(a) Prior to the completion of the negotiations concerning the transfer of responsibility for court facilities in a building, the state shall provide for a licensed structural engineer to inspect and evaluate the building containing the court facilities for seismic safety if the building was built under a building code prior to the 1988 Uniform Building Code and the building has not been upgraded since 1988 for seismic safety. The inspection shall be made using the method and criteria for seismic safety developed by the Department of General Services’ Real Estate Services Division. Any repair required to the damage caused by the exploratory inspection shall be paid for by the state.

(b) The county shall assist the state in the inspection by providing the following:

(1) Access to the facility for inspection purposes.

(2) Drawings and design documents for the building, if available.

(3) Any reports on structural or seismic evaluations of the building.

(c) If a building is given an unacceptable seismic safety rating and the county subsequently performs seismic upgrade work, the state may, upon the request of the county and at the county’s expense, contract with a licensed structural engineer to reinspect and reevaluate the building.

(d) Neither title to a building with an unacceptable seismic safety rating nor responsibility for the court facilities in that building shall transfer to the state or the Judicial Council under this chapter, and Section 70312 does not apply to the court facilities in that building, unless provision is made in the agreement for correction of the unacceptable seismic safety items.

(e) The Administrative Director of the Courts, in his or her discretion, with the approval of the Director of Finance or his or her designee, may waive the inspection required by subdivision (a) upon his or her finding of either of the following:

(1) The ratio of court facilities to other facilities in the building is minimal and title to the building is not being transferred to the state.

(2) The amount of court space in the building does not exceed 10,000 square feet.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1082, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2003.)