The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) The resolution of many disputes can be unnecessarily costly, time-consuming, and complex when achieved through...
It is the intent of the Legislature to permit counties to accomplish all of the following: (a) Encouragement and support of the development and use of alternative dispute...
As used in this chapter: (a) Dispute resolution includes, but is not limited to, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration. (b) Program means an entity that provides dispute resolution. ...
(a) There is in the Division of Consumer Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs a Dispute Resolution Advisory Council. The advisory council shall complete the duties required...
(a) A program funded pursuant to this chapter shall be operated pursuant to contract with the county and shall comply with all of the requirements of this chapter and the rules and regulations of...
A program shall not be eligible for funding under this chapter unless it meets all of the following requirements: (a) Compliance with this chapter and the applicable rules and regulations...
Programs funded pursuant to this chapter shall provide persons indicating an intention to utilize the dispute resolution process with a written statement prior to the...
(a) An agreement resolving a dispute entered into with the assistance of a program shall not be enforceable in a court nor shall it be admissible as evidence in any judicial...
Notwithstanding the express application of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1115) of Division 9 of the Evidence Code to mediations, all proceedings conducted by a program funded pursuant...
Each program shall maintain those statistical records required by Section 471.5, and as may be required by the county. The records shall maintain the confidentiality and anonymity of the parties....
(a) Unless the parties have agreed to a binding award, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any person who voluntarily enters the dispute resolution process from revoking his or...
All funds available to a county for the purposes of this chapter shall be utilized for projects proposed by eligible programs....
Programs shall be selected for funding by a county from the applications submitted therefor....
Applications submitted for funding shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following information: (a) Evidence of compliance with Sections 467.2, 467.3, and 467.4....
Data supplied by each applicant shall be used to assign relative funding priority on the basis of criteria developed by the advisory council. The criteria may include, but shall not...
Upon the approval of the county, funds available for the purposes of this chapter shall be used for the costs of operation of approved programs. Not more than 10 percent of funds...
A county may accept and disburse funds from any public or private source for the purposes of this chapter....
(a) A grant recipient may accept funds from any public or private source for the purposes of this chapter. (b) A county and its representatives may inspect, examine, and audit the...
A county's share of the funding pursuant to this chapter shall not exceed 50 percent of the approved estimated cost of the program....
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a fee of not less than one dollar ($1) and not more than eight dollars ($8) may be added to the total fees collected and fixed pursuant to...
(a) The advisory council shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, guidelines to be used by the programs for the...
The rules and regulations adopted by the advisory council pursuant to Section 471 shall be formulated to promote statewide uniformity with the guidelines contained in those rules and regulations....
Each program funded pursuant to this chapter shall annually provide the county with statistical data regarding its operating budget; the number of referrals, categories, or types of cases referred...