(a) In addition to the fees provided in Section 2038, the commissioner shall levy an assessment each fiscal year, on a pro rata basis, on those licensees that at any time during the preceding calendar year engaged in the business of money transmission in California in an amount that is, in his or her judgment, sufficient to meet the commissioner’s expenses in administering the provisions of this division and to provide a reasonable reserve for contingencies.

(b) For licensees that sell or issue payment instruments or stored value, the amount of the annual assessment on any licensee shall not exceed the sum of the products determined by multiplying (1) increments of the aggregate face amount of payment instruments and stored value issued or sold in California by the licensee, directly or indirectly through agents, in the calendar year next preceding the date of such assessment, by (2) percentages of the base assessment rate, according to the following table:

Aggregate face amount of payment instruments and stored value sold (in millions)

Percentage of base assessment rate

First $1 ........................

100.0

Next $9 ........................

25.0

Next $40 ........................

12.5

Next $50 ........................

6.0

Next $400 ........................

3

Next $500 ........................

2

Excess over $1,000 ........................

1

The base assessment rate shall be fixed from time to time by the commissioner but shall not exceed one dollar ($1) per one thousand dollars ($1,000) face amount of payment instruments and stored value sold.

(c) For licensees receiving money for transmission, the basis of the apportionment of the assessment among the licensees assessed shall be the proportion that the total amount of money received for transmission by the licensee in California bears in relation to the total amount of money received for transmission by all licensees in California, as shown by the reports of licensees to the commissioner for the preceding calendar year. The assessment rate shall be fixed from time to time by the commissioner but shall not exceed one dollar ($1) per one thousand dollars ($1,000) of money received for transmission in California by the licensee.

(d) The commissioner shall notify each licensee by mail of the amount levied against it. The licensee shall pay the amount levied within 20 days. If payment is not made to the commissioner within that time, the commissioner shall assess and collect, in addition to the annual assessment, a penalty of 5 percent of the assessment for each month or part thereof that the payment is delinquent.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 356, Sec. 15. (SB 979) Effective January 1, 2013.)