BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1151 Hearing Date: 6/23/2015
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|Author: |Santiago |
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|Version: |3/26/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Eric Thronson |
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SUBJECT: Parking violations: penalties
DIGEST: This bill authorizes a local government to allow a
person to agree to pay parking citations in installments at any
stage of the administrative hearing process.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Describes the required elements of an administrative hearing
process for persons wishing to contest a parking violation in
excruciating detail, including the qualifications and training
required for appointed or contracted examiners responsible for
reviewing the contested violations.
2)Authorizes, following the administrative hearing process, if
an examiner has determined that a person has committed a
violation, the examiner to allow the violator to pay his or
her penalty in installments, or the issuing agency to allow
for deferred payment or installments, as long as the violator
provides evidence of an inability to pay the penalty in full.
This bill authorizes, not just following determination of a
violation, but at any stage of the initial review or the
administrative hearing process, the examiner or issuing agency
to allow a violator to pay in installments, or the issuing
agency may allow for deferred payment.
COMMENTS:
AB 1151 (Santiago) Page 2 of ?
1)Purpose. According to the author, existing law provides for a
person with parking tickets the ability to enter into an
installment payment plan only after conclusion of an appeal
through the administrative process. The requirement that a
person complete the administrative process before entering
into a payment plan inconveniences the public and creates
unnecessary administrative costs for local governments.
2)What does this bill do? Existing law allows for people to
contest parking citations through an administrative hearing
process. At the end of this 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 issuing agency.
Existing law generally does not allow local agencies to offer
installment payments or deferred payments for parking
penalties to violators who do not go through the
administrative hearing process.
This bill 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. A supporter 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 request 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 the public money in the long run.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 78-0
Trans: 16-0
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 17, 2015.)
AB 1151 (Santiago) Page 3 of ?
SUPPORT:
California Public Parking Association
Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles
OPPOSITION:
None received.
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