BILL ANALYSIS SB 57 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 5, 2005 Counsel: Heather Hopkins ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Mark Leno, Chair SB 57 (Alarcon) - As Amended: May 27, 2005 SUMMARY : Allows a county board of supervisors to impose an additional penalty of 20% on every fine or penalty imposed for criminal offenses and Vehicle Code violations. Specifically, this bill : 1)Permits, for purposes of supporting emergency medical services, as specified, a county board of supervisors to elect to levy an additional penalty of $2 for every $10 or fraction thereof, which is to be collected together with and in the same manner as existing assessments, as specified, upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses, including specified violations of the Business and Professions Code relating to the control of alcoholic beverages, Vehicle Code violations, and local ordinances adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code except parking offenses, as specified. 2)Requires that the moneys collected be taken from fines and forfeitures and deposited with the county treasurer prior to other specified assessments. 3)Requires that the funds collected be deposited into the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund, as specified. 4)Requires 15% of the money deposited in the Maddy EMS Fund pursuant to the provisions of this bill be utilized to provide funding for pediatric trauma centers. Limits expenditure of this money to reimbursement to physicians and surgeons, hospitals for patients who do not make payment for services, or for expanding the services provided at pediatric trauma centers, including the purchase of equipment. 5)Requires counties that do not maintain pediatric trauma centers to utilize the money deposited into the Maddy EMS Fund to reimburse physicians and surgeons and hospitals for SB 57 Page 2 patients who do not make payment for EMS and for other EMS purposes as determined by the county according to a specified schedule. Permits funding to be used for administrative costs, as specified. 6)Requires costs of administering money deposited into the Maddy EMS Fund to be reimbursed from the money collected, not to exceed 10%. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides for an additional "state penalty" of $10 for every $10 or fraction thereof levied upon every fine, penalty or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses including all offenses, except parking offenses, involving the Vehicle Code. The money collected from the penalty is distributed in specified percentages among: the Fish and Game Preservation Fund; the Restitution Fund; the Peace Officers Training Fund; the Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund; the Corrections Training Fund; the Local Public Prosecutors and Public Defenders Fund; the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund; and the Traumatic Brain Injury Fund. (Penal Code Section 1464.) 2)Provides that in each county there shall be an additional penalty of $7 for every $10 thereof upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses, including all offenses involving a violation of the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code except parking offenses. The money collected shall be placed in any of the following funds if established by a county board of supervisors: Courthouse Construction Fund, Criminal Justice Facilities Construction Fund, Automated Fingerprint Identification Fund, EMS Fund, or DNA Identification Fund. (Government Code Section 76000.) 3)Imposes a state surcharge of 20% on every base fine collected by the court. All money collected shall be deposited in the General Fund. (Penal Code Section 1465.7.) 4)Establishes a state court construction penalty assessment in an amount up to $5 for every $10 or fraction thereof, upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses. The variation in the amount is dependant on the amount collected by the county for deposit SB 57 Page 3 into the local Courthouse Construction Fund established pursuant to Government Code Section 76100. As a result, the penalty assessment ranges from $0.00 for every $10 in two counties to the full $5 for every $10 in nine counties. This provision took effect on January 1, 2003. (Government Code Section 70372.) 5)Provides for a flat fee of $20 on every conviction for a criminal offense to ensure adequate funding for court security. (Penal Code Section 1465.8.) 6)Levies a $1 penalty assessment on every $10 in fines and forfeitures resulting from criminal and traffic offenses and dedicates these revenues to state and local governments for Proposition 69, DNA Databank, implementation purposes. (Government Code Section 76104.6.) 7)Authorizes a county to establish a Maddy EMS Fund to be used to reimburse physicians and hospitals for patients who do not make payment for emergency medical services and for other emergency medical services purposes as determined by each county. Requires each county establishing the fund to report to the Legislature annually on the implementation and status of the fund. (Health and Safety Code Section 1797.98a et seq.; Government Code Section 76104.) FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : 1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Many hospitals throughout California suffer from funding shortages. As a result, hospitals are not prepared to adequately serve the patients in their area and are often forced to close their doors. Many of these hospitals offer trauma care services essential to saving the lives of many patients who without them would have no choice but to go elsewhere for services. Currently, trauma care centers face a $635 million dollar shortfall; this bill seeks to generate funding to help alleviate this problem." 2)Existing Penalty Assessments : Under current law, penalty assessments applied to every fine are up to 250% plus $20. The penalty assessments have been increasing over time, from 50% in 1983 to 250% today. The existing penalty assessments SB 57 Page 4 are as follows: a) State Penalty Assessment - 100% : Existing law provides for an additional "state penalty" of $10 for every $10 or fraction thereof, upon every fine, penalty or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses including all offenses, except parking offenses, involving the Vehicle Code. Of the money collected, 70% is transmitted to the state and 30% remains with the county. The state portion of the money collected from the penalty is distributed in specified percentages among: the Fish and Game Preservation Fund (0.33%); the Restitution Fund (32.02%); the Peace Officers Training Fund (23.99%); the Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund (25.70%); the Corrections Training Fund (7.88%); the Local Public Prosecutors and Public Defenders Fund (0.78%, not to exceed $850,000 per year); the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund (8.64%); and the Traumatic Brain Injury Fund (0.66%). (Penal Code Section 1464.) b) County Penalty Assessment - 70% : Existing law provides for an additional county penalty assessment of $7 for every $10 or fraction thereof, upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses, including all offenses involving a violation of the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code except parking offenses. The money collected shall be placed in any of the following funds if established by a county board of supervisors: Courthouse Construction Fund, Criminal Justice Facilities Construction Fund, Automated Fingerprint Identification Fund, EMS Fund, or DNA Identification Fund. (Government Code Section 76000 et seq.) c) State Surcharge - 20% : As a part of the 2002-03 Budget Act, the Legislature imposed a temporary state surcharge of 20% on every base fine collected by the court. The surcharge took effect on September 30, 2002 and all money collected shall be deposited in the General Fund. (Penal Code Section 1465.7.) d) State Court Facilities Construction - 50%: Two years ago, as a part of the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002 [SB 1732 (Escutia), Chapter 1022, Statutes of 2002], the Legislature established the "State Court Facilities SB 57 Page 5 Construction Fund" and added a state court construction penalty assessment in an amount up to $5 for every $10 or fraction thereof upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses. The variation in the amount is dependant on the amount collected by the county for deposit into the local Courthouse Construction Fund established pursuant to Government Code Section 76100. As a result, the penalty assessment ranges from $0.00 for every $10 in two counties to the full $5 for every $10 in nine counties. This provision took effect on January 1, 2003. (Government Code Section 70372.) e) Court Security - $20 : Finally, as part of the 2003-04 Budget, the Legislature approved a flat fee of $20 on every conviction for a criminal offense to ensure adequate funding for court security. This provision took effect immediately. (Penal Code Section 1465.8.) f) Proposition 69 (November 2004) - 10% : Proposition 69 levies a $1 penalty assessment on every $10 in fines and forfeitures resulting from criminal and traffic offenses and dedicates these revenues to state and local governments for implementation purposes - the state will receive 70% of these funds in the first two years, 50% in the third year and 25% annually thereafter. The remainder will go to local governments. (Government Code Section 76104.6.) 3)Additional Penalty Assessments of 20% Proposed By This Bill : In addition to the above penalty assessment, a county board of supervisors may also elect to levy an additional penalty of $2 for every $10 on all criminal offenses, included specified Business and Professions Code relating to control of alcoholic beverages and all Vehicle Code offenses, except specified parking offenses. The provisions of this bill would lead to a total of 270% penalty assessments. That would mean that a $1,000, which under current law's penalty assessments is $3,520, would increase to $3,720 under the provisions of this bill. 4)California's Trauma Care : In September 2002, California Healthcare Foundation published a report on California's trauma care system. That report stated the following, "In recent years, California's system of 46 trauma centers increasingly has been reported as being in financial jeopardy. SB 57 Page 6 In October 2000, five of Los Angeles County's 10 private trauma enters were threatened with closure due to financial hardship, prompting the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to allocate $8.5 million in emergency funds to prevent any centers from shitting their doors. In July 2002, faced with continuing fiscal crises in their trauma care system, the Los Angeles County Supervisors voted to place a $175 million ballot measure before the voters to help fund the county's trauma care centers and emergency departments." While California trauma centers may well need additional monies, the question remains as to if increasing penalty assessments yet again is the best way to raise revenue for trauma centers across California. 5)Arguments in Support : According to the University of California, "Existing law allows counties to establish and distribute emergency medical services funds to hospitals. Generally, these payments are distributed to providers through each county's EMS Fund. Currently, these funds are insufficient to cover the costs of providing emergency medical services and trauma services to medically indigent, uninsured, and underinsured Californians. By providing counties with the option of raising additional funds to reimburse hospitals for costs associated with providing emergency medical services, this bill will be instrumental in maintaining the financial stability of hospitals that are critical to California's health care system." 6)Arguments in Opposition : According to the Judicial Council of California, "The new penalty assessments authorized by this bill will impose significant burdens on court administration. In counties that adopt the assessments, courts will be forced to reprogram their case management systems (CMS) to perform the new fine calculations. Unfortunately, some of the older CMS systems used by courts are not even capable of the reprogram that would be necessary to collect that assessments provided for in the bill. Courts utilizing these older CMS will either have to perform the new fine calculations by hand or completely abandon their systems. In either circumstance, courts will incur substantial costs in their efforts to comply." REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : SB 57 Page 7 Support American College of Emergency Physicians, State Chapter of California, Inc. California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform California Ambulance Association California Hospital Association California Nurses Association California Professional Firefighters County Health Executives Association of California County of Los Angeles El Proyecto del Barrio Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association of California Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors New Horizons Pacifica Hospital of the Valley St. Mary Medical Center The Los Angeles Free Clinic Trauma Managers Association of California University of California Opposition California Teamsters Public Affairs Council California Conference of Machinists California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union Judicial Council of California California State Automobile Association Automobile Club of Southern California Coalition of Trial Court Clerk Associations Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training California Attorneys for Criminal Justice California Public Defenders Association One private citizen Analysis Prepared by : Heather Hopkins / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744