78B-22-703. County and state obligations.
| (1) |
Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-22-703- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Board: means the Indigent Defense Funds Board created in Section 78B-22-501. See Utah Code 78B-22-102
- fund: means the Indigent Aggravated Murder Defense Fund. See Utah Code 78B-22-701
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Participating county: means a county that complies with this chapter for participation in the Indigent Aggravated Murder Defense Fund as provided in Sections 78B-22-702 and 78B-22-703. See Utah Code 78B-22-102
- Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (a) |
Except as provided in Subsection (1)(b), a participating county shall pay into the fund annually an amount calculated by multiplying the average of the percent of the county’s population to the total population of all participating counties and of the percent of the county’s taxable value of the locally and centrally assessed property located within that county to the total taxable value of the locally and centrally assessed property to all participating counties by the total fund assessment for that year to be paid by all participating counties as is determined by the board to be sufficient such that it is unlikely that a deficit will occur in the fund in any calendar year. |
| (b) |
The fund minimum is equal to or greater than 50 cents per person of all counties participating. |
| (c) |
The amount paid by a participating county under this Subsection (1) is the total county obligation for payment of costs in accordance with Section 78B-22-701. |
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| (2) |
| (a) |
A county that elects to initiate participation in the fund, or reestablish participation in the fund after participation was terminated, is required to make an equity payment in addition to the assessment required by Subsection (1). |
| (b) |
The equity payment is determined by the board and represent what the county’s equity in the fund would be if the county had made assessments into the fund for each of the previous two years. |
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| (3) |
If the fund balance after contribution by the state and participating counties is insufficient to replenish the fund annually to at least $250,000, the board by a majority vote may terminate the fund. |
| (4) |
If the fund is terminated, the remaining money shall continue to be administered and disbursed in accordance with the provision of this chapter until exhausted, at which time the fund shall cease to exist. |
| (5) |
| (a) |
If the fund runs a deficit during any calendar year, the state is responsible for the deficit. |
| (b) |
In the calendar year following a deficit year, the board shall increase the assessment required by Subsection (1) by an amount at least equal to the deficit of the previous year, which combined amount becomes the base assessment until another deficit year occurs. |
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| (6) |
In a calendar year in which the fund runs a deficit, or is projected to run a deficit, the board shall request a supplemental appropriation to pay for the deficit from the Legislature in the following general session. |
| (7) |
The state shall pay any or all of the reasonable and necessary money for the deficit into the fund. |
Amended by Chapter 182, 2023 General Session
