70371-70379
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 70371-70379
70371. There is hereby established the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, the proceeds of which shall be subject to the provisions of this article. Improvement of the court facilities and the construction funds generated by this article are intended to further reasonable access to the courts and judicial process throughout the state for all parties. 70371.5. (a) There is hereby established the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, the proceeds of which shall only be used for any of the following: (1) The planning, design, construction, rehabilitation, renovation, replacement, or acquisition of court facilities. (2) Repayment for moneys appropriated for lease of court facilities pursuant to the issuance of lease-revenue bonds. (3) Payment for lease or rental of court facilities or payment of service contracts, including those made for facilities in which one or more private sector participants undertake some of the risks associated with the financing, design, construction, or operation of the facility. (b) Any funds expended from the Immediate and Critical Needs Account are not subject to Section 77202. (c) Notwithstanding Section 13340, until July 1, 2012, the Immediate and Critical Needs Account is hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, only for the purposes of acquiring real property and completing preliminary plans. (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the money in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account shall be used in part to pay the debt service of lease revenue bonds, notes, bond anticipation notes, or other appropriate financial instruments used to pay for the costs referred to in subdivision (a) in the amount of up to five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000). The total bonded indebtedness shall not exceed that amount for which fine and fee revenues may fully satisfy the debt service. (e) The Judicial Council shall collect and make available upon request information regarding the moneys deposited in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account resulting from new and increased fees, assessments, and penalties authorized by the act that added this section. (f) (1) The Judicial Council shall make recommendations to the State Public Works Board before it undertakes projects based on its determination that the need for a project is most immediate and critical using the then most recent version of the Prioritization Methodology for Trial Court Capital-Outlay Projects originally adopted on August 26, 2006, subject to the availability of funds in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account. Any such recommendation shall be accompanied by a certification that there are sufficient funds in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account. The State Public Works Board shall establish the scope and cost for each individual project. (2) The Legislature finds that there may not be enough resources to pay for the cost of the projects identified as immediate and critical needs by the Judicial Council pursuant to its Prioritization Methodology for Trial Court Capital-Outlay Projects originally adopted on August 26, 2006, even after considering any bonded indebtedness that may be issued relying at least in part on those resources. Therefore, in choosing which projects shall be recommended to the State Public Works Board to be funded from the Immediate and Critical Needs Account, the Judicial Council shall consider and apply, as appropriate, the following factors, among others: (A) Any economic opportunity that exists for a project. (B) The effect on available resources of using alternative methods of project delivery as provided by Section 70391.5. (3) Nothing in paragraph (2) shall authorize the Judicial Council to exceed the resources provided by the Immediate and Critical Needs Account, together with other available resources, in undertaking projects identified as immediate and critical needs. (4) As used in paragraph (2), "economic opportunity" includes, but is not limited to, free or reduced costs of land for new construction, viable financing partnerships with, or fund contributions by, other government entities or private parties that result in lower project delivery costs, cost savings resulting from adaptive reuse of existing facilities, operational efficiencies from consolidation of court calendars and operations, operational savings from sharing of facilities by more than one court, and building operational cost savings from consolidation of facilities. (5) The Judicial Council shall not consider and apply an economic opportunity unless it is reasonably assured that the economic opportunity is viable and will be realized. If a project is selected for funding based on an economic opportunity that is withdrawn after the project is approved, the Judicial Council may cancel the project. 70371.6. The Judicial Council is authorized to acquire sites for the replacement of deficient court facilities within the Counties of Butte (New North County Courthouse), Los Angeles (New Southeast Los Angeles Courthouse), Tehama (New Red Bluff Courthouse), and Yolo (New Woodland Courthouse), as identified in the Immediate Needs Priority Group identified by the Judicial Branch Five-Year Infrastructure Plan, as adopted by the Judicial Council on April 25, 2008. 70371.7. (a) Prior to seeking the State Public Works Board establishment of the scope and cost, the Judicial Council shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee describing the scope, budget, schedule, number of courtrooms, number of secure holding cells, and square footage of administrative support space to be constructed or renovated. If the Joint Legislative Budget Committee fails to take any action with respect to each report within 30 days after submittal, this inaction shall be deemed to be approval for the purposes of this section, and the Judicial Council is authorized to proceed to acquire real property and complete preliminary plans. (b) (1) Upon certification of the availability of funds within the Immediate and Critical Needs Account, and the establishment of the project scope and cost by the State Public Works Board, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Judicial Council is authorized to acquire real property and to complete preliminary plans for the superior court capital outlay projects adopted by the Judicial Council on October 24, 2008, identified in the Update to Trial Court Capital-Outlay Plan and Prioritization Methodology, or most recent version thereof. (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that funding for working drawings and construction be appropriated in the next annual Budget Act following approval by the State Public Works Board of preliminary plans completed pursuant to paragraph (1). (3) The scope and cost of the projects, including augmentations, authorized by this section shall be subject to approval and administrative oversight by the State Public Works Board pursuant to Section 13332.11 or 13332.19. For purposes of this section, the availability of an augmentation for each individual project shall be calculated based on the total capital outlay cost as established by the board. 70371.8. The Judicial Council shall report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and chairs of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review and the Assembly Committee on Budget by March 1 of each year on the status of each project established by the State Public Works Board under Section 70371.7. The report shall also include an accounting of the revenues generated and expenditures made in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account. 70371.9. (a) The Judicial Council shall conduct a pilot program until July 1, 2013, to assess the benefits and impacts of both of the following: (1) Requiring all subcontractors with bids in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to pay for employee health care expenditures for their construction field employees working in California. (2) Giving two quality points out of 100 quality points to a proposing construction manager at risk that pays for employee health care expenditures for its construction field employees working in California. (b) The Judicial Council shall, after consulting with applicable stakeholders, select three courthouse construction projects from those funded by the Immediate and Critical Needs Account established by Section 70371.5 to implement the pilot program, including one project with estimated construction costs in excess of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000), one project with estimated construction costs between one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) and two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000), and one project with estimated construction costs between seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) and one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000). (c) The Administrative Office of Courts shall provide two quality points out of a total 100 quality points to construction managers at risk that submit proposals and certify that they are qualified. (1) A proposer qualifies for the two quality points pursuant to this subdivision if, for the six-month period immediately preceding submission of the proposal, the proposer's aggregate California employee health care expenditures were equal to at least 6.5 percent of that proposer's aggregate California social security wages. (2) A proposer shall receive two quality points by certifying that it qualifies for the two points on a form provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts. (3) Any proposer that certifies that it qualifies for the two quality points shall provide to the Administrative Office of the Courts, upon request, sufficient records to show that the proposer is qualified. The failure to supply the records within a reasonable time, as specified by the Administrative Office of the Courts, may result in the proposer's disqualification. (d) (1) A subcontractor shall not be awarded a subcontract in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) on a project under the pilot program unless, for the six-month period immediately preceding the effective date of the subcontract, the subcontractor's aggregate California employee health care expenditures were equal to at least 6.5 percent of that subcontractor's aggregate California social security wages. The Administrative Office of the Courts may waive this requirement if no economically feasible bid is received. (2) Each subcontractor awarded a subcontract in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) on a project under the pilot program shall submit to the construction manager at risk, prior to execution of its subcontract, a statement on a form provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts certifying that it has complied with the requirement in paragraph (1). (3) A subcontractor awarded a subcontract in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) on a project under the pilot program shall provide to the construction manager at risk, upon request, sufficient records to show that the proposer has complied with paragraph (1). (e) In order to evaluate the benefits of this pilot program, including the potential improvement of health care coverage for construction field employees, potential savings to the State of California from not having to pay for health care for uninsured workers and their dependents, and other impacts, including potential increased project costs, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall collect and analyze data to assess the impact of subdivisions (b) and (c) and issue a report summarizing the data and analysis on or before July 1, 2015. The Administrative Office of the Courts may contract with third-party consultants in collecting and analyzing the data and preparing the report. (f) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Aggregate California employee health care expenditures" means all amounts paid by a proposer or subcontractor to its construction field employees in California or to a third party on behalf of a proposer's or subcontractor's construction field employees in California, for the purpose of providing health care services to the construction field employees or reimbursing the cost of those services for the construction field employees, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) Contributions on behalf of employees to a health savings account, as defined under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code, or to any other account having substantially the same purpose or effect without regard to whether the contributions qualify for a tax deduction or are excludable from employee income. (B) Reimbursement to employees for expenses incurred in the purchase of health care services. (C) Payments to a third party for the purpose of providing health care services for employees. (D) Payments pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement for the purpose of providing health care services for employees. (E) Costs incurred in the direct delivery of health care services to employees. (2) "Aggregate California social security wages" means the aggregate amount of wages paid to all of a proposer's or subcontractor's construction field employees in California, not including any wages that are above the federal social security contribution and benefit base, sometimes referred to as the social security wage base, for the year in which they are paid. (3) "Construction field employees" means a proposer's or subcontractor's workers who perform construction labor at construction jobsites. (4) "Health care services" means medical care, services, or goods that qualify as tax deductible medical care expenses under Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code, or medical care, services, or goods having substantially the same purpose or effect as those deductible expenses. (g) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and, as of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extend the dates on which it becomes operative and is repealed. 70372. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of Section 70375 and in this article, there shall be levied a state court construction penalty, in the amount of five dollars ($5) for every ten dollars ($10), or part of ten dollars ($10), upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for all criminal offenses, including, but not limited to, all offenses involving a violation of a section of the Fish and Game Code, the Health and Safety Code, or the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code. This penalty is in addition to any other state or local penalty, including, but not limited to, the penalty provided by Section 1464 of the Penal Code and Section 76000. (2) The amount of the court construction penalty may be reduced by a county as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 70375. (3) This construction penalty does not apply to the following: (A) Any restitution fine. (B) Any penalty authorized by Section 1464 of the Penal Code or Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 76000) of Title 8. (C) Any parking offense subject to Article 3 (commencing with Section 40200) of Chapter 1 of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code. (D) The state surcharge authorized by Section 1465.7 of the Penal Code. (4) Any bail schedule adopted pursuant to Section 1269b of the Penal Code or adopted by the Judicial Council pursuant to Section 40310 of the Vehicle Code may include the necessary amount to pay the penalty established by this section, the penalties authorized by Section 1464 of the Penal Code and Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 76000) of Title 8, and the surcharge authorized by Section 1465.7 of the Penal Code for all matters where a personal appearance is not mandatory and the bail is posted primarily to guarantee payment of the fine. After a determination by the court of the amount due, the clerk of the court shall collect the penalty and transmit it immediately to the county treasury and the county treasurer shall transmit these sums as provided in subdivision (f). (b) In addition to the penalty provided by subdivision (a), for every parking offense where a parking penalty, fine, or forfeiture is imposed, an added state court construction penalty of four dollars and fifty cents ($4.50) shall be included in the total penalty, fine, or forfeiture. These moneys shall be taken from fines and forfeitures deposited with the county treasurer prior to any division pursuant to Section 1462.3 or 1463.009 of the Penal Code. In those cities, districts, or other issuing agencies which elect to accept parking penalties, and otherwise process parking violations pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 40200) of Chapter 1 of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code, that city, district, or issuing agency shall observe the increased bail amounts as established by the court reflecting the added penalty provided for by this subdivision. Each agency that elects to process parking violations shall pay to the county treasurer four dollars and fifty cents ($4.50) for the parking penalty imposed by this subdivision for each violation that is not filed in court. Those payments to the county treasurer shall be made monthly, and the county treasurer shall transmit these sums as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f). In the event these payments were deposited in a local courthouse construction fund and expended pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 592 of the Statutes of 2003, no county or processing agency shall be liable for the failure to transmit the payments to the Controller during the 2008 calendar year. (c) If multiple offenses are involved, the state court construction penalty under subdivision (a) shall be based upon the total fine or bail for each case. If a fine is suspended, in whole or in part, the state court construction penalty under subdivision (a) shall be reduced in proportion to the suspension. (d) If any deposited bail is made for an offense to which this section applies, and for which a court appearance is not mandatory, the person making the deposit shall also deposit a sufficient amount to include the state court construction penalty prescribed by subdivision (a) for forfeited bail. If bail is returned, the state court construction penalty paid thereon pursuant to subdivision (a) shall also be returned. (e) In any case where a person convicted of any offense, to which this section applies, is in prison until the fine is satisfied, the judge may waive all or any part of the state court construction penalty, the payment of which would work a hardship on the person convicted or his or her immediate family. (f) (1) Within 45 days after the end of the month that moneys are deposited in the county treasury pursuant to subdivision (a), the county treasurer shall transmit the moneys to the Controller, to be deposited as follows: (A) The total to be deposited pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be multiplied by a fraction as follows: (i) The numerator is the amount imposed as of January 1, 1998, as an additional penalty on every ten dollars ($10), or part of ten dollars ($10), upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture, if any, for deposit into the local courthouse construction fund in that county established pursuant to Sections 76000 and 76100. The numerator shall be expressed in whole dollars and fractions of a dollar. (ii) The denominator is five dollars ($5). (B) The resulting amount shall be deposited in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, established in Section 70371.5. (C) The remaining amount of the deposit shall be deposited in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund. (2) Within 45 days after the end of the month that moneys are deposited in the county treasury pursuant to subdivision (b), the county treasurer shall transmit the moneys to the Controller to be deposited as follows: one-third of the total amount shall be deposited in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund and two-thirds of the total amount shall be deposited in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, established in Section 70371.5. 70373. (a) (1) To ensure and maintain adequate funding for court facilities, an assessment 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 of the Penal Code, involving a violation of a section of the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code. The assessment shall be imposed in the amount of thirty dollars ($30) for each misdemeanor or felony and in the amount of thirty-five dollars ($35) for each infraction. (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 assessment 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 assessment shall be in addition to the state penalty assessed pursuant to Section 1464 of the Penal Code and may not be included in the base fine to calculate the state penalty assessment as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1464 of the Penal Code. The penalties authorized by Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 76000), and the state surcharge authorized by Section 1465.7 of the Penal Code, do not apply to this assessment. (c) When 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 deposit a sufficient amount to include the assessment prescribed by this section. (d) Notwithstanding any other law, the assessments 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 the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, established in Section 70371.5. (e) The Judicial Council shall provide for the administration of this section. 70374. (a) The Judicial Council shall annually recommend to the Governor and the Legislature the amount proposed to be spent for projects paid for with moneys in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund. The use of the appropriated moneys is subject to subdivision (l) of Section 70391. (b) Acquisition and construction of court facilities shall be subject to the State Building Construction Act of 1955 (Part 10b (commencing with Section 15800) of Division 3 of Title 2) and the Property Acquisition Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 15850) of Division 3 of Title 2), except that (1) notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall serve as an implementing agency upon approval of the Department of Finance, and (2) the provisions of subdivision (e) shall prevail. Acquisition and construction of facilities are not subject to the provisions of the Public Contract Code, but shall be subject to facilities contracting policies and procedures adopted by the Judicial Council after consultation and review by the Department of Finance. (c) Moneys in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund shall only be used for either of the following: (1) The planning, design, construction, rehabilitation, renovation, replacement, leasing, or acquisition of court facilities, as defined by subdivision (d) of Section 70301. (2) The rehabilitation of one or more existing court facilities in conjunction with the construction, acquisition, or financing of one or more new court facilities. (d) (1) Except as provided in Section 70374.2 and paragraph (2) of this subdivision, 25 percent of all moneys collected for the State Court Facilities Construction Fund from any county shall be designated for implementation of trial court projects in that county. The Judicial Council shall determine the local projects after consulting with the trial court in that county and based on the locally approved trial court facilities master plan for that county. (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to moneys that have been deposited in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account of the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, established in Section 70371.5. (e) The following provisions shall prevail over provisions of the State Building Construction Act of 1955 (Part 10b (commencing with Section 15800) of Division 3 of Title 2) in regard to buildings subject to this section. (1) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall be responsible for the operation, including, but not limited to, the maintenance and repair, of all court facilities whose title is held by the state. The operation of buildings under this section shall be the responsibility of the Judicial Council. (2) Notwithstanding Section 15808.1, the Judicial Council shall have the responsibility for determining whether a building under the act shall be located within or outside of an existing public transit corridor. (3) The buildings under this section are subject to Section 15814.12 concerning cogeneration and alternative energy sources at the request of, or with the consent of, the Judicial Council. Any building acquired by the state pursuant to this section on or before July 1, 2007, is not subject to subdivision (b) of Section 15814.12 concerning the acquisition of cogeneration or alternative energy equipment if the building, when acquired, already had cogeneration or alternative energy equipment. Section 15814.17 only applies to buildings to which the Judicial Council has given its consent under subdivision (a) of Section 15814.12. 70374.2. Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 70374, in order to ensure that funding is available to support the construction of the new court facility projects approved in the Budget Act of 2007, the Judicial Council shall not commit to additional expenditures from the State Court Facilities Construction Fund above the amount appropriated in the Budget Act of 2007 unless the expenditures are replaced with increased funds to the fund. 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) 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 70622. (3) A filing fee surcharge in the County of San Bernardino established pursuant to Section 70624. (4) A filing fee surcharge in the City and County of San Francisco established pursuant to Section 70625. (c) For purposes of subdivision (c), 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. 70376. It is the intent of the Legislature that funding for courthouse alteration, renovation, and construction be funded by money in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund and additional money as necessary from the state. 70377. (a) Any amounts required to be transmitted by a county to the Controller pursuant to this article shall be remitted no later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the penalties were collected. Any remittance made later than this time shall be considered delinquent and subject to the penalties specified in this section. (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. (c) Penalty amounts calculated pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be paid by the county to the Controller no later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the penalty was calculated. All money received by the Controller under this section shall be deposited in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund. (d) If the penalty imposed by this section results from a court's failure to comply with the requirements for timely deposit of money with the county treasury, the court shall reimburse the county general fund in an amount equal to the actual penalty. Notwithstanding Section 77009, the court may pay this penalty from money received from the Trial Court Trust Fund. This section does not require an increase in a court's allocation from the Trial Court Trust Fund. 70378. The State Court Facilities Construction Fund shall be invested in the Surplus Money Investment Fund and all interest earned shall be allocated to the State Court Facilities Construction Fund semiannually and shall be allocated as otherwise provided in this article. 70379. (a) The Court Facilities Architecture Revolving Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury, and, notwithstanding Section 13340, the fund is continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years. (1) With the approval of the Department of Finance, and except as otherwise specified in this section, there shall be transferred to, or deposited in, the fund all money appropriated, contributed, or made available from any source, including sources other than state appropriations, for the purposes described in paragraph (2). (2) Moneys transferred to, or deposited in, the fund shall be those administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts under subdivision (b) of Section 70374 for the construction, alteration, repair, and improvement of trial and appellate court buildings, including, but not limited to, services, new construction, major construction, minor construction, maintenance, improvements, and equipment, and other building and improvement projects. (3) In addition to the approval of the Department of Finance, the transfer or deposit of moneys into the fund shall be authorized by the Administrative Office of the Courts, both with regard to funds appropriated for the purposes specified in paragraph (2) or, as to funds from sources other than state appropriations, subject to any written agreement between the contributor or contributors of funds and the Administrative Office of the Courts. (b) Money from state sources transferred to, or deposited in, the fund for construction, services, equipment, repair, or improvement shall be an amount necessary based on the actual, known, or firm fixed price, upon approval of the Department of Finance. Any amount available in the state appropriation that is in excess of the amount necessary based upon final actual costs of the completed contract shall be transferred immediately to the credit of the fund from which the appropriation was made. (c) Money transferred or deposited in the fund pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be available for expenditure by the Administrative Office of the Courts for the purposes for which appropriated, contributed, or made available, without regard to fiscal years.