Long Beach Courthouse Moves Closer To Replacement

Los Angeles County has officially transferred the title and ownership of the Long Beach Superior Courthouse to the State of California, completing a critical step in the planned replacement of the building with a new Courthouse nearby.

State control of the Superior Court system was approved in 1997 under the Trial Court Funding Act. Until now, the State-run court has been a tenant in the County-owned Long Beach Courthouse. However, when the takeover legislation passed in 1997, the State also took control of the construction funding necessary to remodel or replace courthouses. Because Los Angeles County could no longer access the funds, the County could not pay for replacing the courthouse. Similarly, the State could not pay for replacement because they did hold ownership title to the courthouse.

The transfer of the title for the Long Beach Courthouse is a milestone because it the first of dozens of courthouses in Los Angeles County that will ultimately be transferred to and operated by the State of California. Although the deadline for transfer of every courthouse in the State is June 30, 2007, to date only 71 courthouses of nearly 500 statewide have been transferred.

By expediting the title transfer of the Long Beach Courthouse, it accelerates the State’s ability to use construction funding to replace the building or to enter into a public/private partnership with a developer to build a new courthouse and lease it back to the State.

“By making the Long Beach Courthouse the first of our numerous facilities across the County to be transferred to the State, it sends a strong message that replacing this outdated facility is a top priority,” said Supervisor Knabe. “We need a modern and safe courthouse in this community and this transfer gets us a significant step closer to that goal.”

Supervisor Knabe has worked with Judge Bradford Andrews and other state and local leaders over the course of several years to lobby for funds to construct a new courthouse in Long Beach.