BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 514| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 514 Author: Williams (D) Amended: 8/26/15 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. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/26/15 apply this bill's administrative fine authority only to "one-time violations" of county ordinances and clarify provisions requiring a county to make a finding to impose a fine that exceeds $500. ANALYSIS: Existing law: AB 514 Page 2 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: 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). AB 514 Page 3 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 one-time violation of a local building and safety ordinance, brush removal ordinance, grading ordinance, film permit ordinance, or zoning ordinance that is determined to be an infraction. 2)Defines a one-time violation as a violation that is not a continuing violation and cannot be corrected or cured, including a violation of permit conditions or a use violation. 3)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. AB 514 Page 4 4)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 person who violated the ordinance did so willingly or the violation 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 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 AB 514 Page 5 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 SUPPORT: (Verified8/27/15) 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: (Verified8/27/15) 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, AB 514 Page 6 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 8/28/15 8:40:24 **** END ****