BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1358
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 26, 2011
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1358 (Fuentes) - As Amended: April 15, 2011
SUMMARY : Authorizes a county to extend to misdemeanor Vehicle
Code violations the one-time infraction amnesty program allowing
a person who owes an outstanding fine to pay 50% of the fine,
except as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Amends the mandatory one-time infraction amnesty program under
Vehicle Code Section 42008.7 to extend amnesty to fines and
bail imposed for misdemeanor Vehicle Code violations that had
due dates for payment on or before January 1, 2009.
2)Provides the court and county with the discretion in deciding
whether to jointly agree to extend the amnesty program to
fines and bail imposed for specified misdemeanor Vehicle Code
and Penal Code violations, in addition to and at the same time
as the one-time infraction amnesty program.
3)Allows a person owing a fine or bail who is eligible for
amnesty under the program to pay to the superior or juvenile
court 50% of the total fine or bail and that payment shall be
in full satisfaction of the delinquent fine or bail.
4)Prohibits the use of the amnesty program for parking
violations and specified reckless driving and
driving-under-the influence offenses.
5)Prohibits the use of the amnesty program by a person who has
an outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrant within the
county, except for misdemeanor warrants authorized by the
participating court and county for specified misdemeanor
Vehicle Code and Penal Code violations.
6)Requires a county participating in the program to file, not
later than six months after the termination of the program, a
written report with the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and
the Senate Committee on Judiciary. The report shall summarize
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the amount of money collected, operating costs of the program,
distribution of funds collected, and when possible, how the
funds were expended.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each county to establish a one-time infraction
amnesty program for fines and bail providing relief to
individuals who are financially unable to pay traffic bail or
fines with due dates prior to January 1, 2009, thereby
allowing courts and counties to resolve older delinquent cases
and focus limited resources on collecting on more recent
cases. Payment of a fine or bail under these amnesty programs
shall be accepted beginning January 1, 2012, and ending June
30, 2012. The Judicial Council shall adopt guidelines for the
amnesty program no later than November 1, 2011, and each
program shall be conducted in accordance with Judicial Council
guidelines. (Vehicle Code Section 42008.7.)
2)Allows a person owing a fine or bail that is eligible for
amnesty under this program to pay to the superior or juvenile
court 70% of the total fine or bail, or $100 for an infraction
or $500 for a misdemeanor, either amount of which must be
accepted by the court in full satisfaction of the delinquent
fine or bail. The one-time, voluntary amnesty program is to
be conducted in accordance with Judicial Council guidelines
for a period of not less than 120 days, and not longer than
six months from the date the court initiated the program.
(Vehicle Code Section 42008.5.)
3)It is a misdemeanor for any person who willfully violates his
or her written promise to appear or a lawfully granted
continuance of his or her promise to appear in court,
regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he or
she was originally arrested. (Penal Code Section 853.7.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 1358 will
provide counties with the flexibility to expand the amnesty
program under Vehicle Code Section 42008.7 to include
specified vehicle code misdemeanors.
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"The current amnesty program (Vehicle Code Section 42008.7)
applies only to infractions. In the 1990s another amnesty
program was implemented (VC 42008.5) which included specified
vehicle code misdemeanors. This bill does not mandate that
counties include misdemeanors in their amnesty program, but
rather enables them to include specified misdemeanors if they
are so inclined."
2)Conversion of Fines to Time in Custody : It is the practice of
certain California counties to allow defendants to convert
fines owed on criminal cases to time in custody. In some
cases, courts will order defendants to be remanded to custody
for failure to pay fines. ÝPenal Code Section 1205(b).] This
practice is costly and further impacts over-crowded jails.
According to a 2009 study by performed by Pew Center for the
States, California spends $134.83 per inmate per day, meaning
that local jurisdictions are paying for the debt that is owed
to them by paying more money to house inmates who are unable
to pay. (The report is available at
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=49382
.)
3)Arguments in Support : According to the California Public
Defenders Association , "Traditionally, 80% of criminal
defendants in California meet the indigency requirement of
being represented by Public Defense Counsel. With the
economic downturn, that percentage has increased.
Accordingly, there are fines owed throughout the state that
are uncollectable due to defendants' inability to pay.
Further exacerbating this problem is the fact that many
defendants have no other economic choice but to satisfy fines
by serving jail time once a warrant has been issued, thereby
increasing costs rather than capturing revenues.
"This bill, will not only give defendants an incentive to pay
fines owed, but will make it affordable for some to do so. In
this way, there will be a short term infusion of money that
would otherwise probably never be collected, and there would
be a cost savings to the county because the cost of
collection, apprehension, and incarceration will be reduced."
4)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 857 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter
720, Statutes of 2010, established a mandatory one-time
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amnesty program for fines and bail meeting certain
requirements to accept, in full satisfaction of any
eligible fine or bail, 50% of the fine or bail amount,
between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2012.
b) AB 3095 (Villaraigosa), Chapter 742, Section 1, Statutes
of 1996, authorized any county to operate an amnesty
program for delinquent fines and bail imposed for an
infraction or misdemeanor Vehicle Code violation, except
parking and other specified violations that were delinquent
on or before April 1, 1991. AB 3095 allowed any person
owing a fine or bail who is eligible for amnesty under the
program to pay to the municipal or juvenile court either
70% of the total fine or bail amount, $100 for an
infraction, or $500 for a misdemeanor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Public Defenders Association (Sponsor)
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744