California Government Code Section 77201

CA Govt Code § 77201 (2017)  

(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.

(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.)

Last modified: October 25, 2018