§ 77201. — 77201. (Amended (as amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 671) by Stats. 2007, Ch. 130, Sec. 144.)

(a)
Commencing on July 1, 1997, no county shall be responsible for funding court operations, as defined in Section 77003 and Rule 10.810 of the California Rules of Court as it read on January 1, 2007.
(b)
In the 1997–98 fiscal year, each county shall remit to the state in installments due on January 1, April 1, and June 30, the amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), as follows:
(1)
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, each county shall remit to the state the amount listed below which is based on an amount expended by the respective county for court operations during the 1994–95 fiscal year:
Jurisdiction
Amount
Alameda
$ 42,045,093
Alpine
46,044
Amador
900,196
Butte
2,604,611
Calaveras
420,893
Colusa
309,009
Contra Costa
21,634,450
Del Norte
780,786
El Dorado
3,888,927
Fresno
13,355,025
Glenn
371,607
Humboldt
2,437,196
Imperial
2,055,173
Inyo
546,508
Kern
16,669,917
Kings
2,594,901
Lake
975,311
Lassen
517,921
Los Angeles
291,872,379
Madera
1,242,968
Marin
6,837,518
Mariposa
177,880
Mendocino
1,739,605
Merced
1,363,409
Modoc
114,249
Mono
271,021
Monterey
5,739,655
Napa
2,866,986
Nevada
815,130
Orange
76,567,372
Placer
6,450,175
Plumas
413,368
Riverside
32,524,412
Sacramento
40,692,954
San Benito
460,552
San Bernardino
31,516,134
San Diego
77,637,904
San Francisco
31,142,353
San Joaquin
9,102,834
San Luis Obispo
6,840,067
San Mateo
20,383,643
Santa Barbara
10,604,431
Santa Clara
49,876,177
Santa Cruz
6,449,104
Shasta
3,369,017
Sierra
40,477
Siskiyou
478,144
Solano
10,780,179
Sonoma
9,273,174
Stanislaus
8,320,727
Sutter
1,718,287
Tehama
1,352,370
Trinity
620,990
Tulare
6,981,681
Tuolumne
1,080,723
Ventura
16,721,157
Yolo
2,564,985
Yuba
842,240
(2)
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, each county shall also remit to the state the amount listed below which is based on an amount of fine and forfeiture revenue remitted to the state pursuant to Sections 27361 and 76000 of this code, Sections 1463.001 and 1464 of the Penal Code, and Sections 42007, 42007.1, and 42008 of the Vehicle Code during the 1994–95 fiscal year:
Jurisdiction
Amount
Alameda
$12,769,882
Alpine
58,757
Amador
377,005
Butte
1,437,671
Calaveras
418,558
Colusa
485,040
Contra Costa
6,138,742
Del Norte
235,438
El Dorado
1,217,093
Fresno
4,505,786
Glenn
455,389
Humboldt
1,161,745
Imperial
1,350,760
Inyo
878,321
Kern
6,688,247
Kings
1,115,601
Lake
424,070
Lassen
513,445
Los Angeles
89,771,310
Madera
1,207,998
Marin
2,700,045
Mariposa
135,457
Mendocino
948,837
Merced
2,093,355
Modoc
122,156
Mono
415,136
Monterey
3,855,457
Napa
874,219
Nevada
1,378,796
Orange
24,830,542
Placer
2,182,230
Plumas
225,080
Riverside
13,328,445
Sacramento
7,548,829
San Benito
346,451
San Bernardino
11,694,120
San Diego
21,410,586
San Francisco
5,925,950
San Joaquin
4,753,688
San Luis Obispo
2,573,968
San Mateo
7,124,638
Santa Barbara
4,094,288
Santa Clara
15,561,983
Santa Cruz
2,267,327
Shasta
1,198,773
Sierra
46,778
Siskiyou
801,329
Solano
3,757,059
Sonoma
2,851,883
Stanislaus
2,669,045
Sutter
802,574
Tehama
761,188
Trinity
137,087
Tulare
2,299,167
Tuolumne
440,496
Ventura
6,129,411
Yolo
1,516,065
Yuba
402,077
(3)
The installment due on January 1 shall be for 25 percent of the amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2). The installments due on April 1 and June 30 shall be prorated uniformly to reflect any adjustments made by the Department of Finance, as provided in this section. If no adjustment is made by April 1, 1998, the April 1, 1998, installment shall be for 15 percent of the amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2). If no adjustment is made by June 30, 1998, the June 30, 1998, installment shall be for the balance of
the amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2).
(4)
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, county remittances specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be increased in subsequent years.
(5)
Any change in statute or rule of court that either reduces the bail schedule or redirects or reduces a county’s portion of fee, fine, and forfeiture revenue to an amount that is less than (A) the fees, fines, and forfeitures retained by that county and (B) the county’s portion of fines and forfeitures transmitted to the state in the 1994–95 fiscal year, shall reduce that county’s remittance specified in paragraph (2) by an equal amount. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to limit judicial sentencing discretion.
(c)
The Department of Finance shall adjust the amount specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) that a county is required to submit to the state, pursuant to the following:
(1)
A county shall submit a declaration to the Department of Finance, no later than February 15, 1998, that the amount it is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) either includes or does not include the costs for local judicial benefits which are court operation costs as defined in Section 77003 and Rule 10.810 of the California Rules of Court. The trial courts in a county that submits such a declaration shall be given a copy of the declaration and the opportunity to comment on the validity of the statements in the declaration. The Department of Finance shall verify the facts in the county’s declaration and comments, if any. Upon verification that the amount the county is required to submit to the state includes the costs of local judicial benefits, the department shall reduce on or before June 30, 1998, the amount
the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) by an amount equal to the cost of those judicial benefits, in which case the county shall continue to be responsible for the cost of those benefits. If a county disagrees with the Department of Finance’s failure to verify the facts in the county’s declaration and reduce the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the county may request that the Controller conduct an audit to verify the facts in the county’s declaration. The Controller shall conduct the requested audit which shall be at the requesting county’s expense. If the Controller’s audit verifies the facts in the county’s declaration, the department shall reduce the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) by an amount equal to the amount verified by the Controller’s audit and the state shall reimburse the requesting county for the cost of the
audit.
(d)
The Department of Finance shall adjust the amount specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 that a county is required to submit to the state, pursuant to the following procedures:
(1)
A county may submit a declaration to the Department of Finance, no later than February 15, 1998, that declares that (A) the county incorrectly reported county costs as court operations costs as defined in Section 77003 in the 1994–95 fiscal year, and that incorrect report resulted in the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) being too high, (B) the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) includes amounts that were specifically appropriated, funded, and expended by a county or city and county during the 1994–95 fiscal year to fund extraordinary
one-time expenditures for court operation costs, or (C) the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) includes expenses that were funded from grants or subventions from any source, for court operation costs that could not have been funded without those grants or subventions being available. A county submitting that declaration shall concurrently transmit a copy of the declaration to the trial courts of that county. The trial courts in a county that submits that declaration shall have the opportunity to comment to the Department of Finance on the validity of the statements in the declaration. Upon receipt of the declaration and comments, if any, the Department of Finance shall determine and certify which costs identified in the county’s declaration were incorrectly reported as court operation costs or were expended for extraordinary one-time expenditures or funded from grants or subventions in the 1994–95 fiscal year. The Department of Finance shall
reduce the amount a county must submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 by an amount equal to the amount the department certifies was incorrectly reported as court operations costs or were expended for extraordinary one-time expense or funded from grants or subventions in the 1994–95 fiscal year. If a county disagrees with the Department of Finance’s failure to verify the facts in the county’s declaration and reduce the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1, the county may request that the Controller conduct an audit to verify the facts in the county’s declaration. The Controller shall conduct the requested audit, which shall be at the requesting county’s expense. If the Controller’s audit verifies the facts in the county’s declaration, the department shall reduce the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 by
an amount equal to the amount verified by the Controller’s audit and the state shall reimburse the requesting county for the cost of the audit. A county shall provide, at no charge to the court, any service for which the amount in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 was adjusted downward, if the county is required to provide that service at no cost to the court by any other provision of law.
(2)
A court may submit a declaration to the Department of Finance, no later than February 15, 1998, that the county failed to report county costs as court operations costs as defined in Section 77003 in the 1994–95 fiscal year, and that this failure resulted in the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) being too low. A court submitting that declaration shall concurrently transmit a copy of the declaration to the county. A county shall have the opportunity to comment to the
Department of Finance on the validity of statements in the declaration and comments, if any. Upon receipt of the declaration, the Department of Finance shall determine and certify which costs identified in the court’s declaration should have been reported by the county as court operation costs in the 1994–95 fiscal year and whether this failure resulted in the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) being too low. The Department of Finance shall notify the county, the trial courts in the county, and the Judicial Council of its certification and decision. Within 30 days, the county shall either notify the Department of Finance, trial courts in the county, and the Judicial Council that the county shall assume responsibility for the costs the county has failed to report, or that the department shall increase the amount the county is required to submit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 by an amount equal to the
amount certified by the department. A county shall not be required to continue to provide services for which the amount in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 was adjusted upward.
(e)
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that to ensure an orderly transition to state trial court funding, it is necessary to delay the adjustments to county obligation payments provided for by Article 3 (commencing with Section 77200) of Chapter 13 of Title 8, as added by Chapter 850 of the Statutes of 1997, until the 1998–99 fiscal year. The Legislature also finds and declares that since increase adjustments to the county obligation amounts will not take effect in the 1997–98 fiscal year, county charges for those services related to the increase adjustments shall not occur in the 1997–98 fiscal year. It is recognized that the counties have an obligation to provide, and the trial courts have an obligation to pay, for services provided by the
county pursuant to Section 77212. In the 1997–98 fiscal year, the counties shall charge for, and the courts shall pay, these obligations consistent with paragraphs (1) and (2).
(1)
For the 1997–98 fiscal year, a county shall reduce the charges to a court for those services for which the amount in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 77201.1 is adjusted upward, by an amount equal to the lesser of the following:
(A)
The amount of the increase adjustment certified by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).
(B)
The difference between the actual amount charged and paid for from the trial court operations fund, and the amount charged in the 1994–95 fiscal year.
(2)
For the 1997–98 fiscal year, any funds paid out of the trial court
operations fund established pursuant to Section 77009 during the 1997–98 fiscal year to pay for those services for which there was an upward adjustment, shall be returned to the trial court operations fund in the amount equal to the lesser of the following:
(A)
The amount of the increase adjustment certified by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).
(B)
The difference between the actual amount charged and paid for from the trial court operations fund, and the amount charged in the 1994–95 fiscal year.
(3)
The Judicial Council shall reduce the allocation to the courts by an amount equal to the amount of any increase adjustment certified by the Department of Finance, if the cost of those services was used in determining the Judicial Council’s allocation of funding for the 1997–98 fiscal year.
(4)
In the event the charges are not reduced as provided in paragraph (1) or the funds are not returned to the trial court operations fund as provided in paragraph (2), the trial court operations fund shall be refunded for the 1998–99 fiscal year. Funds provided to the trial court operations fund pursuant to this paragraph shall be available to the trial courts to meet financial obligations incurred during the 1997–98 fiscal year. To the extent that a trial court receives total resources for trial court funding from the county and the state for the 1997–98 fiscal year that exceeded the amount of the allocation approved by the Judicial Council by November 30, 1997, these amounts shall be available for expenditure in the 1998–99 fiscal year and the Judicial Council shall reduce the 1998–99 fiscal year allocation of the court by an equal amount.
(f)
Nothing in this section is intended
to relieve a county of the responsibility to provide necessary and suitable court facilities pursuant to Section 68073.
(g)
Nothing in this section is intended to relieve a county of the responsibility for justice-related expenses not included in Section 77003 which are otherwise required of the county by law, including, but not limited to, indigent defense representation and investigation, and payment of Division of Juvenile Justice charges.
(h)
The Department of Finance shall notify the county, trial courts in the county, and Judicial Council of the final decision and resulting adjustment.
(i)
On or before February 15, 1998, each county shall submit to the Department of Finance a report of the amount it expended for trial court operations as defined in Section 77003 and Rule 10.810 of the California Rules of Court
as it read on January 1, 2007, between the start of the 1997–98 fiscal year and the effective date of this section. The department shall reduce the amount a county is required to remit to the state pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) in the 1997–98 fiscal year by an amount equal to the amount a county expended for court operation costs between the start of the 1997–98 fiscal year and the effective date of this section. The department shall also reduce the amount a county is required to remit to the state pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) in the 1997–98 fiscal year by an amount equal to the amount of fine and forfeiture revenue that a county remitted to the state between the start of the 1997–98 fiscal year and the effective date of this section. The department shall notify the county, the trial courts of the county, and the Judicial Council of the amount it has reduced a county’s obligation to remit to the state pursuant to this subdivision.

Legislative History

Amended (as amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 671) by Stats. 2007, Ch. 130, Sec. 144. Effective January 1, 2008. Conditionally inoperative as provided in Section 77400.