BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2088 (Linder) - Vehicles: hit-and-run accidents: pleas
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|Version: June 6, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 6 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2088 would, commencing January 1, 2018, require the
court to immediately suspend the driving privilege for a period
of six months or order the completion of community service for
any person who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to hit and run
with property damage if the charge is a substitute for, or in
satisfaction of, the charge of hit and run resulting in injury
or death.
Fiscal
Impact:
Programming changes : One-time implementation costs to the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of approximately $110,000
(Special Fund*), primarily for programming changes that allow
for reporting of convictions by the courts, retaining
convictions on driver records, providing for license
suspension and reinstatement, producing mailed notices, and
making other changes. Ongoing DMV workload costs and revenues
from license reinstatement fees are expected to be minor.
Trial courts : Negligible fiscal impact.
AB 2088 (Linder) Page 1 of
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*Motor Vehicle Account
Background: Existing law requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an
accident resulting in damage to any property, including a
vehicle, to immediately stop the vehicle and exchange
information, as specified, or leave in a conspicuous place on
the vehicle or other property damaged written notice given the
name and address of the driver of the vehicle involved. The
failure to comply with these requirements is a misdemeanor,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to six
months, a fine of up to $1,000, or by both imprisonment and the
fine. (Vehicle Code (VC) § 20002.)
Existing law requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an
accident resulting in injury or death of any person to
immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident and to
fulfill specified requirements. For accidents resulting in
injury, the failure to comply is punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison for 16 months, two years, or three years, or by
imprisonment in county jail for up to one year, by a fine of not
less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both a fine and
imprisonment. For accidents resulting in the death of a person,
the failure to comply is punishable by imprisonment in state
prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for
not less than 90 days nor more than one year, or by a fine of
not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both that
imprisonment and fine. The court, in the interests of justice
and for reasons stated in the record, may reduce or eliminate
the minimum imprisonment. (VC § 20001.)
Existing law authorizes a court to suspend, for not more than
six months, the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle
upon conviction of any of the following offenses:
Failure of the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident in
which property is damaged to stop and exchange specified
information.
Reckless driving proximately causing bodily injury to a
person, as specified.
Failure of the driver of a vehicle to stop at a railway grade
crossing, as specified.
AB 2088 (Linder) Page 2 of
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Evading or fleeing from a peace officer, as specified, in a
motor vehicle or upon a bicycle.
Knowingly causing or participating in a vehicular collision,
or any other vehicular accident, for the purpose of presenting
or causing to be presented any false or fraudulent insurance
claim. (VC § 13201.)
Under existing law, the DMV is required to immediately revoke
the driving privileges of a person convicted of any of the
following crimes or offenses and shall not reinstate the
privilege revoked until the expiration of one year after the
date of revocation and until the person whose privilege was
revoked gives proof of financial responsibility:
Failure of the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident
resulting in injury or death to a person to stop and exchange
specified information.
A felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used,
except as specified.
Reckless driving causing bodily injury. (VC § 13350 (a).)
Proposed Law:
This bill provides that if the prosecution agrees to a plea of
guilty or nolo contendere to a charge of fleeing the scene of an
accident (VC § 20002) in satisfaction of or substitution for a
charge of fleeing the scene of an accident resulting in injury
or death (VC § 20001), the prosecution shall state for the
record the factual basis for the satisfaction or substitution,
including whether the defendant was involved in an accident in
which a person was injured. Additionally, this bill:
Provides that the prosecution's statement shall occur
prior to the defendant's waiver of the right to a jury
trial.
Requires the judge to inform the defendant of the
specified consequences before accepting the defendant's
plea of guilty.
Provides that if the court accepts the defendant's plea
under the above circumstances and the prosecutor's
statement stipulates or does not contest the fact that the
AB 2088 (Linder) Page 3 of
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defendant was driving the vehicle that caused the injury,
the court shall immediately issue an order to impose one of
the following consequences:
o Suspend the convicted driver's privilege to operate
a motor vehicle for a period of six months.
o Restrict the convicted driver's privilege to operate
a motor vehicle to necessary travel to and from that
person's place of employment and for work, if driving is
necessary, for not more than six months.
o Require the convicted driver to complete community
service as the court deems appropriate.
Provides the provisions of the bill become operative on
January 1, 2018.
Related
Legislation: AB 534 (Linder) 2015 would have required the court
to suspend the driving privilege for six months of any person
who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to hit and run with
property damage if the charge is a substitute or in satisfaction
of the charge of hit and run resulting in injury or death. This
bill failed passage in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety.
AB 1532 (Gatto) 2014 would have required that the privilege to
operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended for six months for
any person convicted of being a driver of a vehicle involved in
an accident where a person is struck, but not injured, and the
driver of the vehicle leaves the scene of the accident without
exchanging required information, as specified. This bill was
vetoed by the Governor with the following message:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1532 without my signature.
California has a very extensive set of criminal laws and
penalties. This measure would create a new crime that includes a
fine and penalty assessments up to $4,231 and possible jail time
of six months. I don't find sufficient justification for
creating a new crime when no injury to person or property
occurred. I think current law is adequate.
AB 2337 (Linder) 2014 would have increased from one to two years
the mandatory suspension of the privilege to operate a motor
vehicle for any person convicted of leaving the scene of an
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accident resulting in injury or death without exchanging
required identification information. This bill was vetoed by the
Governor.
Staff
Comments: The DMV has indicated one-time programming costs of
$110,000 (Motor Vehicle Account) to implement the provisions of
this measure by January 1, 2018.
The Judicial Council does not anticipate a significant fiscal
impact to trial court operations associated with the mandatory
judicial advisement and specified court orders.
Staff notes that under current law, courts already have within
their discretion the ability to suspend for six months, the
driving privilege of any defendant convicted of a violation of
VC § 20002 - regardless of whether a defendant was involved in
an accident where a person was injured (VC § 13201).
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