AB 982, as amended, Tran. Structured settlements: transfers. Court facilities. Existing law establishes the State Court Facilities Construction Fund for the planning, design, construction, rehabilitation, renovation, replacement, leasing, or acquisition of court facilities, as specified. Existing law levies a state court construction penalty, as specified, upon every fine, penalty, and forfeiture imposed and collected for all criminal offenses, and for every parking offense for which a parking penalty, fine, or forfeiture is imposed. Existing law requires that moneys deposited in the county treasury pursuant to these provisions be transmitted to the Controller for deposit in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, as specified. Existing law requires any amounts required to be transmitted by a county to the Controller pursuant to these provisions to be remitted no later than 45 days after the end of the month in which the penalties were collected. Any remittance made later than this time is considered delin quent and is subject to specified penalties. Existing law requires the Controller, upon receipt of any delinquent payment, to calculate a penalty on the delinquent payment by multiplying the amount of the delinquent payment at a daily rate equivalent to 1 1/2 % per month for the number of days the payment is delinquent. Existing law requires the county to pay the penalty amount calculated pursuant to these provisions to the Controller, as specified, and requires the Controller to deposit these moneys in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund. This bill would additionally require the Controller to calculate the interest on the delinquent payment, as specified, and would revise the formula for calculating the penalty. The bill would also require a county, city and county, or court to pay the interest or penalty amounts calculated pursuant to these provisions, as specified, to the State Court Facilities Construction Fund. The bill would require that payment be made by the entity responsible for the error or other action that caused the failure to pay, as determined by the Controller in notice given to that party by the Controller. Existing law provides definitions, including for "interested parties," for purposes of the provisions regulating the transfer of structured settlement payment rights. This bill would revise the definition of "interested parties" for purposes of those provisions. Existing law prohibits the inclusion of various provisions in an agreement for the transfer of structured settlement payment rights and would make an agreement void and unenforceable if a prohibited provision is included. Among the provisions prohibited from being included in those agreements are any forum selection provision providing for jurisdiction to be in a court outside of California for any action arising under the contract and any choice-of-law provision that provides for controlling law to be other than California law in any action arising under the contract. This bill would prohibit those 2 provisions if the payee is domiciled in California at the time that the transfer agreement is signed by the payee. Existing law provides that a transfer of structured settlement payment rights is not effective unless the transfer has been approved in advance in a final court order based on certain findings. Existing law provides where such an application for approval shall be filed and provides for a certain notice, which is to include specified documents, to be filed with the court and served on interested parties not less than 20 days prior to the scheduled hearing on the application for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights. This bill would make specified changes to the requirements regarding the court's written findings, the county where a transfer approval application is required to be filed, and the documents to be included with the notice.
Comments/questions on AB 982 (Tran): Court facilities.
