CA Gov't Code Section 29550

(a)

(1)Subject to subdivision (d) of Section 29551, a county may impose a fee upon a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university for reimbursement of county expenses incurred with respect to the booking or other processing of persons arrested by an employee of that city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university, where the arrested persons are brought to the county jail for booking or detention. The fee imposed by a county pursuant to this section shall not exceed the actual administrative costs, including applicable overhead costs as permitted by federal Circular A-87 standards, as defined in subdivision (d), incurred in booking or otherwise processing arrested persons. For the 2005–06 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, the fee imposed by a county pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed one-half of the actual administrative costs, including applicable overhead costs as permitted by federal Circular A-87 standards, as defined in subdivision (d), incurred in booking or otherwise processing arrested persons. A county may submit an invoice to a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university for these expenses incurred by the county on and after July 1, 1990. Counties shall fully disclose the costs allocated as federal Circular A-87 overhead.
(2)Any county that imposes a fee pursuant to this section shall negotiate a reduced fee with any city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university within the county for any services that are performed by the arresting agency in the processing of arrestees that do not have to be duplicated by the county.
(3)This subdivision shall not apply to counties that are under a contractual agreement with a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university within the county that is subject to the fee.

(b)

The exemption of a local agency from the payment of a fee pursuant to this subdivision does not exempt the person arrested from the payment of fees for booking or other processing.

(1)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university shall not be charged fees for arrests on any bench warrant for failure to appear in court, nor on any arrest warrant issued in connection with a crime not committed within the entity’s jurisdiction.

(2)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university shall not be charged fees for a person who is ordered by a court to be remanded to the county jail except that a county may charge a fee to recover those direct costs for those functions required to book a person pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 853.6 of the Penal Code.

(3)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university shall not be charged fees for arrests made pursuant to arrest warrants originating outside of its jurisdiction.

(4)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no fees shall be charged to a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university on parole violation arrests or probation-ordered returns to custody, unless a new charge has been filed for a crime committed in the jurisdiction of the arresting city, district, college, or university.

(5)

An agency making a mutual aid request shall pay fees in accordance with subdivision (a) that result from arrests made in response to the mutual aid request except that in the event the Governor declares a state of emergency, no agency shall be charged fees for any arrest made during any riot, disturbance, or event that is subject to the declaration.

(6)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no fees shall be charged to a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university for the arrest of a prisoner who has escaped from a county, state, or federal detention or corrections facility.

(7)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no fees shall be charged to a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university for arrestees held in temporary detention at a court facility for purposes of arraignment when the arrestee has been previously booked at an entity detention facility.

(8)

Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no fees shall be charged to a city, special district, school district, community college district, college, or university as the result of an arrest made by its officer assigned to a formal multiagency task force in which the county is a participant. For the purposes of this section, “formal task force” means a task force that has been established by written agreement of the participating agencies.

(9)

In those counties where the cities and the county participate in a consolidated booking program and where prior to arraignment an arrestee is transferred from a city detention facility to a county detention facility, the city shall not be charged for those tasks listed in subdivision (d) that are a part of the consolidated booking program which were completed by the city prior to delivering the arrestee to the county detention facility. However, the county may charge the actual administrative costs for those additional tasks listed in subdivision (d) that are performed in order to receive the arrestee into the county detention facility. For the 2005–06 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, the county may charge up to one-half of the actual administrative costs for those additional tasks listed in subdivision (d) that are performed in order to receive the arrestee into the county detention facility.

(c)

Any county whose officer or agent arrests a person is entitled to recover from the arrested person a criminal justice administration fee for administrative costs it incurs in conjunction with the arrest if the person is convicted of any criminal offense related to the arrest, whether or not it is the offense for which the person was originally booked. The fee which the county is entitled to recover pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed the actual administrative costs, including applicable overhead costs incurred in booking or otherwise processing arrested persons.

(d)

When the court has been notified in a manner specified by the court that a criminal justice administration fee is due the agency:

(1)

A judgment of conviction may impose an order for payment of the amount of the criminal justice administration fee by the convicted person, and execution may be issued on the order in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action, but shall not be enforceable by contempt.

(2)

The court shall, as a condition of probation, order the convicted person, based on his or her ability to pay, to reimburse the county for the criminal justice administration fee, including applicable overhead costs.

(e)

As used in this section, “actual administrative costs” include only those costs for functions that are performed in order to receive an arrestee into a county detention facility. Operating expenses of the county jail facility including capital costs and those costs involved in the housing, feeding, and care of inmates shall not be included in calculating “actual administrative costs.” “Actual administrative costs” may include the cost of notifying any local agency, special district, school district, community college district, college or university of any change in the fee charged by a county pursuant to this section. “Actual administrative costs” may include any one or more of the following as related to receiving an arrestee into the county detention facility:

(1)

The searching, wristbanding, bathing, clothing, fingerprinting, photographing, and medical and mental screening of an arrestee.

(2)

Document preparation, retrieval, updating, filing, and court scheduling related to receiving an arrestee into the detention facility.

(3)

Warrant service, processing, and detainer.

(4)

Inventory of an arrestee’s money and creation of cash accounts.

(5)

Inventory and storage of an arrestee’s property.

(6)

Inventory, laundry, and storage of an arrestee’s clothing.

(7)

The classification of an arrestee.

(8)

The direct costs of automated services utilized in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive.

(9)

Unit management and supervision of the detention function as related to paragraphs (1) to (8), inclusive.

(f)

An administrative screening fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) shall be collected from each person arrested and released on his or her own recognizance upon conviction of any criminal offense related to the arrest other than an infraction. A citation processing fee in the amount of ten dollars ($10) shall be collected from each person cited and released by any peace officer in the field or at a jail facility upon conviction of any criminal offense, other than an infraction, related to the criminal offense cited in the notice to appear. However, the court may determine a lesser fee than otherwise provided in this subdivision upon a showing that the defendant is unable to pay the full amount. All fees collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be transmitted by the county auditor monthly to the Controller for deposit in the General Fund. This subdivision applies only to convictions occurring on or after the effective date of the act adding this subdivision and prior to June 30, 1996.

Source: Section 29550, https://leginfo.­legislature.­ca.­gov/faces/codes_displaySection.­xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=29550.­.

Last Updated

Aug. 19, 2023

§ 29550’s source at ca​.gov