SECTIONS 54985-54988 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 54985-54988

54985. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law that
prescribes an amount or otherwise limits the amount of a fee or
charge that may be levied by a county, a county service area, or a
county waterworks district governed by a county board of supervisors,
a county board of supervisors shall have the authority to increase
or decrease the fee or charge, that is otherwise authorized to be
levied by another provision of law, in the amount reasonably
necessary to recover the cost of providing any product or service or
the cost of enforcing any regulation for which the fee or charge is
levied. The fee or charge may reflect the average cost of providing
any product or service or enforcing any regulation. Indirect costs
that may be reflected in the cost of providing any product or service
or the cost of enforcing any regulation shall be limited to those
items that are included in the federal Office of Management and
Budget Circular A-87 on January 1, 1984.
(b) If any person disputes whether a fee or charge levied pursuant
to subdivision (a) is reasonable, the board of supervisors may
request the county auditor to conduct a study and to determine
whether the fee or charge is reasonable.
Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to mean that the
county shall not continue to be subject to fee review procedures
required by Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
(c) This chapter shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any fee charged or collected by a court clerk pursuant to
Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 116.110) of Title 1 of Part 1 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, Title 8 (commencing with Section 68070)
of the Government Code, or Section 103470 of the Health and Safety
Code, or any other fee or charge that may be assessed, charged,
collected, or levied pursuant to law for filing judicial documents or
for other judicial functions.
(2) Any fees charged or collected pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 6100) of Division 7 of Title 1.
(3) Any standby or availability assessment or charge.
(4) Any fee charged or collected by a county agricultural
commissioner.
(5) Any fee charged or collected pursuant to Article 2.1
(commencing with Section 12240) of Chapter 2 of Division 5 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(6) Any fee charged or collected by a county recorder or local
registrar for filing, recording, or indexing any document, performing
any service, issuing any certificate, or providing a copy of any
document pursuant to Section 27361, 27361.1, 27361.3, 27361.4, 27364,
27365, or 27366 of the Government Code, Section 103625 of the Health
and Safety Code, or Section 9525 of the Commercial Code.
(7) Any fee charged or collected pursuant to Article 7 (commencing
with Section 26720) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 2 of Title 3
of the Government Code.

54986. (a) Prior to either approving an increase in an existing fee
or charge or initially imposing a new fee or charge pursuant to
Section 54985, the board of supervisors shall hold at least one
public meeting, at which oral or written presentations may be made,
as part of a regularly scheduled meeting. Notice of the time and
place of the meeting, including a general explanation of the matter
to be considered, and a statement that the data required by this
section is available, shall be mailed at least 14 days prior to the
meeting to any interested party who files a written request with the
clerk of the board of supervisors for mailed notice of the meeting on
new or increased fees or charges. Any written request for such
mailed notices shall be valid for one year from the date on which it
is filed unless a renewal request is filed. Renewal requests for such
mailed notices shall be filed on or before April 1st of each year.
The board of supervisors may establish a reasonable annual charge for
sending those notices based on the estimated cost of providing that
service. At least 10 days prior to the meeting, the board of
supervisors shall make available to the public data indicating the
amount of cost, or estimated cost, required to provide the product or
service or the cost of enforcing any regulation for which the fee or
charge is levied and the revenue sources anticipated to provide the
product or service or the cost of enforcing any regulation, including
general fund revenues.
(b) Any action by a board of supervisors to levy a new fee or
charge or to approve an increase in an existing fee or charge
pursuant to Section 54985 shall be taken only by ordinance.
(c) Any costs incurred by a county, a county service area, or
county waterworks district governed by a county board of supervisors
in conducting the meeting or meetings required pursuant to
subdivision (a) may be recovered from fees charged for the product or
service or the cost of enforcing any regulation which were the
subject of the meeting.

54987. (a) This chapter shall not be construed as granting any
additional authority to levy any fee or charge which is not otherwise
authorized by another provision of law nor shall its provisions be
construed as granting authority to levy a new fee or charge when
other provisions of law specifically prohibit the levy of a fee or
charge.
(b) This chapter shall not be construed as requiring counties,
county service areas, or county waterworks districts governed by a
county board of supervisors to review or revise any fee or charge
which is in effect January 1, 1984.

54988. (a) (1) In addition to any other remedy provided by law,
including the current powers of charter cities, the legislative body
of a city, county, or city and county may collect any fee, cost, or
charge incurred in any of the following:
(A) The abatement of public nuisances.
(B) The correction of any violation of any law, regulation, or
local ordinance that would also be a violation of Section 1941.1 of
the Civil Code.
(C) The enforcement of zoning ordinances adopted pursuant to
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 65800) of Division 1 of Title 7 or
any other constitutional or statutory authority.
(D) Inspections and abatement of violations of Article 1
(commencing with Section 13100) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 12
of the Health and Safety Code and regulations or ordinances adopted
pursuant to that article.
(E) Inspections and abatement of violations of the State Housing
Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code) and regulations or ordinances adopted
pursuant to that part.
(F) Inspections and abatement of violations of the California
Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of
Regulations).
(G) Inspections and abatement related to local ordinances and
regulations that implement any of the foregoing.
If the fee, cost, or charge has not been paid within 45 days of
notice thereof, the city, county, or city and county may collect the
fee, cost, or charge by making the amount of the unpaid fee, cost, or
charge a proposed lien against the property that is the subject of
the enforcement activity.
Except as provided in subdivision (c), the amount of the proposed
lien may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as
property taxes are collected. All laws applicable to the levy,
collection, and enforcement of ad valorem taxes shall be applicable
to the proposed lien, except that if any real property to which the
lien would attach has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide
purchaser for value, or if a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for
value has been created and attaches thereon, prior to the date on
which the first installment of taxes would become delinquent, then
the lien that would otherwise be imposed by this section shall not
attach to real property and the costs of enforcement relating to the
property shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection.
(2) The amount of any fee, cost, or charge shall not exceed the
actual cost incurred performing the inspections and enforcement
activity, including permit fees, fines, late charges, and interest.
(3) This section shall not apply to owner-occupied residential
dwelling units.
(4) This section does not apply to any enforcement, abatement,
correction, or inspection activity regarding a violation in which the
violation was evident on the plans that received a building permit.
(b) (1) A city, county, or city and county shall provide the owner
of the property with written notice in plain language of the
proposed lien, a description of the basis for the amounts comprising
the lien, a minimum of 45 days after notice to pay the fee, cost, or
charge, and an opportunity to appear before the legislative body and
be heard regarding the amount of the proposed lien. The notice shall
be mailed by certified mail to the last known address of the owner of
the property.
(2) In any city, county, or city and county, the legislative body
may delegate the holding of the hearing required by paragraph (1) to
a hearing board designated by the legislative body. The hearing board
may be the housing appeals board established pursuant to Section
17920.5 of the Health and Safety Code or any other body designated by
the legislative body. The hearing board shall make a written
recommendation to the legislative body which shall include factual
findings based on evidence introduced at the hearing. The legislative
body may adopt the recommendation without further notice of hearing,
or may set the matter for a de novo hearing before the legislative
body. Notice in writing of the de novo hearing shall be provided to
the property owner at least 10 days in advance of the scheduled
hearing.
(c) If the legislative body determines that the proposed lien
authorized pursuant to subdivision (a) shall become a lien, the body
may also cause a notice of lien to be recorded. This lien shall
attach upon recordation in the office of the county recorder of the
county in which the property is situated and shall have the same
force, priority, and effect as a judgment lien, not a tax lien. The
notice shall, at a minimum, identify the record owner or possessor of
the property, set forth the last known address of the record owner
or possessor, set forth the date upon which the lien was created
against the property, and include a description of the real property
subject to the lien and the amount of the lien.