including overtime pay. In calculating the average
cost of benefits, only those benefits listed in paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a) of Section 69927 shall be included. For purposes of
this article, "benefits" excludes any item not expressly listed in
this subdivision, including, but not limited to, any costs associated
with retiree health benefits. As used in this subdivision, retiree
health benefits includes, but is not limited to, the current cost of
health benefits for already retired personnel and any amount to cover
the costs of future retiree health benefits for either currently
employed or already retired personnel actual
county-by-county allocation for the ____ fiscal year, as determined
by the working group established pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 69927 .
(c) The sheriff or marshal shall provide information as identified
in the contract law enforcement template by April 30 of each year to
the superior court in that county, specifying the nature, extent,
and basis of the costs, including negotiated or projected salary
increases of court law enforcement services that the sheriff proposes
to include in the budget of the court security program for the
following state budget year. Actual court security allocations shall
be subject to the approval of the Judicial Council and the funding
provided by the Legislature. It is the intent of the Legislature that
proposed court security expenditures submitted by the Judicial
Council to the Department of Finance for inclusion in the Governor's
Budget shall be as defined in the contract law enforcement template.
(d) If the superior court and the sheriff or marshal are unwilling
or unable to enter into an agreement pursuant to this section on or
before August 1 of any fiscal year, the court or sheriff or marshal
may request the continuation of negotiations between the superior
court and the sheriff or marshal for a period of 45 days with
mediation assistance, during which time the previous law enforcement
services agreement shall remain in effect. Mutually agreed upon
mediation assistance shall be determined by the Administrative
Director of the Courts and the president of the California State
Sheriffs' Association.
SEC. 4. Section 1465.8 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section 29
of Chapter 22 of the 4th Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of
2009, is amended to read:
1465.8. (a) (1) To ensure and maintain adequate funding for court
security, a fee of thirty dollars ($30) shall be imposed on every
conviction for a criminal offense, including a traffic offense,
except parking offenses as defined in subdivision (i) of Section
1463, involving a violation of a section of the Vehicle Code or any
local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code. Commencing
July 1, 2010, and on each July 1 thereafter, the Administrative
Office of the Courts shall adjust the court security fee based on the
change in the annual California Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers, published by the Department of Industrial Relations,
Division of Labor Statistics, for the mos t
recent fiscal year ending on June 30 preceding the adjustment, with
each adjusted amount rounded to the nearest dollar. The
Administrative Office of the Courts shall publish the current dollar
amount of the court security fee on its
Internet Web site.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "conviction" includes the
dismissal of a traffic violation on the condition that the defendant
attend a court-ordered traffic violator school, as authorized by
Sections 41501 and 42005 of the Vehicle Code. This security fee shall
be deposited in accordance with subdivision (d), and may not be
included with the fee calculated and distributed pursuant to Section
42007 of the Vehicle Code.
(b) This fee shall be in addition to the state penalty assessed
pursuant to Section 1464 and may not be included in the base fine to
calculate the state penalty assessment as specified in subdivision
(a) of Section 1464. The penalties authorized by Chapter 12
(commencing with Section 76000) of Title 8 of the Government Code,
and the state surcharge authorized by Section 1465.7, do not apply to
this fee.
(c) When If bail is deposited for an
offense to which this section applies, and for which a court
appearance is not necessary, the person making the deposit also
shall also deposit a sufficient amount to
include the fee prescribed by this section.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the fees collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall all be
deposited in a special account in the county treasury and transmitted
therefrom monthly to the Controller for deposit in a separate
account of the Trial Court Trust Fund for the sole purpose
of funding sheriffs and marshals for superior court security .
(e) The Judicial Council shall provide for the administration of
this section.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1,
2011 2016 , and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before July
1, 2011 2016 , deletes or extends that
date.
SEC. 5. Section 1465.8 of the Penal Code, as added by Section 30
of Chapter 22 of the 4th Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of
2009, is amended to read:
1465.8. (a) (1) To ensure and maintain adequate funding for court
security, a fee of twenty dollars ($20) shall be imposed on every
conviction for a criminal offense, including a traffic offense,
except parking offenses as defined in subdivision (i) of Section
1463, involving a violation of a section of the Vehicle Code or any
local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "conviction" includes the
dismissal of a traffic violation on the condition that the defendant
attend a court-ordered traffic violator school, as authorized by
Sections 41501 and 42005 of the Vehicle Code. This security fee shall
be deposited in accordance with subdivision (d), and may not be
included with the fee calculated and distributed pursuant to Section
42007 of the Vehicle Code.
(b) This fee shall be in addition to the state penalty assessed
pursuant to Section 1464 and may not be included in the base fine to
calculate the state penalty assessment as specified in subdivision
(a) of Section 1464. The penalties authorized by Chapter 12
(commencing with Section 76000) of Title 8 of the Government Code,
and the state surcharge authorized by Section 1465.7, do not apply to
this fee.
(c) When If bail is deposited for an
offense to which this section applies, and for which a court
appearance is not necessary, the person making the deposit also
shall also deposit a sufficient amount to
include the fee prescribed by this section.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the fees collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall all be
deposited in a special account in the county treasury and transmitted
therefrom monthly to the Controller for deposit in a separate
account of the Trial Court Trust Fund for the sole purpose
of funding sheriffs and marshals for superior court security .
(e) The Judicial Council shall provide for the administration of
this section.
(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2011
2016 .