41041. (a) When necessary to ensure compliance with this part, the department may require any person subject to this part to place with it the security that the department determines. Security in the form of cash, insured deposits in banks or savings and loan institutions, or a bond or bonds duly executed by an admitted surety insurer, payable to the state, conditioned upon faithful performance of all of the requirements of this part and expressly providing for the payment of all surcharges, penalties, and other obligations of the person arising out of this part, shall be held in trust to be used solely in the manner provided by this section. The amount of security shall be fixed by the department, not to exceed twice the estimated average quarterly liability of persons filing for quarterly periods, or three times the estimated average monthly liability of persons filing for monthly periods, determined in the manner that the department deems proper. Security held by the department shall be released after a three-year period in which the person has filed all returns and paid all surcharges due to the state under this part or any amount of surcharge required to be collected and paid to the state within the time required.
(b) If, when a person discontinues business, the department holds security pursuant to this section in the form of cash or insured deposits in banks or savings and loan institutions, the security when applied to the account of the taxpayer shall be deemed a payment on any liability of the person to the department on the date the business is discontinued.
(c) This section shall not apply to a taxpayer who either has timely filed all returns and paid all surcharges due to the state under this part for the three consecutive years prior to the effective date of this section, or has, on or before July 31, 1998, timely filed all returns and paid all surcharges due to the state under this part since the taxpayer registered with the department pursuant to Section 41040. However, the department may require security from any taxpayer who fails to remain in compliance with the reporting and payment requirements of this part subsequent to the effective date of this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 432, Sec. 62. (SB 824) Effective January 1, 2022.)