BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1151
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 1151
(Santiago) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Parking violations: penalties
SUMMARY: Authorizes local agencies to allow payment of parking
penalties in installments if the violator provides evidence of
an inability to pay the penalty in full. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Authorizes an issuing agency, consistent with written
guidelines established by the agency, to allow payment of a
parking penalty in installments if the violator provides
evidence satisfactory to the issuing agency of an inability to
pay the penalty in full.
2)Authorizes an examiner in an administrative hearing process to
authorize payment of a parking penalty in installments at any
stage of the initial review or administrative hearing process.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the procedures that local agencies must follow
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when issuing and processing parking citations.
2)Establishes procedures for contesting parking citations,
including procedures for an administrative hearing process.
3)Provides that if the examiner in an administrative hearing
process determines that a person committed the parking
violation as cited, the examiner may, consistent with written
guidelines established by the issuing agency, allow payment of
the parking penalty in installments or allow for deferred
payment.
4)Authorizes the examiner in an administrative hearing process
to permit the performance of community service in lieu of
payment of a parking penalty if authorized by the governing
board of the issuing agency.
5)Authorizes the penalty for specified violations, including
illegally parking in a space designated for disabled persons
and misuse of a disabled parking placard, to be paid in
installments if the issuing agency determines that the
violator is unable to pay the entire amount in one payment.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS: Current law generally establishes the procedures that
local agencies must follow when issuing and processing parking
citations. The law allows for people to contest parking
citations and provides for an administrative hearing process.
At the end of the administrative hearing process, if the
examiner finds that the person committed the violation as cited,
the examiner can allow the person to pay their penalty in
installments, or offer deferred payments if authorized by the
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issuing agency. The examiner may also allow the violator to
perform community service in lieu of paying the penalty. The
law does not allow local agencies to offer installments payments
or deferred payments for parking penalties to violators who do
not go through the administrative hearing process, except in the
case of tickets for misusing a disabled placard or illegally
parking in a space designated for disabled persons.
AB 1151 allows local agencies to offer installment payments to
violators who provide evidence of an inability to pay their
parking penalty in full, regardless of whether the violator
contests the citation. The sponsor of this bill, the City of
Los Angeles, would like to offer installment payments for
parking penalties but finds that the law stands in its way.
It makes little sense that someone would be forced to contest a
parking citation in order to access the ability to ask for a
payment plan. If cities and counties want to offer payment
plans for parking citations, they should have the ability to do
so at any point in the process. Offering payment plans up front
may serve to cut down on the number of contested citations,
saving public money in the long run.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
City of Los Angeles (Sponsor)
AB 1151
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093