Section 71386 Of Article 10. Uniform Accounting System For Courts From California Government Code >> Title 8. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 10.
71386
. (a) Each superior court shall adopt a written policy,
consistent with rules adopted by, or trial court financial policies
and procedures authorized by, the Judicial Council under subdivision
(a) of Section 77206, governing the acceptance of checks and money
orders in payment of any fees, fines, or bail deposits. The policy
shall permit clerks to accept checks and money orders under
conditions that tend to assure their validity.
(b) A court shall accept a personal check, bank cashier's check,
or money order for payment of any fee or fine, or for a deposit of
bail for any offense that is not declared to be a felony, provided
the check or money order meets the criteria established in
subdivision (a). However, no court shall be required to accept a
check in excess of three hundred dollars ($300) from a defendant in
custody as a deposit of bail for any alleged violation of the Penal
Code.
(c) The acceptance of a check pursuant to this section constitutes
payment of the obligation owed to the payee public agency to the
extent of the amount of the check as of the date of acceptance.
(d) If any check offered in payment pursuant to this section is
returned to the payee without payment, a reasonable charge for the
returned check not to exceed the actual costs incurred may be imposed
to recover the processing and collection costs. This charge may be
added to, and become part of, any underlying obligation other than an
obligation that constitutes a lien on real property, or a different
method of payment for that payment and future payments by that person
may be prescribed. If the costs are incurred by the county, the
charges imposed for a returned check shall be retained by the
treasurer of the county and be deposited in the county general fund.
If the costs are incurred by the court, the charges imposed for a
returned check shall be distributed to the court under Section
68085.1.