BILL NUMBER: SB 1371	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  49
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JUNE 28, 2012
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  JUNE 28, 2012
	PASSED THE SENATE  MAY 25, 2012
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JUNE 18, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 16, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 19, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Anderson
   (Coauthors: Senators Calderon, Hancock, and Liu)

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend Section 1205 of the Penal Code, relating to victim
restitution, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1371, Anderson. Victim restitution: fines: default.
   Existing law requires a court to order a defendant to make
restitution in every case in which a victim has suffered economic
loss as a result of the defendant's conduct. Existing law requires
the restitution order to be based on the amount of loss claimed by
the victim or victims, and to be of a dollar amount that is
sufficient to fully reimburse the victim or victims for every
determined economic loss incurred as a result of the defendant's
criminal conduct, as specified. Under existing law, a restitution
order imposed pursuant to these provisions is enforceable as if the
order were a civil judgment.
   Existing law specifies that a judgment that a defendant pay a fine
may also direct that he or she be imprisoned until the fine is
satisfied, and that the imprisonment begin at and continue after the
expiration of any other prison sentence. Existing law makes those
provisions applicable to restitution fines and restitution orders
only if the defendant has defaulted on the payment of other fines.
   This bill would instead make those provisions regarding
imprisonment until a fine is satisfied inapplicable to restitution
fines and restitution orders.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1205 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   1205.  (a) A judgment that the defendant pay a fine, with or
without other punishment, may also direct that he or she be
imprisoned until the fine is satisfied and may further direct that
the imprisonment begin at and continue after the expiration of any
imprisonment imposed as a part of the punishment or of any other
imprisonment to which the defendant may have been sentenced. The
judgment shall specify the term of imprisonment for nonpayment of the
fine, which shall not be more than one day for each thirty dollars
($30) of the fine, nor exceed the term for which the defendant may be
sentenced to imprisonment for the offense of which he or she has
been convicted. A defendant held in custody for nonpayment of a fine
shall be entitled to credit on the fine for each day he or she is
held in custody, at the rate specified in the judgment. When the
defendant has been convicted of a misdemeanor, a judgment that the
defendant pay a fine may also direct that he or she pay the fine
within a limited time or in installments on specified dates, and that
in default of payment as stipulated he or she be imprisoned in the
discretion of the court either until the defaulted installment is
satisfied or until the fine is satisfied in full; but unless the
direction is given in the judgment, the fine shall be payable.
   (b) Except as otherwise provided in case of fines imposed, as a
condition of probation, the defendant shall pay the fine to the clerk
of the court, or to the judge if there is no clerk, unless the
defendant is taken into custody for nonpayment of the fine, in which
event payments made while he or she is in custody shall be made to
the officer who holds the defendant in custody, and all amounts paid
shall be paid over by the officer to the court that rendered the
judgment. The clerk shall report to the court every default in
payment of a fine or any part of that fine, or if there is no clerk,
the court shall take notice of the default. If time has been given
for payment of a fine or it has been made payable in installments,
the court shall, upon any default in payment, immediately order the
arrest of the defendant and order him or her to show cause why he or
she should not be imprisoned until the fine or installment is
satisfied in full. If the fine or installment is payable forthwith
and it is not paid, the court shall, without further proceedings,
immediately commit the defendant to the custody of the proper officer
to be held in custody until the fine or installment is satisfied in
full.
   (c) This section applies to any violation of any of the codes or
statutes of this state punishable by a fine or by a fine and
imprisonment.
   (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
clerk of the court, or the judge if there is no clerk, from turning
these accounts over to another county department or a collecting
agency for processing and collection.
   (e) The defendant shall pay to the clerk of the court or the
collecting agency a fee for the processing of installment accounts.
This fee shall equal the administrative and clerical costs, as
determined by the board of supervisors, or by the court, depending on
which entity administers the account. The defendant shall pay to the
clerk of the court or the collecting agency the fee established for
the processing of the accounts receivable that are not to be paid in
installments. The fee shall equal the administrative and clerical
costs, as determined by the board of supervisors, or by the court,
depending on which entity administers the account, except that the
fee shall not exceed thirty dollars ($30).
   (f) This section shall not apply to restitution fines and
restitution orders.
  SEC. 2.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to provide fair compensation to victims of crime and to
ensure certainty in sentencing at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary for this measure to take effect immediately.