BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A 2011-2012 Regular Session B 1 3 5 AB 1358 (Fuentes) 8 As Amended May 16, 2011 Hearing date: June 14, 2011 Vehicle Code MK:mc VEHICLE MISDEMEANOR VIOLATIONS: AMNESTY HISTORY Source: California Public Defenders Association Prior Legislation: SB 857 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) - Ch. 720, Stats. 2010 AB 3095 (Villaraigosa) - Ch. 742, Section 1, Stats. 1996 Support: Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Opposition:None known Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 74 - Noes 1 KEY ISSUE SHOULD THE LAW AUTHORIZE A COUNTY TO EXTEND THE EXISTING AMNESTY PROGRAM FOR VEHICLE CODE INFRACTIONS TO MISDEMEANOR VIOLATIONS AND FAILURES TO APPEAR ALLOWING A PERSON WHO OWES AN OUTSTANDING FINE TO (More) AB 1358 (Fuentes) Page 2 PAY 50% OF THE FINE? PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to authorize a county to extend the existing amnesty program for Vehicle Code infractions to misdemeanor Vehicle Code violations and failure to appear, allowing a person who owes an outstanding fine to pay 50% of the fine, except as specified. Existing law 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 percent 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 § 42008.5.) Existing law 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. Fifty percent of the fine or bail shall be paid under the amnesty program. 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 (More) AB 1358 (Fuentes) Page 3 guidelines. (Vehicle Code § 42008.7.) Existing law provides that 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 § 853.7.) This bill authorizes a county to extend the existing amnesty program for Vehicle Code infractions (with payment due dates prior to January 1, 2009), to misdemeanor Vehicle Code violations and failure to appear, allowing a person who owes an outstanding fine to pay fifty percent of the fine, except as specified. This bill prohibits the use of the amnesty program for parking violations, specified reckless driving, DUI offenses, and for anyone with 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. RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation. As these cases have progressed, prison conditions have continued to be assailed, and the scrutiny of the federal courts over California's prisons has intensified. On June 30, 2005, in a class action lawsuit filed four years earlier, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California established a Receivership to take control of the delivery of medical services to all California state prisoners confined by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR"). In December of 2006, plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against CDCR sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the (More) AB 1358 (Fuentes) Page 4 federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a three-judge federal panel issued an order requiring California to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity -- a reduction at that time of roughly 40,000 inmates -- within two years. The court stayed implementation of its ruling pending the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. (More) On May 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court upheld the decision of the three-judge panel in its entirety, giving California two years from the date of its ruling to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity, subject to the right of the state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances.In response to the unresolved prison capacity crisis, in early 2007 the Senate Committee on Public Safety began holding legislative proposals which could further exacerbate prison overcrowding through new or expanded felony prosecutions. This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis described above. COMMENTS 1. Need for This Bill According to the author: In Los Angeles alone there are over 1 million outstanding bench warrants for unpaid fines and fees. When individuals are unable to pay their fines and fees, not only are localities unable to capture much needed resources, but often, such individuals are required to spend time in jail for failure to pay, requiring localities to incur additional costs. Previous amnesty programs have brought in much needed, otherwise unattainable resources into local coffers. Further, by providing individuals a short window of time during which they may pay outstanding amounts at a reduced rate, many who would otherwise be unable to pay outstanding fines and fees are able to do so. (More) AB 1358 (Fuentes) Page 6 2. Amnesty for Vehicle Misdemeanors A mandatory one-time amnesty program was established by SB 857 in 2010 for fines and bail meeting certain requirements to accept, in full satisfaction of any eligible fine or bail, fifty percent of the fine or bail amount, between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2012. This bill expands that amnesty program to include Vehicle Code misdemeanors or a misdemeanor failure to appear. DUI related offenses are explicitly excluded from this new amnesty provision. A person would be required to pay fifty percent of their outstanding fine. Adding misdemeanors to the amnesty program should allow for the collection of money that otherwise may not be collected, as well as get these outstanding warrants off the books and thereby save the counties the cost of pursuing the warrants. It may also lead to a cost savings in jail time, since some counties allow people to pay off outstanding fines by days in jail. SHOULD THE EXISTING AMNESTY PROGRAM BE EXTENDED TO NON-DUI VEHICLE CODE MISDEMEANORS? ***************