BILL NUMBER: AB 2613 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Beall
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 53069.4 of the Government Code, relating
to local government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2613, as amended, Beall. Local government: fines and penalties:
assessments.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a local agency to
make any violation of any ordinance enacted by the local agency
subject to an administrative fine or penalty, as specified.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to,
after notice and public hearing, specially assess any fines or
penalties not paid after demand by the city, county, or city and
county against real property owned by the person owing those fines or
penalties where the fines or penalties are related to ordinance
violations on the real property upon which the fines or penalties
would be specially assessed, and the ordinance violations constitute
a public nuisance or threat to public health and safety . The
bill would provide that the assessment may be collected at the same
time and in the same manner as ordinary county taxes are collected,
and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and
sale in case of delinquency as are provided for ordinary county
taxes, and would authorize the city, county, or city and county to
record a lien against the property. This bill would authorize a local
agency to appoint a hearing officer to hear and decide issues
regarding ordinance violations and the imposition of administrative
fines and penalties.
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 53069.4 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
53069.4. (a) (1) The legislative body of a local agency, as the
term "local agency" is defined in Section 54951, may by ordinance
make any violation of any ordinance enacted by the local agency
subject to an administrative fine or penalty. The local agency shall
set forth by ordinance the administrative procedures that shall
govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative
review by the local agency of those administrative fines or
penalties. Where the violation would otherwise be an infraction, the
administrative fine or penalty shall not exceed the maximum fine or
penalty amounts for infractions set forth in subdivision (b) of
Section 25132 and subdivision (b) of Section 36900.
(2) (A) The administrative procedures set forth by ordinance
adopted by the local agency pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide
for a reasonable period of time, as specified in the ordinance, for a
person responsible for a continuing violation to correct or
otherwise remedy the violation prior to the imposition of
administrative fines or penalties, when the violation pertains to
building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural or zoning
issues, that do not create an immediate danger to health or safety.
(B) Pursuant to Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 27720) of Part
3 of Division 1 of Title 3, or any other applicable law,
the administrative procedures adopted by ordinance pursuant to
paragraph (1) may authorize the appointment of one or more hearing
officers to hear and decide issues regarding ordinance violations and
the imposition of administrative fines or penalties.
(C) A city, county, or city and county may, by ordinance, combine
the administrative procedures adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) with
nuisance abatement procedures adopted by ordinance pursuant to
Section 25845 Sections 25845, 38773.1, and
38773.5 .
(3) (A) If the owner of real property fails to pay fines or
penalties upon demand by a city, county, or city and county, the
city, county, or city and county may, after notice and public
hearing, order the fines or penalties to be specially assessed
against the parcel if the fines or penalties are related to ordinance
violations on the real property upon which the fines or penalties
would be specially assessed and the ordinance violations
constitute a public nuisance or threat to public health and safety
. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the
same manner as ordinary county taxes are collected, and shall be
subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case
of delinquency as are provided for ordinary county taxes. All laws
applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of county taxes
are applicable to the special assessment. The assessment does
not constitute an assessment lien pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with
Section 53930) of Division 2. The assessment does not
constitute a lien on real property until a notice of lien is recorded
pursuant to this section.
(B) If a city, county, or city and county specially assesses the
cost of the administrative fines or penalties against the parcel, the
city, county, or city and county also may cause a notice of
abatement lien to be recorded to perfect the lien. The notice shall,
at a minimum, identify the assessor's parcel number and record owner,
set forth the last known address of the record owner, set forth the
date upon which assessment was ordered by the city, county, or city
and county, and the amount of the lien.
(C) Recordation of a notice of lien pursuant to subparagraph (B)
has the same effect as recordation of an abstract of a money judgment
recorded pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 697.310) of
Chapter 2 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil
Procedure. The lien created against the parcel has the same force,
effect, and priority as a judgment lien on real property. Upon order
of the city, county, or city and county, or any officer authorized by
the city, county, or city and county to act on its behalf, a lien
created under this section may be released or subordinated in the
same manner as a judgment lien on real property may be released or
subordinated.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1094.5 or 1094.6
of the Code of Civil Procedure, within 20 days after service of the
final administrative order or decision of the local agency is made
pursuant to an ordinance enacted in accordance with this section
regarding the imposition, enforcement, or collection of the
administrative fines or penalties, a person contesting that final
administrative order or decision may seek review by filing an appeal
to be heard by the superior court, where the same shall be heard de
novo, except that the contents of the local agency's file in the case
shall be received in evidence. A proceeding under this subdivision
is a limited civil case. A copy of the document or instrument of the
local agency providing notice of the violation and imposition of the
administrative fine or penalty shall be admitted into evidence as
prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. A copy of the
notice of appeal shall be served in person or by first-class mail
upon the local agency by the contestant.
(2) The fee for filing the notice of appeal shall be as specified
in Section 70615. The court shall request that the local agency's
file on the case be forwarded to the court, to be received within 15
days of the request. The court shall retain the fee specified in
Section 70615 regardless of the outcome of the appeal. If the court
finds in favor of the contestant, the amount of the fee shall be
reimbursed to the contestant by the local agency. Any deposit of the
fine or penalty shall be refunded by the local agency in accordance
with the judgment of the court.
(3) The conduct of the appeal under this section is a subordinate
judicial duty that may be performed by traffic trial commissioners
and other subordinate judicial officials at the direction of the
presiding judge of the court.
(c) If no notice of appeal of the local agency's final
administrative order or decision is filed within the period set forth
in this section, the order or decision shall be deemed confirmed.
(d) If the fine or penalty has not been deposited and the decision
of the court is against the contestant, the local agency may proceed
to collect the penalty pursuant to the procedures set forth in its
ordinance.