(a) Notwithstanding Sections 740, 806, 949, and 959 or any other law to the contrary, a criminal prosecution may be commenced by filing an accusatory pleading in electronic form with the magistrate or in a court having authority to receive it.

(b) As used in this section, accusatory pleadings include, but are not limited to, the complaint, the information, and the indictment.

(c) A magistrate or court is authorized to receive and file an accusatory pleading in electronic form if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The accusatory pleading is issued in the name of, and transmitted by, a public prosecutor or law enforcement agency filing pursuant to Chapter 5c (commencing with Section 853.5) or Chapter 5d (commencing with Section 853.9), or by a clerk of the court with respect to complaints issued for the offenses of failure to appear, pay a fine, or comply with an order of the court.

(2) The magistrate or court has the facility to electronically store the accusatory pleading for the statutory period of record retention.

(3) The magistrate or court has the ability to reproduce the accusatory pleading in physical form upon demand and payment of any costs involved.

An accusatory pleading shall be deemed to have been filed when it has been received by the magistrate or court.

When transmitted in electronic form, the accusatory pleading shall be exempt from any requirement that it be subscribed by a natural person. It is sufficient to satisfy any requirement that an accusatory pleading, or any part of it, be sworn to before an officer entitled to administer oaths, if the pleading, or any part of it, was in fact sworn to and the electronic form indicates which parts of the pleading were sworn to and the name of the officer who administered the oath.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a notice to appear issued on a form approved by the Judicial Council may be received and filed by a court in electronic form, if the following conditions are met:

(1) The notice to appear is issued and transmitted by a law enforcement agency prosecuting pursuant to Chapter 5c (commencing with Section 853.5) or Chapter 5d (commencing with Section 853.9) of Title 3 of Part 2 of this code, or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 40300) of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code.

(2) The court has all of the following:

(A) The ability to receive the notice to appear in electronic format.

(B) The facility to electronically store an electronic copy and the data elements of the notice to appear for the statutory period of record retention.

(C) The ability to reproduce the electronic copy of the notice to appear and those data elements in printed form upon demand and payment of any costs involved.

(3) The issuing agency has the ability to reproduce the notice to appear in physical form upon demand and payment of any costs involved.

(e) A notice to appear that is received under subdivision (d) is deemed to have been filed when it has been accepted by the court and is in the form approved by the Judicial Council.

(f) If transmitted in electronic form, the notice to appear is deemed to have been signed by the defendant if it includes a digitized facsimile of the defendant’s signature on the notice to appear. A notice to appear filed electronically under subdivision (d) need not be subscribed by the citing officer. An electronically submitted notice to appear need not be verified by the citing officer with a declaration under penalty of perjury if the electronic form indicates which parts of the notice are verified by that declaration and the name of the officer making the declaration.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 567, Sec. 23. Effective January 1, 2007.)