2005 California Government Code Sections 70321-70333 Facilities

70321.  The Judicial Council, in consultation with the superior
court of each county and the county shall enter into agreements
concerning the transfer of responsibility for court facilities from
that county to the Judicial Council.  The agreements shall be
negotiated between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2007, inclusive.
Transfer of responsibility may occur not earlier than July 1, 2004,
and not later than June 30, 2007.  On or before July 1, 2003, each
county shall designate those persons who shall negotiate the
agreements on behalf of the county and shall give the Judicial
Council the names of those persons.  The name of a person designated
by a county to negotiate on its behalf may be changed by the county
at any time by providing written notice to the Judicial Council.
70322.  The transfer of responsibility for court facilities in each
building shall be subject to a separate agreement.
70323.  Subject to the provisions of Section 70325 concerning a
building subject to a bonded indebtedness, and Section 70329
concerning historic buildings, transfer of responsibility for court
facilities shall be evidenced by the following change in title to the
building containing those facilities:
   (a) If the building is currently owned by the county and used
solely for court functions, the building shall be transferred to the
state which shall hold title to and use of the entire building.  This
subdivision may not apply to buildings that are deficient as
provided in subdivision (b) of Section 70326.  Unless bonded
indebtedness, including the legal obligation to pay the indebtedness,
is transferred to the state, this subdivision does not apply so long
as a court facility is subject to bonded indebtedness.  Title shall
transfer to the state when the bonded indebtedness is paid.  For the
purposes of this subdivision, bonded indebtedness includes only the
bonded indebtedness existing at the time of transfer of
responsibility, and any refunding of the existing bonded indebtedness
issued to achieve monetary savings to the county.  Any refunding
under this subdivision does not extend the original maturity date of
the bonded indebtedness and may not increase the original principal
amount of the indebtedness, except to pay costs relating to the
refunding of the bonded indebtedness.
   (b) If the building is currently owned by the county and used for
court and other county functions, title to the building may be held
in one of three ways, each of which shall be considered a transfer of
responsibility for the court facilities for purposes of Section
70312:
   (1) The county may continue to hold title to the building.
   (2) The county may transfer title to the building to the state.
   (3) The county may transfer title to the building to joint
ownership between the county and the state.
   (c) If the building is currently owned by a third party and leased
by the county, any of the following apply:
   (1) If the lessor consents to transfer of the lease to the state
either without modification of the lease or on modification terms
acceptable to the county and the Judicial Council, the county shall
transfer its rights and responsibilities under the lease to the
state.  The court shall then occupy the building under the terms of
the lease.
   (2) If the lessor does not consent to the transfer of the lease to
the state or the lessor's new terms for transfer of the lease to the
state are unacceptable to either the county or the Judicial Council,
the county shall continue to provide facilities to the court under
the terms of the lease and the amount of the lease payments shall be
excluded from the county facilities payment provided by Section
70359.  Upon expiration of the lease, the amount of the lease
payments shall then be included in the county facilities payment in
the same manner provided by Section 70359, as if the lease were
transferred to the state.
   (3) If the lessor does not consent to the transfer of the lease to
the state or the lessor's new terms for transfer of the lease to the
state are unacceptable to either the county or the Judicial Council,
the county and the Judicial Council may agree that the provisions of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) shall not apply, the court shall
find alternative facilities, and the amount of the lease payments due
under the lease shall be included in the county facilities payment
as provided by Section 70359.  The agreement under this subdivision
may include an agreement for a different lease payment amount to be
included in the county facilities payment.
70325.  (a) (1) If title to a building proposed to be transferred
pursuant to this chapter is subject to a bonded indebtedness, the
county shall retain the revenue sources used to pay the bonded
indebtedness in which case the county shall be required to continue
to make the payments on the bonded indebtedness.
   (2) As an alternative to paragraph (1), the county and the state
may agree that the county shall transfer the revenue sources to the
state, in which case, the state shall be required to make the
payments on the bonded indebtedness in the amount of the revenue
received. If the amount payable on the bonded indebtedness exceeds
the amount of the revenue transferred to the state, the county shall
be responsible for paying the remaining amount. If a revenue source
is used to pay the bonded indebtedness on several buildings and not
all of those buildings are being transferred to the state, the county
shall transfer the proportion of the revenue used to pay the bonded
indebtedness on the buildings transferred to the state. Except for
revenue sources subject to Section 70375, any revenue source
transferred by the county to the state under this paragraph shall be
transferred back to the county by the state when the bonded
indebtedness on the building is retired.
   (b) Except in the case of a shared use building or historical
building whose title is not being transferred from the county, the
agreement concerning transfer of responsibility for court facilities
contained in a building subject to bonded indebtedness shall specify
when title to the building will transfer, which shall not be later
than the date of final payment of the bonded indebtedness on the
building. A county shall not extend the term of the final maturity
date of, or increase the amount of, any bonded indebtedness on a
building containing court facilities whose responsibility has been
transferred to the state without the consent of the Administrative
Director of the Courts. For the purposes of this subdivision, the
amount of the bonded indebtedness shall not be deemed to be increased
if the amount is refunded for an amount not greater than the
original principal amount of the indebtedness plus any costs relating
to the refunding of the bonded indebtedness.
   (c) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this chapter,
during the period and to the extent which bonded indebtedness is
outstanding with respect to any court facility, the state shall not
have any equity or other ownership rights in, to, or with respect to,
the court facility. A county may not sell, assign, or transfer any
rights or interests in that facility, or otherwise further encumber
the facility, other than those rights, interests, or encumbrances
required by legal documents establishing the bonded indebtedness. If,
during the period of bonded indebtedness outstanding with respect to
a court facility, the state is required to vacate the facility
through the operation or enforcement of the legal documents
establishing the bonded indebtedness, the county shall be responsible
for providing the state with suitable and necessary court facilities
at least equal to those occupied by the state immediately prior to
the date on which the state was compelled to vacate the facility.
70326.  (a) Except as provided in this section, the agreement may
not require any payment from the county to the state for any
deficiencies in the court facilities being transferred caused by
deferred maintenance.
   (b) A building and the court facilities in it shall be deemed
deficient if any of the following exist:
   (1) A deficiency or deficiencies that constitute a significant
threat to life, safety, or health.
   (2) A deficiency or deficiencies that include seismically
hazardous conditions with an unacceptable seismic safety rating.
   (3) Deficiencies that in their totality are significant to the
functionality of the facility.
   (c) Neither title to a deficient building nor responsibility for
the court facilities in that building shall transfer to the state or
the Judicial Council under this chapter, and Section 70312 does not
apply to the court facilities in a deficient building, unless
provision is made in the agreement for correction of the deficient
items.
   (d) If one or more phases of a maintenance project are pending on
the court facilities prior to the date of the agreement under this
article, the agreement shall specify whether the county shall
complete those phases of the project, to the extent approved, or
shall transfer funds to the state to permit completion of those
phases of the project.  As used in this section, a phase of a project
is to be deemed pending to the extent that the board of supervisors
has either approved the phase in whole or in part at a board of
supervisors meeting, and either allocated or appropriated money for
the phase in whole or in part, or executed a contract for the phase
in whole or in part.
70327.  (a) Prior to the completion of the negotiations concerning
the transfer of responsibility for court facilities in a building,
the state shall provide for a licensed structural engineer to inspect
and evaluate the building containing the court facilities for
seismic safety if the building was built under a building code prior
to the 1988 Uniform Building Code and the building has not been
upgraded since 1988 for seismic safety.  The inspection shall be made
using the method and criteria for seismic safety developed by the
Department of General Services' Real Estate Services Division.  Any
repair required to the damage caused by the exploratory inspection
shall be paid for by the state.
   (b) The county shall assist the state in the inspection by
providing the following:
   (1) Access to the facility for inspection purposes.
   (2) Drawings and design documents for the building, if available.
   (3) Any reports on structural or seismic evaluations of the
building.
   (c) If a building is given an unacceptable seismic safety rating
and the county subsequently performs seismic upgrade work, the state
may, upon the request of the county and at the county's expense,
contract with a licensed structural engineer to reinspect and
reevaluate the building.
   (d) Neither title to a building with an unacceptable seismic
safety rating nor responsibility for the court facilities in that
building shall transfer to the state or the Judicial Council under
this chapter, and Section 70312 does not apply to the court
facilities in that building, unless provision is made in the
agreement for correction of the unacceptable seismic safety items.
   (e) The Administrative Director of the Courts, in his or her
discretion, with the approval of the Director of Finance or his or
her designee, may waive the inspection required by subdivision (a)
upon his or her finding of either of the following:
   (1) The ratio of court facilities to other facilities in the
building is minimal and title to the building is not being
transferred to the state.
   (2) The amount of court space in the building does not exceed
10,000 square feet.
70328.  If a building receives an unacceptable seismic safety rating
under Section 70327, or is rejected as deficient under Section
70326, the county may appeal that action to the Court Facilities
Dispute Resolution Committee.  The state has the burden of proving by
a preponderance of the evidence the unacceptable seismic safety
rating or deficient rating.
70329.  (a) Title to a historical building containing court
facilities may not be transferred to the state without the express
consent of the county's board of supervisors.
   (b) If title to a historical building containing court facilities
is not transferred to the state, the county may still be relieved of
its responsibility to fund court facilities under Section 70312 if
the county as part of its agreement under this article either:
   (1) Makes the court facilities within the historical building
available to the Judicial Council for court use.
   (2) Provides, with the consent of the Judicial Council,
alternative court facilities of at least comparable size, condition,
and utility.
   (c) Court facilities provided under this section shall meet all
requirements for transfer of court facilities under this chapter, and
the court and the Judicial Council shall have all the rights to that
building that they have under this chapter to other court facilities
whose responsibility is transferred to the Judicial Council.
   (d) A county shall not prevent a court from using court facilities
traditionally used by that court in a historical building, except
with the consent of the Administrative Director of the Courts.
70330.  The agreement shall provide for parking spaces for the court
of comparable convenience, number, and type, as was made available
for court use as of October 1, 2001.  For purposes of this section,
parking spaces for the court includes, but is not limited to, spaces
for judges, court employees, other court staff, witnesses, and
jurors.
70331.  (a) If there are one or more pending phases of a project
involving court facilities and the responsibility for the facility is
to be transferred to the Judicial Council, the Judicial Council may,
as part of the agreement under this article, require the completion
of those phases of the project, to the extent that county funds or
property have been allocated, approved, appropriated, or committed to
those phases of the project by resolution or ordinance as a
condition of transfer of responsibility to the Judicial Council.
   (b) This section applies irrespective of whether title to the
building containing the court facilities is to be transferred to the
state.
   (c) As used in this section, a phase of a project is to be deemed
pending to the extent that the board of supervisors has either
approved the phase in whole or in part at a board of supervisors
meeting, and allocated or appropriated money for the phase in whole
or in part, or executed a contract for the phase in whole or in part.
   (d) The Judicial Council may request the county to implement
design changes relating to the project if either the overall effect
of the changes do not increase the costs of the project to the
county, or the Judicial Council agrees to pay any extra costs caused
by the changes.
70332.  The Judicial Council, in consultation with the Department of
Finance and the trial courts, and the California State Association
of Counties, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the
counties, shall develop the procedures for implementing the transfer
of responsibility for court facilities from the counties to the state
as set forth in this article.
70333.  If the Judicial Council and the county fail to reach
agreement on any facility, each shall present its position to the
Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee which shall render its
determination concerning that transfer of responsibility for that
facility.