BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó







                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                            Senator Loni Hancock, Chair              A
                             2011-2012 Regular Session               B

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          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 




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                                                          AB 1358 (Fuentes)
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          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 




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                                                          AB 1358 (Fuentes)
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          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 




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          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.  





































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          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.








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                                                          AB 1358 (Fuentes)
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          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?


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