Section 17321 Of Article 3. Membership Fee And Assessments From California Financial Code >> Division 6. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 3.
17321
. Fidelity Corporation shall bill and collect from each member
an annual premium that in the aggregate shall consist of assessments
for the operations fund and the fidelity fund.
(a) The annual assessment for the operations fund shall be
assessed no later than October 15 of each year for the current fiscal
year in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 17320. The
payment of any invoice for assessments under this subdivision is
payable by the member escrow agent in three equal and consecutive
monthly installments with the first installment payable at or within
30 days after receipt of the Fidelity Corporation invoice. The
assessment shall include:
(1) All costs and expenses of administration as budgeted by the
board of directors for the current fiscal year.
(2) Any expenses actually incurred in the preceding fiscal year
which exceeded the budgeted costs of expenses and administration
except for expenses recovered pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
17321.1.
Each member's assessment shall be determined pro rata based upon
the ratio of each member's licensed locations to the total licensed
locations of all members as of the preceding June 30.
Members licensed on or after July 1 of each year shall be assessed
only for costs and expenses pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subdivision. This assessment shall be prorated on a monthly basis.
(b) The annual assessment for the fidelity fund shall be assessed
no later than May 1. The assessment shall include any amount
necessary to replenish the membership fund pursuant to Section 17324,
and shall be based upon the balances of the membership fund and the
fidelity fund as of December 31 of the previous year and the escrow
liability schedule of each licensed location as provided in Section
17348, and shall be calculated as follows:
(1) If the membership fund and fidelity fund in the aggregate
equal an amount less than five million dollars ($5,000,000), or if
the balance in the fidelity fund is less than two million five
hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000), then the assessment shall be
the greater of: (A) the amount necessary to bring the membership fund
and fidelity fund in the aggregate up to five million dollars
($5,000,000), but not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) per
assessment, or (B) the amount necessary to maintain a minimum
fidelity fund balance of two million five hundred thousand dollars
($2,500,000), including the amount of the assessment, or (C) four
hundred thousand dollars ($400,000).
(2) If the membership fund and fidelity fund in the aggregate
equal an amount that is at least five million dollars ($5,000,000),
and the balance in the fidelity fund is at least two million five
hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000), then the assessment shall be
four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000).
Each member's fidelity fund assessment for paragraphs (1) and (2)
shall be the amount derived by multiplying the amount to be assessed
by the ratio that each member's risk factors bear to the total of all
members' risk factors.
A member's risk factors shall be computed in accordance with the
following formula, except that the total factors of a member shall be
reduced by one for each licensed branch location: