BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 412 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 412 (Williams) As Amended May 27, 2011 Majority vote HEALTH 15-0 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 9-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Monning, Ammiano, Atkins, |Ayes:|Smyth, Alejo, Bradford, | | |Bonilla, Eng, Gordon, | |Campos, Davis, Gordon, | | |Hayashi, | |Hueso, Knight, Norby | | |Roger Hernández, Bonnie | | | | |Lowenthal, Mitchell, | | | | |Nestande, Pan, | | | | |V. Manuel Pérez, Smyth, | | | | |Williams | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 -------------------------------- |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | |Solorio, Wagner | | | | -------------------------------- SUMMARY : Enacts, for Santa Barbara County only until January 1, 2014, a penalty of $5 for every $10 in base fines imposed on criminal offenses and certain vehicle code offenses and provides that the amount collected is to be deposited in a county established Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund. Specifically, this bill : 1)Establishes, in Santa Barbara County, a penalty of $5 for every $10 to be imposed on fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected for all criminal offenses and those vehicle code offenses related to driving under the influence and sunsets January 1, 2014. 2)Requires the proceeds of the penalty assessment to be payable in AB 412 Page 2 the same manner as funds in a county Maddy EMS Fund. 3)Conditions implementation of this bill upon adoption of a resolution of necessity by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. 4)Requires the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to report to the Legislature on the actions taken to implement alternative local sources of funding. 5)Exempts restitution fines, specified penalties, and parking offenses from imposition of the additional penalty calculation. 6)States legislative intent that Santa Barbara County secures a permanent local funding mechanism to ensure the continuation of trauma care in the region before January 1, 2014. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)Revenue to Santa Barbara County of approximately $700,000 annually from penalty assessments, upon the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' approval. 2)Increasing assessments may result in diminishing returns to existing assessments. As current penalty assessments quadruple the base fine, increasing fines and assessments may have the unintended consequence of reduced fine collections. Judges may reduce base fines or indigent defendants facing ever-increasing fees may simply choose to spend time in jail in lieu of paying the fine, causing taxpayers to pay the jail costs while state and local government receive fewer penalty funds. COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is necessary to reenact the authorization for Santa Barbara County to impose an additional penalty of $5 for every $10 in base fines collected for all criminal offenses and five specific vehicle code violations relating to driving under the influence that expired on January 1, 2011, to provide funding to the Maddy EMS Fund. The author states that at the time of the enactment of the penalty assessment intended as the Maddy EMS Fund, Santa Barbara did not have a trauma center and elected to use the funding for the aging court system. The author further argues that counties do not have the authority to raise penalty assessments at the local level and it is necessary to ask the state for such authority. AB 412 Page 3 SB 12 (Maddy), Chapter 1240, Statutes of 1987, authorizes counties to establish a fund to reimburse physicians for the uncompensated costs of emergency care and other county emergency services through a $1 penalty assessment (PA) on fines, forfeitures, and penalties. The Maddy EMS Fund was part of a comprehensive scheme regulating the treatment of uninsured patients in hospital emergency departments. AB 544 (Isenberg), Chapter 189, Statutes of 1991, consolidates various county optional penalty assessments, including the $2 for the Maddy Fund, into the combined PA. AB 544 also required any county that had established a Maddy EMS Fund continue to use the penalty revenue in the amount originally authorized plus a growth factor. Counties that had not established a Maddy EMS Fund by June 1, 1991, were authorized to set aside up to 28% of the newly consolidated PA, using up to $2 of the $7 fee collected. SB 635 (Dunn), Chapter 524, Statutes of 2004, grants Santa Barbara County authority to impose and collect an additional penalty of $5 for every $10 of base fine on every criminal penalty and $2.50 on every parking penalty, through SB 635 (Dunn), Chapter 524, Statutes of 2004. SB 635 included a January 1, 2007 sunset and a requirement that the Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County report to the Legislature whether, and to the extent that, actions are taken by Santa Barbara County to implement alternative local sources of funding. AB 2265 (Nava), Chapter 768, Statutes of 2006, extends the sunset date for the additional $5 for every $10 in base fines for all criminal offenses, including all vehicle code offenses and the $2.50 additional penalty on all parking penalties for the Maddy EMS Fund in Santa Barbara County from January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2009. AB 2265 also made legislative findings that the county required additional time to develop an appropriate local measure and that the Legislature expects the county to place a proposed county tax ordinance on the November 2008 ballot. AB 1900 (Nava), Chapter 323, Statutes of 2008, extends the sunset date until January 1, 2011 and has therefore expired. AB 1900 covered all criminal offenses, but limited the vehicle code violations to those relating to driving under the influence and excluded parking penalties. AB 1900 also required the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara to report to the Legislature whether, and to the extent that, any actions are taken by the County of Santa Barbara to implement alternative local AB 412 Page 4 sources of funding. Analysis Prepared by : Marjorie Swartz / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN: 0001060