Section 6909 Of Article 1. Claim For Refund From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 2. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 1.
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. (a) The Controller shall transfer the amount of six hundred
sixty-five million two hundred sixty-one thousand dollars
($665,261,000) from the General Fund to the Smog Impact Fee Refund
Account, which is hereby created in the Special Deposit Fund.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the
moneys in the Smog Impact Fee Refund Account in the Special Deposit
Fund are hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal
years, to the Department of Motor Vehicles for the purpose of making
refunds to persons who paid the smog impact fee formerly required by
Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 6261) upon registering a vehicle
in California. Each refund shall also include the amount of any
penalties incurred by the payer with respect to the fee, and shall
also include interest as specified in Sections 1673.2 and 1673.4 of
the Vehicle Code. In addition, the appropriate level of court costs,
fees, and expenses in the settlement of the case of Jordan v.
Department of Motor Vehicles (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 449, shall be
determined through binding arbitration, and all of those fees, costs,
or expenses shall be paid with funds from the account.
(c) The amount of any refund made under Section 1673.2 or Section
1673.4 of the Vehicle Code that is returned to the Department of
Motor Vehicles because the recipient's mailing address as shown by
the records of the department is incorrect shall be retained in the
Smog Impact Fee Refund Account in the Special Deposit Fund until
either of the following occurs:
(1) The department is able to ascertain the correct address of the
recipient, at which time the refund shall be mailed to that address.
(2) The date upon which those funds are transferred from the Smog
Impact Fee Refund Account in the Special Deposit Fund back to the
General Fund.
(d) Any unencumbered balance remaining in the account on or after
June 30, 2004, shall revert to the General Fund.
(e) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the amount
appropriated under subdivision (b) is a refund of taxes, as described
in subdivision (a) of Section 8 of Article XIII of the Constitution,
and, as a result, is not included within the "appropriations subject
to limitation" of the state, as defined in that subdivision (a).