BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 514|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 514
Author: Williams (D)
Amended: 7/15/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 5-1, 7/8/15
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
NOES: Nguyen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Moorlach
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 47-27, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Ordinances: violations: administrative fines
SOURCE: Santa Barbara County
DIGEST: This bill increases the maximum amounts of
administrative fines and penalties that counties can impose for
some violations of specified types of ordinances.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Specifies that a violation of a county ordinance is a
misdemeanor unless by ordinance it is made an infraction.
2)Requires that every ordinance violation that is determined to
be an infraction is punishable by:
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a) A fine not exceeding $100 for a first violation.
b) A fine not exceeding $200 for a second violation of the
same ordinance within one year.
c) A fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation
of the same ordinance within one year.
3)Requires, as an exception to the general limits on fines for
infractions, that a violation of local building and safety
codes determined to be an infraction is punishable by:
a) A fine not exceeding $100 for a first violation.
b) A fine not exceeding $500 for a second violation of the
same ordinance within one year.
c) A fine not exceeding $1,000 for each additional
violation of the same ordinance within one year.
4)Allows a local agency's legislative body, as an alternative to
criminal enforcement mechanisms, to make any violation of any
of its ordinances subject to an administrative fine or penalty
(SB 814, Alquist, Chapter 898, Statutes of 1995).
This bill:
1)Allows counties, as an exception to the general statutory
limits on fines that counties can impose for infractions, to
impose a higher administrative fine for a violation of a local
building and safety ordinance, brush removal ordinance,
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grading ordinance, film permit ordinance, or zoning ordinance
that is determined to be an infraction.
2)Requires that the amount of the administrative fine must be
based upon the severity of the threat to public health and
safety and must not exceed:
a) For the first violation, the amount of the permit fee
required by the ordinance multiplied by three or $5,000,
whichever is less. In the absence of a permit fee, the
amount of the fine must not exceed $1,000.
b) For a second violation of the same ordinance within five
years of the first violation, the amount of the permit fee
required by the ordinance multiplied by five or $10,000,
whichever is less. In the absence of a permit fee, the
amount of the fine must not exceed $2,500.
c) For the third violation and subsequent violations of the
same ordinance within five years of the first violation, an
amount greater than $10,000, but less than $15,000. In the
absence of a permit fee, the amount of the fine must not
exceed $5,000.
3)Prohibits a county from assessing an administrative fine of
more than $500 pursuant to this bill's provisions unless the
county makes both of the following findings in the
administrative record:
a) The administrative fine was assessed for a willful
violation or a violation that resulted in an unusual and
significant threat to the public health and safety.
b) The payment of the administrative fine would not impose
an undue financial hardship on the person responsible for
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the payment.
Background
Counties' administrative fines and penalties are subject to the
same maximum fine limits that state law applies, in general, for
ordinance violations that are determined to be an infraction.
The local agency must adopt an ordinance specifying the
administrative procedures that govern the imposition,
enforcement, collection, and administrative review of the fines
or penalties. The administrative procedures must grant a
reasonable time to remedy a continuing violation before the
imposition of administrative fines or penalties, when the
violation pertains to building, plumbing, electrical, or other
similar structural and zoning issues that do not create an
immediate danger to health or safety. Within 20 days after
service of a final administrative order or decision regarding
administrative fines or penalties, a person contesting that
final administrative order or decision may appeal in Superior
Court. Local agencies must go through a civil court proceeding
to collect unpaid fines and penalties.
Some county officials suggest that the maximum amounts of fines
that counties can impose under current law are too low to deter
some people from willfully violating county ordinances. For
example, in some circumstances, the costs of obtaining county
permits to hold a large event or undertake some kinds of
construction projects can far exceed the maximum fine amounts,
thereby allowing people to save money by choosing to violate
county permit requirements and pay the fines. To help counties
deter this kind of behavior, county officials want the
Legislature to increase the maximum fines that counties can
impose for some ordinance violations.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
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SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
Santa Barbara County (source)
California State Association of Counties
Environmental Defense Center
Lake County Board of Supervisors
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Shasta County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 47-27, 5/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Williams, Wood,
Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gatto, Gray, Grove, Harper,
Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Brown, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron,
Weber
Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
8/19/15 20:34:22
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