(a) In the event a district attorney, county counsel, or a city attorney has brought an action for civil or criminal penalties pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 against a person for the violation of any provision of that chapter, or any rule, regulation, permit, covenant, standard, requirement, or order issued, adopted, or executed thereunder, and the department has expended moneys from the state account pursuant to Section 78875 for immediate corrective action in response to a release, or threatened release, of a hazardous substance that has resulted, in whole or in part, from the person’s acts or omissions, the state account may be made a party to that action for the purpose of recovering the costs against that person.
(b) (1) If the state account is made a party to the action, the Attorney General shall represent the state account for the purpose of recovering the moneys expended from the account.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and under terms that the Attorney General and the department deem appropriate, the Attorney General may delegate the authority to recover the costs to the district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney who has brought the action pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20.
(c) The failure to seek the recovery of moneys expended from the state account as part of the action brought pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 does not foreclose the Attorney General from recovering the moneys in a separate action.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 154, Sec. 14. (SB 642) Effective January 1, 2024.)