(a) There is hereby established in the office a program of financial and technical assistance for district attorneys’ offices, designated the California Major Narcotic Vendors Prosecution Law. All funds appropriated to the office for the purposes of this chapter shall be administered and disbursed by the director in consultation with the California Council on Criminal Justice, and shall to the greatest extent feasible be coordinated or consolidated with federal funds that may be made available for these purposes.

(b) The director is authorized to allocate and award funds to counties in which the California Major Narcotic Vendors Prosecution Law is implemented in substantial compliance with the policies and criteria set forth in this chapter.

(c) The allocation and award of funds shall be made upon application executed by the county’s district attorney and approved by its board of supervisors. Funds disbursed under this chapter shall not supplant local funds that would, in the absence of the California Major Narcotic Vendors Prosecution Law, be made available to support the prosecution of felony drug cases. Funds available under this program shall not be subject to review, as specified in Section 14780 of the Government Code.

(d) The director shall prepare and issue written program and administrative guidelines and procedures for the California Major Narcotic Vendors Prosecution Program consistent with this chapter, which shall be submitted to the Chairpersons of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety and the Senate Committee on Criminal Procedure. These guidelines shall permit the selection of a county for the allocation and award of funds only on a finding by the office that the county is experiencing a proportionately significant increase in major narcotic cases. Further, the guidelines shall provide for the allocation and award of funds to small county applicants, as designated by the director. The guidelines shall also provide that any funds received by a county under this chapter shall be used only for the prosecution of cases involving major narcotic dealers. For purposes of this subdivision, “small county” means a county having a population of 200,000 or less.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 460. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)