(a) The contributions required of a contracting agency, along with contributions withheld from salaries of its employees, shall be forwarded monthly, no later than the 10th day of the month for which the contribution is due. The contributions shall be credited to the Public Employees’ Contingency Reserve Fund as specified by Section 22910.

(1) Deferrals or contributions paid by a contracting agency shall be paid through an electronic funds transfer method prescribed by the board. This payment requirement is effective upon declaration by the board.

(2) A contracting agency that is unable, for good cause, to comply with paragraph (1), may apply to the board for a waiver that allows the agency to pay in an alternate manner as prescribed by the board, but not by credit card payment.

(3) For the purpose of this subdivision, “electronic funds transfer” has the same meaning as that set forth in Section 20027.5.

(b) A county superintendent of schools shall draw requisitions against the county school service fund and the funds of the respective school districts for the amount equal to the total of the employer contributions and the employee contributions deducted from compensation paid from those funds. The amounts shall be deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the contract retirement fund established pursuant to Section 20617. The county superintendent thereafter shall draw his or her requisitions against the fund in favor of the board which, when allowed by the county auditor, shall constitute warrants against the fund and shall forward the warrants to the board in accordance with this section.

(c) If a contracting agency fails to remit the contributions when due, the agency may be assessed interest at an annual rate of 10 percent and the costs of collection, including reasonable legal fees, when necessary to collect the amounts due. In the case of repeated delinquencies, the contracting agency may be assessed a penalty of 10 percent of the delinquent amount. That penalty may be assessed once during each 30-day period that the amount remains unpaid. Additionally, the contracting agency may be required to deposit one-month’s premium as a condition of continued participation in the program.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 118, Sec. 5. (AB 637) Effective January 1, 2010.)