On September 18, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1869 into law. This bill repealed the authority of Counties to charge and collect a variety of Adult Criminal Justice fees including several fees charged by the Probation Department, Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender, and County Conflict Attorney. This law went into effect on July 1, 2021 and requires the County to discharge uncollected fees associated with these same provisions. AB 1869 also provides revenue from the state General Fund of $65 million annually to backfill the loss of these fees beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 and extending through FY 2025-26. It is estimated that Shasta County will receive $423,098 annually through FY 2025-26.
A review of revenue for three years has been completed to understand the revenue lost by each department and to develop an annual distribution methodology. Impacted departments have agreed on a percentage distribution of funds for this fiscal year and fiscal years going forward. The agreed upon funding distribution is as follows: Conflict Counsel 3.40%; Public Defender 10.48%; Sheriff’s Office 21.08%; Probation 65.04%.
It is up to each department to work with the Auditor-Controller to assure the countywide Master Fee List is updated to reflect changes by AB 1869.