BILL NUMBER: AB 2085 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fox
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to amend Section 42008.7 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2085, as introduced, Fox. Vehicles: misdemeanor violations:
amnesty.
Existing law requires a county to establish a one-time amnesty
program for fines and bail due on or before January 1, 2009, for
certain infraction or misdemeanor violations of the Vehicle Code and
Penal Code, between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2012. Existing law
authorizes the court and county, in addition to and at the same time
as the above one-time amnesty program, to establish a one-time
amnesty program for specified misdemeanor violations due on or before
January 1, 2009, if certain conditions are met. Existing law allows
a person owing a fine or bail that was eligible for amnesty under
these programs to pay to the superior or juvenile court 50% of the
total fine or bail, as defined, which is required to be accepted by
the court in full satisfaction of the delinquent fine or bail.
Existing law prohibits criminal action from being brought against a
person for a delinquent fine or bail paid under the amnesty programs.
This bill would revise these provisions to authorize a court or
county, on or after January 1, 2015, to implement similar amnesty
programs for fines and bail due on or before January 1, 2012. The
bill would require the amnesty programs to be conducted in accordance
with guidelines provided by the Judicial Council.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 42008.7 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
42008.7. (a) The State of California continues to face a fiscal
and economic crisis affecting the State Budget and the overall state
economy. In light of this crisis, a one-time
an infraction amnesty program would do the following:
(1) Provide relief to individuals who have found themselves in
violation of a court-ordered obligation because they are financially
unable to pay traffic bail or fines.
(2) Provide increased revenue at a time when revenue is scarce by
encouraging payment of old fines that have remained unpaid.
(3) Allow courts and counties to resolve older delinquent cases
and focus limited resources on collecting on more recent cases.
(b) A one-time An amnesty
program for fines and bail meeting the eligibility requirements set
forth in subdivision (e) shall may be
established in each county. Unless agreed otherwise by the court and
the county in writing, the government entities that are responsible
for the collection of delinquent court-ordered debt shall be
responsible for implementation of the amnesty program as to that
debt, maintaining the same division of responsibility in place with
respect to the collection of court-ordered debt under subdivision (b)
of Section 1463.010 of the Penal Code.
(c) As used in this section, the term "fine" or "bail" refers to
the total amounts due in connection with a specific violation, which
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Base fine or bail, as established by court order, by statute,
or by the court's bail schedule.
(2) Penalty assessments imposed pursuant to Section 1464 of the
Penal Code and Sections 70372, 76000, 76000.5, 76104.6, and 76104.7
of the Government Code.
(3) Civil assessment imposed pursuant to Section 1214.1 of the
Penal Code.
(4) State surcharge imposed pursuant to Section 1465.7 of the
Penal Code.
(5) Court security fee imposed pursuant to Section 1465.8 of the
Penal Code.
(d) In addition to and at the same time as the mandatory one-time
amnesty program is established pursuant to subdivision (b), the court
and the county may jointly agree to extend that amnesty program to
fines and bail imposed for a misdemeanor violation of this code and a
violation of Section 853.7 of the Penal Code added to the
misdemeanor case otherwise subject to the amnesty. The amnesty
program authorized pursuant to this subdivision shall not apply to
parking violations and violations of Section 23103, 23104, 23105,
23152, or 23153 of this code.
(e) Violations are only eligible for amnesty if paragraph (1),
(2), or (3) applies and the requirements of paragraphs (4), (5), and
(6) are met:
(1) The violation is an infraction violation filed with the court.
(2) It is a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 40508,
or a violation of Section 853.7 of the Penal Code added to the case
subject to paragraph (1).
(3) The violation is a misdemeanor violation filed with the court
to which subdivision (d) applies.
(4) The due date for payment of the fine or bail was on or before
January 1, 2009 201 2 .
(5) The defendant does not owe victim restitution on any case
within the county.
(6) There are no outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants for
the defendant within the county, except for misdemeanor warrants for
misdemeanor violations authorized by the court and the county
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f) Each amnesty program shall accept, in full satisfaction of any
eligible fine or bail, 50 percent of the fine or bail amount, as
defined in subdivision (c) of this section .
Payment of a fine or bail under an amnesty program implemented
pursuant to this section shall be accepted beginning January 1,
2012, and ending June 30, 2012 201
5 . The Judicial Council shall adopt guidelines for
the amnesty program no later than November 1, 2011, and each
Each program shall be conducted in accordance
with Judicial Council guidelines provided by
the Judicial Council .
(g) No criminal Criminal action
shall not be brought against a person for a delinquent
fine or bail paid under the amnesty program.
(h) The total amount of funds collected under the amnesty program
shall as soon as practical after receipt thereof be deposited in the
county treasury or the account established under Section 77009 of the
Government Code. Any unreimbursed costs of operating the amnesty
program, excluding capital expenditures, may be deducted from the
revenues collected under the amnesty program by the court or the
county that incurred the expense of operating the program.
Notwithstanding Section 1203.1d of the Penal Code, the remaining
revenues collected under the amnesty program shall be distributed on
a pro rata basis in the same manner as a partial payment distributed
pursuant to Section 1462.5 of the Penal Code.
(i) Each court or county implementing an amnesty program shall
file, not later than September 30, 2012, a written report with the
Judicial Council, on a form approved by the Judicial Council. The
report shall include information about the number of cases resolved,
the amount of money collected, and the operating costs of the amnesty
program. Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on
or before December 31, 2012, the Judicial Council shall submit a
report to the Legislature summarizing the information provided by
each court or county.