Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that repeals certain judicial fees, effective July 1, 2021.

Highlights:

• Specifies that it is the intent of the legislature to eliminate the range of administrative fees that agencies and courts are authorized to impose to fund elements of the criminal legal system, and to eliminate all outstanding debts incurred as a result of the imposition of administrative fees (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes a county whose officer or agent arrests a person to be entitled to recover from the arrested person a criminal justice administration fee for administrative costs it incurs in conjunction with the arrest if they are convicted of any offense related to the arrest (Sec. 22).

• Appropriates $65 million annually beginning in the 2021-2022 fiscal year to the 2025-2026 fiscal year to backfill revenues lost from the repeal of the fees specified in this bill (Sec. 67).

• Appropriates $50,000 to the Department of Finance to begin to implement the provisions of this bill (Sec. 67).

• Defines “actual administrative costs” as costs for functions that are performed in order to receive an arrestee into a county detention facility and may include one or more of the following (Sec. 22):

• The searching, wristbanding, bathing, clothing, fingerprinting, photographing, and medical and mental screening of an arrestee; 

• Document preparation, retrieval, updating, filing, and court scheduling related to receiving an arrestee into the detention facility; 

• Warrant service, processing, and detainer; 

• Inventory of an arrestee’s money and creation of cash accounts; 

• Inventory and storage of an arestee’s property; 

• Inventory, laundry, and storage of an arestee’s clothing; and

• The classification of an arrestee. 

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that repeals certain judicial fees, effective July 1, 2021.

Highlights:

• Specifies that it is the intent of the legislature to eliminate the range of administrative fees that agencies and courts are authorized to impose to fund elements of the criminal legal system, and to eliminate all outstanding debts incurred as a result of the imposition of administrative fees (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes a county whose officer or agent arrests a person to be entitled to recover from the arrested person a criminal justice administration fee for administrative costs it incurs in conjunction with the arrest if they are convicted of any offense related to the arrest (Sec. 22).

• Appropriates $65 million annually beginning in the 2021-2022 fiscal year to the 2025-2026 fiscal year to backfill revenues lost from the repeal of the fees specified in this bill (Sec. 67).

• Appropriates $50,000 to the Department of Finance to begin to implement the provisions of this bill (Sec. 67).

• Defines “actual administrative costs” as costs for functions that are performed in order to receive an arrestee into a county detention facility and may include one or more of the following (Sec. 22):

• The searching, wristbanding, bathing, clothing, fingerprinting, photographing, and medical and mental screening of an arrestee; 

• Document preparation, retrieval, updating, filing, and court scheduling related to receiving an arrestee into the detention facility; 

• Warrant service, processing, and detainer; 

• Inventory of an arrestee’s money and creation of cash accounts; 

• Inventory and storage of an arestee’s property; 

• Inventory, laundry, and storage of an arestee’s clothing; and

• The classification of an arrestee. 

Full Bill Text