BILL ANALYSIS
SB 676
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 676 (Wolk)
As Amended September 4, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-15
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 5-2 PUBLIC SAFETY 5-0
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|Ayes:|Caballero, Arambula, |Ayes:|Arambula, Ammiano, |
| |Davis, Krekorian, Skinner | |Furutani, Hill, Ma |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Duvall | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Increases or eliminates the statutory limits on 11
fees. Specifically, this bill :
1)Federal lien certificates . Existing law allows county
recorders to impose fees of up to $15 to cover the costs of
furnishing a copy of any notice of federal lien, or notice or
certificate affecting a federal lien. The $15 maximum has not
changed since 1983. This bill deletes the $15 limit, allowing
county recorders to set the fee in an amount that covers
actual costs.
2)Recorded documents . Existing law allows county recorders to
charge a filing fee for recording and indexing every
instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to
be recorded. The maximum charge is $4 for the recording of
the first page and $3 for each additional page, with the
ability to charge additional fees as specified. The $4
maximum has not changed since 1985. This bill increases the
maximum charge for the recording of the first page of a
document from $4 to $10.
3)Court-appointed counsel . Existing law allows a county board
of supervisors to assess a registration fee of up to $25 on
every defendant represented by appointed counsel. No fee is
required of any defendant who is financially unable to pay.
The $25 maximum has not changed since 1997. This bill
increases the maximum amount of the fee from $25 to $50.
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4)Restitution . If a court orders restitution be made to a crime
victim, a county board of supervisors may add a fee to cover
the actual administrative cost of collecting restitution not
to exceed 10% of the total amount ordered to be paid. The
fees are paid into the county general fund. The 10% maximum
has not changed since 1986. This bill increases the maximum
fee to cover the costs of collecting restitution from 10% to
15% of the total amount ordered to be paid. This bill also
authorizes a court to add a fee to cover the actual
administrative costs of collecting restitution not to exceed
15% of the total amount ordered with the fees paid into the
Trial Court Operations Fund or an account established for the
use and benefit of the court pursuant to state law
5)County probation department payments . Existing law requires
some defendants to pay for the reasonable cost of any
probation supervision or a conditional sentence, of conducting
any pre-plea investigation and preparing of any pre-plea
report, of conducting any pre-sentence investigation and
preparing any pre-sentence report, and of processing a
jurisdictional transfer or of processing a request for
interstate compact supervision. A county board of supervisors
may establish a fee of up to $50 to cover the administrative
and clerical costs of collecting the defendants' payments.
The $50 maximum has not changed since 1996. This bill
increases the $50 maximum to $75.
6)Change of plea, setting aside of a verdict . Under existing
law, a person who petitions for a change of plea or setting
aside of a verdict may be required to reimburse the court, the
county, and the city for the actual costs of services
rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and the
records are sealed or expunged. The court, the county board
of supervisors, and the city may determine a rate of up to
$120 to reimburse the actual costs. The $120 maximum has not
been changed since 1995. This bill increases the $120 maximum
to $150.
7)Sealing of records . Under existing law, a person who was
convicted of a misdemeanor when he or she was a minor at the
time of the offense and who petitions for an order sealing his
or her record may be required to reimburse the court, the
county, and the city for the actual costs of services rendered
whether or not the petition is granted and the records are
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sealed or expunged. The court, the county board of
supervisors, and the city may determine a rate of up to $120
to reimburse the actual costs. The $120 maximum has not
changed since 1995. This bill increases the $120 maximum to
$150.
8)Installment payments . Under existing law, a person who is
convicted of a misdemeanor and required to pay a fine may pay
the fine in specified installments. A board of supervisors
may require defendants to pay to the clerk of the court or the
collecting agency a fee of up to $35 to pay for the
administrative and clerical costs of processing installment
accounts. The $35 maximum has not changed since 1993. This
bill deletes the $35 maximum, allowing a board of supervisors,
or a court, depending on which entity administers the account,
to require a fee sufficient to pay for the administrative and
clerical costs of processing installment accounts.
Under existing law, a person who is convicted of a misdemeanor
and required to pay a fine may pay the fine in a lump sum. A
board of supervisors may require defendants to pay to the
clerk of the court or the collecting agency a fee of up to $30
for the processing of accounts that are not paid in
installments. This bill authorizes a county board of
supervisors or a court, depending on which entity administers
the account, to assess a fee equal to the administrative and
clerical costs, not to exceed $30, associated with processing
the non-installment-payments account for a person who is
convicted of a misdemeanor and is required to pay a fine.
9)Fingerprinting . Existing law allows a local agency taking
fingerprints of a person who is an applicant for licensing,
employment, or certification to charge up to $10 to cover the
cost of taking the fingerprints and processing the required
documents. The $10 maximum has not changed since 1987. This
bill deletes the $10 maximum, allowing local agencies to
charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of taking the
fingerprints and processing the required documents.
10)Support of a minor . Existing law requires that the father,
mother, spouse, or other person liable for the support of a
minor be liable for the reasonable costs of support of the
minor while the minor is placed, detained in, or committed to
any institution because of delinquency or truancy. Costs of
support mean only actual costs incurred by the county for food
SB 676
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and food preparation, clothing, personal supplies, and medical
expenses, not to exceed a combined maximum of costs of $15 per
day except that the maximum cost of $15 per day must be
adjusted every third year beginning January 1, 1998, to
reflect the percentage change in the calendar year annual
average of the California Consumer Price Index, All Urban
Consumers, published by the Department of Industrial
Relations, for the three-year period. The $15 maximum has not
changed since 1985. This bill increases the maximum cost from
$15 per day to $30 per day adjusted every third year beginning
January 1, 2012.
11)Sealing of juvenile records . Existing law allows counties
and courts to require specified people to reimburse them up to
$120 for the costs of services rendered for any investigation
related to the sealing and for the sealing of any juvenile
court or arrest records whether or not the petition is granted
and the records are sealed or expunged. The $120 maximum has
not changed since 1995. This bill increases the $120 maximum
to $150.
12)Deletes statutory cross-references to statutes in which the
bill proposes to delete limits on fees, thereby allowing the
fees to be set pursuant to the general authorization for
counties to recover the cost of providing any product or
service or the cost of enforcing any regulation for which a
fee or charge is levied.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : County boards of supervisors can levy authorized fees
or charges in amounts reasonably necessary to recover the costs
of providing products or services or the cost of enforcing
regulations. The fees or charges may reflect the average cost
of providing products or services or enforcing regulations plus
limited indirect costs.
Despite generally deregulating county fees 25 years ago, state
law still sets a large number of fees, including civil fees,
county recorder fees, and fees charged by agricultural
commissioners. It has been decades since some of the statutory
limits for these fees have been updated.
According to the author, as costs rise and the demand for
services grows, the county fees that are capped by state law no
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longer cover the real costs of providing the service. When fees
do not generate enough money to pay for services, counties'
general funds must pay the difference. County taxpayers have to
subsidize the users of these county services. Programs that
depend on money from counties' general funds, such as law
enforcement and libraries, suffer the fiscal consequences. The
author points out that this bill does not allow county
supervisors to charge new fees, but rather allows county
governments to charge the people who use county services fees an
amount that reflects the actual costs of providing those
services.
The fees that this bill adjusts are only a small portion of the
county fees that state law continues to limit. For example, the
Legislature has excluded court-related fees, fees charged by a
county agricultural commissioner, fees collected by a county
sealer of weights and measures, and fees charged by a county
recorder from the deregulation enacted in 1983. These
exemptions guarantee county taxpayers subsidize the operations
of these select government entities. Why should applicants for
public employment pay the full cost for conducting fingerprint
background checks while taxpayers subsidize the cost of getting
grocery store scales tested and inspected? The Legislature may
wish to consider whether the Legislature should completely
deregulate county fees by repealing all of the specific
statutory rates.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer R. Klein / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0002883