California Government Code 70373 – (a) (1) To ensure and maintain adequate funding for court …
(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 § 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 § 42007 of the Vehicle Code.
Terms Used In California Government Code 70373
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
- Court facilities: consist of all of the following:
California Government Code 70301
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
(b) This assessment shall be in addition to the state penalty assessed pursuant to § 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 § 1464 of the Penal Code. The penalties authorized by Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 76000), and the state surcharge authorized by § 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 State Court Facilities Construction Fund, established in Section 70371.
(e) The Judicial Council shall provide for the administration of this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 79, Sec. 22. (AB 143) Effective July 16, 2021.)