Section 70323 Of Article 3. Agreements Transferring Responsibility For Court Facilities From California Government Code >> Title 8. >> Chapter 5.7. >> Article 3.
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.