BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1317|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1317
Author: Kehoe (D)
Amended: 5/25/12
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 5-3, 4/24/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Pavley, Rubio, Simitian
NOES: Gaines, Harman, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lowenthal
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
SUBJECT : Vehicles: traffic violator schools
SOURCE : Traffic Violator School Association
DIGEST : This bill clarifies what traffic violator school
information the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) makes
available and shifts some of DMVs administrative costs from
the schools to the violators.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines a traffic violator school
(TVS) as a business which provides traffic safety
instruction, such as classroom defensive-driver concepts,
for traffic law violators referred by the courts or people
who elect to attend to improve their own skills. The TVS
program includes classroom-based programs as well as home
study programs, which may offer instruction through a
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variety of non-classroom means (e.g., internet, textbook,
video, and CD ROM). Attending a TVS essentially allows a
traffic violator to pay a one-time fee to avoid receiving a
point against his or her driving record, which reduces
future car insurance costs, as well as the chance of DMV
suspending or revoking the violator's driving privileges.
In an effort to make the TVS program more effective and
uniform across instructional modalities, AB 2499
(Portantino), Chapter 599, Statutes of 2010, made a number
of changes to the program, including directing DMV to
administer it and licenses the schools as of September
2011. In addition, AB 2499 changed specific implementing
details pertaining to the program, such as how DMV
disseminates information about these schools and how
schools notify courts of a violator's successful course
completion. Finally, AB 2499 required DMV to charge fees
to the schools sufficient to cover its actual cost to
administer the TVS program. Existing law allows DMV to
charge violators only a fee to cover the cost of routine
monitoring of instruction.
This bill:
1.Prohibits the DMV from adopting regulations that require
a TVS to provide or process paper-based course evaluation
documents.
2.Requires the DMV class listings to specify the counties
where classroom instruction is offered, in addition to
providing that information by city.
3.Requires the classroom-based list to include the name of
each traffic violator school, a telephone number used for
student information, and the county and the cities where
the classes are available.
4.Requires a TVS to update course completion information on
DMV's web-based database within ten days of completion,
rather than the current three day requirement.
5.Extends the time period in which a TVS must update course
completion information on DMV's web-based database from
within three days of completion to ten days.
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6.Deletes the authority for DMV to charge fees for TVS
licenses at a level sufficient to defray costs to
administer the TVS program, and instead freeze the
schedule of fees charged for TVS licenses at 2011-12
levels, except the $100 fee charged for each separate TVS
branch or classroom location, which would be reduced to
$50.
7.Requires the administrative fee charged to traffic
violators who participate in the TVS program to be
sufficient to defray DMV's costs to administer the TVS
program. Under existing law, the administrative fee may
only be used to defray the costs of routine maintenance
of the program.
Comments
This bill seeks to improve DMV's implementation of some
elements of 2010's AB 2499. According to the author, AB
2499 failed to provide TVSs with needed administrative
flexibility and imposed new fees on these schools in order
to provide sufficient funds for DMV to administer the TVS
program. In addition, the author contends that information
provided by DMV and the courts regarding TVS locations
remains woefully inadequate. The author states that these
changes have left the classroom-based schools unable to
financially sustain themselves.
TVS information provided by DMV . Existing law requires DMV
to provide a list of licensed traffic violator schools, by
modality, on its website. Due to concerns expressed by
some TVS operators, DMV, Judicial Council, and some
stakeholders have been meeting since January to address the
way the TVS information is being displayed on the DMV's
website. According to DMV, all issues raised concerning
the content on the website that can be addressed will be
resolved by mid-April. If enacted, this bill will
essentially codify DMV's current practice outside the
following two challenges: 1) Because TVSs do not provide
on their licensing record the judicial district in which
they operate, DMV is presently unable to add this field to
the database as mandated in this bill; and 2) DMV points
out that rotating the list instead of randomizing the order
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of schools could open up the system to manipulation that
could advantage one particular establishment over another.
Online database may reduce fraud . The online database
established by AB 2499 requires course instructors to log
in when entering course completion information, which
introduces accountability to the TVS process and makes
fraudulent behavior much easier to identify and prosecute.
On the other hand, paper completion certificates can be
sold, replicated, or stolen, and it is very difficult to
track down and prosecute perpetrators of such illegal
actions. Nevertheless, fraud cases have been pursued when
possible. For example, since 2006, Los Angeles County has
received 57 case referrals that have led to 19 arrests and
convictions.
How to fairly fund DMV's administrative costs . AB 2499
required DMV to seek full cost recovery for its
administration of the TVS program, which DMV was not doing
beforehand. The law specifies what costs the fee collected
by the courts from each traffic violator can defray.
Legislative Counsel has published an opinion that existing
law does not allow DMV to charge violators for
administrative costs, except for the cost of routine
monitoring of instruction. Because DMV is required to
recover its full costs, it has had to increase the fees on
the schools to cover the program costs.
This bill shifts two portions of DMV's costs from the
classroom-based schools to each violator by expanding the
administrative costs that can be defrayed by the violator's
court fees. The first cost shifted is the cost of
providing course completion certificates, which is
discussed in a previous comment. The second cost shifted
by this bill is for DMV's annual classroom location
approval. Each classroom-based school is required annually
to seek approval of classroom locations from DMV, and DMV
has increased the fee to do so from $50 to $100 in order to
help cover the administrative costs of the TVS program.
This bill eliminates the classroom location renewal fee in
lieu of funding from higher fees on every violator who
takes advantage of the TVS program.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time DMV costs, likely in the range of $190,000
(Motor Vehicle Account), to create a new database capable
of a multi-step listing system for classroom locations
(first by county, then by city, then randomizing
locations). Ongoing annual costs in the range of
$190,000 for database maintenance and data input.
Out-year ongoing costs could be offset if DMV increases
the recently adopted administrative fee charged on
traffic violators.
Unknown annual revenue losses (Motor Vehicle Account)
related to reducing the fee charged for each TVS branch
or classroom location from $100 to $50. Out-year revenue
losses could be mitigated if DMV increases the recently
adopted administrative fee charged on traffic violators.
Unknown future revenue losses related to capping the fees
charged to TVS owners, operators, and instructors at
2011-12 levels, rather than authorizing DMV to charge
fees on TVSs sufficient to defray costs. These potential
losses are offset by authorizing DMV to increase fees on
traffic violators to defray the costs to administer the
TVS program.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/12)
Traffic Violator School Association (source)
Fun-N-Cheap Comedy Traffic School
Never Speed Again Comedy Traffic Schools
Gay Community Traffic School
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents argue that this bill
resolves two important issues by directing DMV to make
course completion certificates once again available to
classroom-based schools. Before AB 2499, DMV provided
classroom-based schools with certificates of completion
which students submitted to the courts as proof of
attendance and completion. Existing law requires schools
to begin inputting each student's information into an
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online database that courts can access to verify course
completion. Proponents contend that one benefit of
returning to paper certificates is that the DMV can again
charge violators for the certificates, effectively reducing
the cost born by the classroom-based schools. The second
benefit of eliminating the online database for the
classroom-based schools is that it reduces the potential
liability concerns for any mistakes made inputting the
data.
JJA:nl 5/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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