BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 486
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 4, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 486 (Hueso) - As Amended:  April 11, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Local 
          GovernmentVote:8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires a city or county within the jurisdiction of 
          the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), to pay a 
          portion of funds recovered from specified graffiti violations to 
          SANDAG annually for the purpose of funding a graffiti tracking 
          system to be administered by SANDAG. Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Requires a city or county within SANDAG jurisdiction to pay 
            SANDAG 10% of any amounts they receive from the recovery of 
            funds used to remove graffiti or other inscribed material from 
            publicly owned or privately owned real or personal property, 
            and 10% of any amounts received by a city or county as part of 
            recouping costs associated with defacement by minors of its 
            property and the property of others by graffiti or other 
            inscribed materials.

          2)Requires these provisions to become operative only upon the 
            establishment and operation of a countywide graffiti tracking 
            system administered by SANDAG.

          3)Provides that the bill shall become operative only upon SANDAG 
            establishing and operating a countywide graffiti tracking 
            system.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Local shift of penalty revenue from the County of San Diego 
            and incorporated cities within the county to SANDAG for the 
            countywide graffiti tracking system.

          2)No reimbursement is required by this act because local 








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            agencies have requested legislative authority for the program.


           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  .  According to the author, graffiti is a real threat 
            to public safety and affects the local economy by scaring away 
            businesses and lowering property values.  The author contends 
            prosecutors can seek a larger restitution amount if they can 
            show more incidents involving the individual tagger.  The 
            author says cities and agencies within the San Diego region 
            are finding it difficult to continue funding a 
            graffiti-tracking program, and AB 486 would provide a 
            permanent funding stream.

           2)Background  .  A countywide graffiti-tracking pilot program 
            commenced in the San Diego region in January 2011, with the 
            goal of linking vandalized property to individual taggers.  
            The County of San Diego, 18 cities in the region, Metropolitan 
            Transit System, North County Transit District, and San Diego 
            Unified Port District are working together to test the 
            18-month pilot project.  The tracking system analyzes the 
            symbols vandals leave behind to determine a tagger's patterns 
            or geographic areas countywide.  The intent is to coordinate 
            law enforcement throughout the San Diego region to aid in 
            prosecuting vandals. 

           3)Pilot project  .  The current and ongoing graffiti-tracking 
            pilot program is not scheduled to end until June 2012.  At the 
            end of that period, SANDAG will do an evaluation based on a 
            number of factors, including whether restitution money from 
            graffiti crimes is an appropriate way to fund a full-scale 
            program and whether restitution money is a sustainable source 
            of revenue.  AB 486 would become law on January 1, 2012.

           4)Suggested amendment  .  AB 486 establishes a funding mechanism 
            for the graffiti tracking program.  There is no sunset or 
            other conditions that repeal the transfer.  If the program is 
            ultimately unsuccessful or is disbanded, the funding mechanism 
            continues until and unless a future legislature repeals the 
            provisions.  The Committee may wish to consider a five-year 
            sunset for the program.

           









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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081