BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 139 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 139 (Holden) As Amended March 6, 2013 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, | | | | |Jones-Sawyer, Mitchell, | | | | |Quirk, Skinner, Waldron | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Clarifies that the payment imposed on a defendant who is granted probation for a domestic violence crime is a fee, not a fine. Specifically, this bill : 1)Specifies that the payment to be made by the defendant when convicted of a domestic violence-related offense and granted probation is to be treated as a fee and not a fine. 2)Provides that the fee is not subject to reduction for time served. 3)Permits collection of the fee after the termination of probation by the collection agency or its designee. 4)Authorizes up to 8% of the moneys deposited in the Domestic Violence Programs Special Fund to be used for administrative costs, as specified. 5)Allows the county board of supervisors to request an accounting report of the special fund on not more than quarterly basis. 6)Specifies that the accounting reports shall include all of the following: a) The balance of the special fund at the beginning of the request period; b) Deposits into the special fund in the request period, including a breakdown of the sources; AB 139 Page 2 c) Disbursements of the funds during the request period; and, d) The fund balance at the end of the request period. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires certain probation conditions be imposed when a person found guilty of a domestic-violence-related offense is granted probation. 2)Specifies that one of the mandatory conditions of probation for a domestic-violence-related offense is a minimum payment of $500. The court may reduce or waive the fee if, after a hearing in open court, it finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay it. 3)Provides that two-thirds of the moneys collected from the domestic violence probation fee shall be retained by the counties and deposited in the Domestic Violence Programs Special Fund, and the remainder is transferred to the State Controller to be deposited in equal amounts in the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Reimbursement Fund and the Domestic Violence Training and Education Fund. 4)Allows the court to require as a condition of probation that a defendant make payments of up to $5,000 to a battered women's shelter. These payments are in lieu of a fine, but not in lieu of the fund payment. 5)Provides that if a defendant is ordered to pay a fine as a condition of probation, it may be enforced during the term of probation in the same manner as is provided for the enforcement of money judgments. If the defendant willfully fails to pay a fine imposed as a condition of probation during the probationary period, this may be treated as a violation of probation. 6)Specifies that if there is an unpaid balance on a fine imposed as a condition of probation at the end of the probationary term, the balance may be enforced as a civil judgment. 7)Provides that $23 of a marriage-license fee be allocated for funding the county domestic violence shelter-based programs AB 139 Page 3 special fund. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : According to the author, "The California State Auditor conducted a four-year study analyzing the payments used to support domestic violence shelters in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Clara. The report revealed that individual courts and county agencies use different methods for collecting payments made by those sentenced to probation. "State courts differ in their interpretations of whether the payments are actually fines or fees, therefore counties are unable to distribute available domestic violence funds accurately, thus hindering shelters' ability to provide as many services to victims. "AB 139 clarifies that the $500 fee issued to every individual who is given probation for a crime of domestic violence, is an administrative fee, and not a punitive fine." Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000028