Courts to get $5 Billion for Repairs, Renovations

The Glendale, Santa Clarita and Lancaster divisions of the Los Angeles Superior Court will be among the beneficiaries of SB 1407, a $5 billion lease-revenue bonds measure, which was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently. The money from 1407 is targeted to bring the state’s more than 450 court facilities into the 21st Century in terms of safety, convenience, and utility with new construction projects, renovations, and repairs. The California State Bar Association was a chief proponent of the measure. According to an article on the Bar’s website, new fees and fines will help service the bonds’ debt to the tune of $280 million per year. Fees that will be raised to help pay for the infrastructure-improvement plan include: – An increase of $25 for traffic school – An increase of $15 for fix-it tickets – An increase of $3 on parking tickets – An increase of $30 for filing civil suits – An increase of $200 for out-of-state attorney filings “Building California’s infrastructure is one of my highest priorities,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “Improving our state’s aging court facilities has been an integral part of my promise to Californians to rebuild our infrastructure and increase public safety. This bill not only delivers on that promise to finance desperately needed construction projects, but it will also help create thousands of jobs for California workers.”