70351-70370

GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 70351-70370




70351.  It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to provide a source of funding for the ongoing operations and
maintenance of court facilities by requiring each county to pay to
the state the amount that county historically expended for operation
and maintenance of court facilities. It is further the intent of the
Legislature that funding for the ongoing operations and maintenance
of court facilities that are in excess of the county facilities
payments be provided by the state.



70351.5.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
California State Association of Counties, the Judicial Council, and
the Director of Finance may agree to alternative methods for
calculating the county facilities payment amount to be used by any
county meeting the criteria set forth in those alternative methods.
In the absence of an agreement, the other provisions of this article
shall apply.



70352.  (a) There is hereby established the Court Facilities Trust
Fund.
   (b) Money deposited in this fund and appropriated by the
Legislature shall be administered by the Judicial Council for the
operation, repair, and maintenance of court facilities and other
purposes provided by statute. The Judicial Council may delegate the
administration of the fund to the Administrative Director of the
Courts.
   (c) The Judicial Council shall recommend to the Governor and the
Legislature each fiscal year on the proposed expenditures from the
fund and submit a report on actual expenditures after the end of each
fiscal year.


70353.  (a) Each county shall remit the county facilities payment
determined by this article to the Controller, for deposit into the
Court Facilities Trust Fund. One-quarter of each county's facilities
payment shall be remitted to the Controller quarterly on October 1,
January 1, April 1, and July 1. Any payment that is not made when
required by this subdivision shall be considered delinquent, and
subject to the penalties specified in subdivision (b).
   (b) 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 1 1/2 percent per month for the
number of days the payment is delinquent. Penalty amounts calculated
pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid by the county to the
Court Facilities Trust Fund no later than 45 days after the end of
the month in which the penalty was calculated.
   (c) The Judicial Council shall provide the Controller with a
schedule of the county facility payments at the beginning of each
fiscal year. If the amount of the county facility payment changes
pursuant to this article, the Judicial Council shall provide the
Controller with a new schedule of payments within 30 days of the
change.



70354.  The components of the county facilities payment are based on
the actual annual direct and indirect county expenditures on court
facilities. In the case of a shared use building, the amounts are
prorated for the court's usable space in the building as a percentage
of total usable space in the building. The determination of the
court's usable space and the total usable space shall be made by the
standard methodology used for determining usable space by the
Department of General Services.



70355.  (a) Except for the value computed under Section 70359, all
values listed in this article shall be adjusted from the fiscal year
of the expenditure to the month of the effective date of transfer for
inflation using, as the inflation index, the average of the
following three indices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer
Price Index, all rebased to equal 100 as of January 1996:
   (1) Building cleaning and maintenance services (Series Id PCU
7349).
   (2) Operators and lessors of nonresidential buildings (Series Id
PCU 6512).
   (3) Maintenance and repair constructions (Series Id PCU BMRP).
   (b) For purposes of this section, "rebasing" means dividing all
the values of the price index, by the value of the price index for
the period to which the values are to be rebased, and multiplying the
results by 100.



70356.  The following items shall be included in the county
facilities payment based on a five-year average of expenditures made
by the county for facility operation and maintenance. This amount
shall be computed by multiplying the value for each of the five
fiscal years from 1995-96 to 1999-2000, inclusive, by the change in
the inflation index specified in Section 70355 from January of that
fiscal year to the month of the date of transfer of responsibility
for the court facilities from the county to the state, inclusive, and
then averaging the five adjusted yearly values:
   (a) Maintenance and repair, including, but not limited to,
maintenance and repair of the building and its components, utility
systems, security equipment, and interior and exterior lighting.
   (b) Purchase, installation, modernization, and maintenance of
major building systems not of an ongoing nature, including, but not
limited to, plumbing, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and
air-conditioning), electrical, and vertical transportation.
   (c) A special repair.
   (d) Landscaping and grounds maintenance services for court
facilities.
   (e) Maintenance of parking spaces or garages dedicated to the
court or for jurors.
   (f) County facility management and administrative costs directly
or indirectly associated with trial court facilities, including, but
not limited to, management, supervision, planning, design, department
administration, payroll, finance, procurement, and program
management.


70357.  (a) The cost of utilities shall be included in the county
facilities payment by calculating the average consumption of
utilities for the fiscal years 1995-96 to 1999-2000, inclusive,
multiplying the consumption averages by the 1999-2000 rates, and
multiplying the value by the increase in the inflation index
specified in Section 70355 from January 2000, to the month of the
date of transfer of responsibility for the court facilities from the
county to the state, inclusive. The consumption rates for 1999-2000
shall be the average of the rates for each month of that fiscal year.
   (b) If the county states in its county facilities payment
calculation under Section 70363 that either utility consumption
amounts or rates are not reasonably available for any court facility
for any or all of the 1995-96 to 1999-2000, inclusive, fiscal years
after a good faith effort to obtain those consumption amounts or
rates, then the cost of utilities for that facility shall be included
in the county facilities payment by calculating the five-year
average of the utility costs incurred in connection with the
operation of the building for the 1995-96 to 1999-2000, inclusive,
fiscal years. This amount shall be calculated by multiplying the
yearly utility costs for each court facility for each of the five
fiscal years from 1995-96 to 1999-2000, inclusive, by the change in
the inflation index specified in Section 70355 from January of that
fiscal year to the month of the date of transfer of responsibility
for the court facility from the county to the state, inclusive, and
then averaging the five inflation-adjusted yearly values.
   (c) If the county states in its county facilities payment
calculation under Section 70363 that the utility cost information
described in subdivisions (a) and (b) is not reasonably available for
any court facilities for any or all of the fiscal years 1995-96 to
1999-2000, inclusive, after a good faith effort to obtain that
information, then the cost of utilities for those facilities shall be
calculated using all relevant information available to the county
and to the Administrative Office of the Courts.
   (d) For purposes of any good faith statement made pursuant to
subdivision (b) or (c), the county shall include a detailed
description of all activities it undertook to obtain the information
and the results of each activity.
   (e) If the county implemented a special improvement to increase
energy efficiency during the 1995-96 fiscal year or thereafter, and
that special improvement resulted in measurable and ongoing net cost
savings, then the county may include a description of the special
improvement and the resulting cost savings as part of its county
facilities payment calculation under Section 70363. The amount of any
reduction in the county facilities payment calculation shall be
limited to the demonstrable ongoing cost savings to the state
directly resulting from the special improvement only to the extent
not already reflected in the cost or consumption data used to
determine utilities costs. The county shall document or demonstrate
the savings and the fact that the savings are not already reflected.
   (f) As used in this section, "utility costs" include, but are not
limited to, natural gas, heating oil, electricity, water, sewage, and
garbage. Utility costs shall be included without regard to whether
payment of the costs was made by the county, the court, or another
entity except that the amount of specific utility costs may not be
included in the county facilities payment if all of the following
conditions are satisfied:
   (1) A lease expressly provides that the utilities are to be paid
by the lessor.
   (2) There is no payment by the lessee for the utilities, except as
part of the lease payment.
   (3) The lease payment is included in the county facilities
payment.



70358.  Insurance costs shall be included in the county facilities
payment. If the actual expenditures made by the county are used to
determine the amount, the expenditures shall be based on the
1999-2000 fiscal year multiplied by the increase in the inflation
index specified in Section 70355 from January 2000, to the month of
the date of the transfer of responsibility for the court facilities
from the county to the state, inclusive.
   The amount of insurance may not include the cost of any insurance
required by any agreement involving bonded indebtedness on the
facility to the extent that the cost of insurance is greater than the
cost of commercial insurance coverage on the building.
   The determination of the insurance costs may consider the costs of
commercial insurance coverage for a fair and reasonable level of
insurance and the costs of self-insurance. The amount of the
insurance costs shall be subject to negotiation between the Judicial
Council and the county.
   To the extent the responsibility for grounds is transferred, the
insurance costs for court facilities shall include, but not be
limited to, the cost of liability insurance relating to the grounds.



70359.  (a) Court facilities rental or leasing, except to the extent
included as a court operation in Rule 10.810 of the California Rules
of Court, shall be included in the county facilities payment using
as the initial amount the annual amount for the lease for the fiscal
year of the date of transfer of those court facilities to the state.
   (b) The amount computed under subdivision (a) shall be adjusted
annually for each remaining year in the lease to reflect the changed
annualized amount for the lease for each year remaining on the lease.
A lease amount in the final year of any lease entered into or
renewed on or after October 2, 2001, shall represent a good faith
relationship to the fair market value of the facilities either at the
time of the making of the lease or the time of determination of the
final year lease amount.
   (c) The adjustment of the amount pursuant to subdivision (b) shall
not permit either the county or the Judicial Council to appeal the
county facilities payment amount under Section 70366 or 70367, except
as to any issues directly related to the adjustment made by
subdivision (b).
   (d) The amount of any lease included in the county facilities
payment amount shall, unless otherwise agreed to by the
Administrative Director of the Courts and the county, be paid by the
county from the county's courthouse construction fund, if the lease
was originally entered into prior to July 1, 2002, and to the extent
the lease was funded in whole or in part by the courthouse
construction fund prior to July 1, 2002. The length of time payment
that may be made from the courthouse construction fund is to be
calculated by the length of the lease entered into before July 1,
2002, plus any one renewal or extension of not more than five years
entered into on or after July 2, 2002. The Administrative Director of
the Courts may agree to a longer time for payment from the
courthouse construction fund.



70360.  Calculation of the county facilities payment may not include
any of the following:
   (a) Purchase of land and buildings.
   (b) Construction and construction services.
   (c) Maintenance of parking for the general public whose
responsibility is not transferred and that may also be used by the
courts or jurors.
   (d) Depreciation of court facilities.
   (e) Costs associated with court facilities or a portion of the
facilities that is not transferred to the state or that remains a
county responsibility.
   (f) A capital project that alters the facilities' function or
capacity.
   (g) Any county payments resulting from bonded indebtedness and not
normally a cost of building operation.
   (h) A special improvement.



70361.  The Administrative Office of the Courts, in consultation
with the courts, and the California State Association of Counties, in
consultation with the counties, shall jointly prepare forms and
instructions for calculating the county facilities payment in
compliance with this section and submit those forms and instructions
to the Director of Finance for approval. In the event that the
Administrative Office of the Courts and the California State
Association of Counties are unable to agree on forms and
instructions, they shall present their positions of agreement and
disagreement to the Director of Finance who shall make the final
determination on the forms and instructions. The proposed forms and
instructions or positions of each party shall be provided to the
Director of Finance no later than June 30, 2003. Upon approval by the
Director of Finance, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall
provide the counties and the courts with the approved forms and
instructions.



70362.  (a) The Department of Finance shall provide the
Administrative Office of the Courts with the base inflation index
figures specified in Section 70355 for January 1996, January 1997,
January 1998, January 1999, and January 2000, to be included in the
approved instructions.
   (b) During the period from July 2003, to June 2007, inclusive, on
a monthly basis, the department shall provide the Administrative
Office of the Courts with a forecast of the monthly inflation index
figures specified in Section 70355, using a methodology mutually
agreed upon by the department, Administrative Office of the Courts,
and California State Association of Counties. This forecast may be
used to make a preliminary determination of the county facility
payment based on the proposed and final month of transfer.
   (c) The department shall provide the Administrative Office of the
Courts with the final revised inflation index figures specified in
Section 70355 when the final data is available from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. If the final inflation index
figures for the month when a facility transferred from the county to
the state is different than the figure used to calculate the county
facility payment at the time of the transfer, the Administrative
Office of the Courts shall recalculate the county facilities payment
based on the final inflation index figures.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 70353, any change
in the final county facilities payment made pursuant to subdivision
(c) shall be reflected as an adjustment to the schedule of county
facilities payments at the beginning of the next fiscal year. In
addition, any over or underpayment resulting from the difference
between the final calculation made pursuant to subdivision (c) and
the county facility payment calculation made at the time of transfer
shall be reflected as a one-time adjustment to the amount of the
first county facility payment owed at the beginning of the next
fiscal year.



70363.  Each county shall calculate the county facilities payment
for each facility pursuant to Section 70351.5 or using the forms and
instructions as approved and distributed pursuant to Section 70361.
The county shall mail the Judicial Council and local court the actual
expenditure figures and adjustments at least 90 days prior to the
proposed date of transfer of responsibility for that facility. The
county auditor or, at the discretion of the board of supervisors, the
board shall certify the reported expenditures and indexed
calculations.
   (a) Prior to the transfer of responsibility of each court facility
from the county to the state, the Administrative Office of the
Courts shall review the accuracy of the calculations.
   (b) The Administrative Office of the Courts and the county shall
meet and discuss any differences they have concerning the
calculations in an effort to reduce or eliminate any areas of
disagreement. Following the discussions, the Administrative Office of
the Courts shall mail the Department of Finance the proposed county
facility payment and any necessary background information, including
the calculations and the reported county expenditures and a summary
of any disagreements between the Administrative Office of the Courts
and the county regarding the payment.
   (c) The Department of Finance shall within 30 days of the receipt
of the proposed county facilities payment from the Administrative
Office of the Courts do any of the following:
   (1) Approve the proposed payment.
   (2) Approve a modified payment.
   (3) Request additional information from either the county or the
Administrative Office of the Courts.
   (d) When the department has approved a county facilities payment
for that facility, it shall mail the Administrative Director of the
Courts the approved county facilities payment. The Administrative
Office of the Courts shall mail a copy of the Department of Finance
notification to the county administrative officer and the court
executive officer.



70365.  The parties to any appeal of the determination of the county
facilities payment, for purposes of the mailing of documents, are
the county administrative officer, on behalf of the county, and the
Administrative Director of the Courts, on behalf of both the state
and the court.



70366.  (a) Within 30 days after the Administrative Office of the
Courts has mailed the county the approved county facilities payment,
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 70363, the county may submit a
declaration to the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee,
with the mailing of copies to the other parties, that the amount is
incorrect for one or more of the following reasons:
   (1) Expenditure data is reported incorrectly or calculated
incorrectly and causes an approved county facilities payment amount
that is higher than the payment should be.
   (2) The approved county facilities payment includes amounts that
were specifically appropriated, funded, and expended by the county to
fund extraordinary one-time expenditures. Extraordinary one-time
expenditures do not include periodic major facility repair or
maintenance including, but not limited to, reroofing or replacement
of a major system component. Extraordinary one-time expenditures do
include, but are not limited to, abatement of asbestos and seismic
structural upgrades.
   (3) The approved county facilities payment includes expenses
funded from grants or subventions that would not have been funded
without these grants or subventions.
   (b) The Administrative Director of the Courts shall mail comments
to the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee on the county's
declaration within 30 days of the mailing of the county's
declaration, with the mailing to the other parties.
   (c) Within 90 days of receipt of comments pursuant to subdivision
(b), the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee shall review
the declarations and comments received, and make its recommendation
to the Director of Finance concerning correction of any errors and,
if necessary, adjustment of the amount of the county facilities
payment. The Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee shall mail
a copy of its recommendation to all the parties.
   (d) The Director of Finance or his or her designee shall review
the recommendations of the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution
Committee and make his or her determination concerning any correction
of errors and, if necessary, adjustment of the amount of the county
facilities payment. The director shall mail a copy of his or her
determination on all the parties.



70367.  (a) Within 30 days after the Administrative Director of the
Courts has mailed to the county, pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 70363, the approved county facilities payment, the
Administrative Director of the Courts may submit a declaration to the
Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee, with copies mailed to
the other parties, that the amount is incorrect because the county
failed to report court facilities expenses paid by the county which
reduced the amount of the approved county facilities payment.
   (b) The county shall mail its comments to the Court Facilities
Dispute Resolution Committee on the administrative director's
declaration within 30 days of the mailing of the administrative
director's declaration, with copies mailed to the other parties.
   (c) Within 90 days of receipt of comments pursuant to subdivision
(b), the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee shall review
the declarations and comments received, and make its recommendation
to the Director of Finance concerning correction of any errors and,
if necessary, an adjustment of the amount of the county facilities
payment. The Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee shall mail
a copy of its recommendation to all the parties.
   (d) The Director of Finance or his or her designee shall review
the recommendations of the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution
Committee and make his or her determination concerning any correction
of errors and, if necessary, an adjustment of the amount of the
county facilities payment. The director shall serve a copy of his or
her determination on all the parties.



70368.  The county shall initially compute a separate county
facilities payment for each building containing court facilities
whose responsibility is transferred to the Judicial Council using the
proposed date of transfer of responsibility for those court
facilities as the date for computing inflation under Sections 70356,
70357, and 70358. The county's responsibility for the county
facilities payment for those facilities commences upon the actual
date of transfer of responsibility for those facilities. If the
actual date of transfer of responsibility for a facility is different
than the proposed date of transfer, upon which the county facilities
payment is calculated, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall
adjust the amount of the county facilities payment by applying the
inflation index figures for that county for the actual date of
transfer, as provided in Section 70362, to the approved county
facilities payment. The amount of any county facilities payment that
takes effect after the beginning of a fiscal year shall be prorated
for the amount remaining in that fiscal year. In no event shall a
county have any responsibility for a court facility payment prior to
the effective date of the transfer of responsibility for a facility.



70369.  Where mail of notice or any other document is required by
this article, any method of mailing equivalent to first-class mail
may be used. The computation of time based on mailing under this
article is based on the date the item was deposited in the mail.




70370.  If the amount computed by the county under Section 70368 is
increased pursuant to this article, the county shall pay the state
the difference relating back to the initial date payment was due
under Section 70368. If the amount computed by the county under
Section 70368 is reduced pursuant to this article, the state shall
pay the county the difference relating back to the initial date
payment was due under Section 70368. Upon agreement between the
county and state, any amount due under this section may be made by an
addition or reduction in the next scheduled county facilities
payment.