(a)
A county that is responsible for the cost of a trial or trials or any hearing of a person for the offense of homicide may apply to the Controller for reimbursement of the costs incurred by the county in excess of the amount of money derived by the county from a tax of 0.0125 of 1 percent of the full value of property assessed for purposes of taxation within the county.
(b)
The formula in this section shall apply to any homicide trial in which the commission of the crime occurred on or after January 1, 2005. Homicide trials for which the crime was committed before January 1, 2005, shall qualify under the reimbursement statute in effect before that date.
(c)
The Controller shall not reimburse any county for costs that exceed the Department of General Services’ standards for travel and per diem expenses. The Controller may reimburse extraordinary costs in unusual cases if the county provides sufficient justification of the need for these expenditures. Nothing in this section shall permit the reimbursement of costs for travel in excess of 1,000 miles on any single round trip, without the prior approval of the Attorney General.
(d)
Reimbursement funds appropriated pursuant to this section are available for three fiscal years from the date of the appropriation. After three fiscal years, any unused funds shall revert back to the General Fund.