BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2839 (Thurmond) - Criminal penalties: nonpayment of fines
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|Version: April 13, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2839 would prohibit the term of imprisonment for
nonpayment of a fine from exceeding one day for each $125 of the
base fine or the term for which the defendant may be sentenced.
This bill would require the penalties and assessments imposed on
the base fine to be reduced by the percentage of the base fine
that was satisfied by jail credits or community service, as
specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
County jails : Potentially significant reduction in local
incarceration costs (Local Funds) due to shorter lengths of
stay required for persons incarcerated for the nonpayment of
fines.
Penalty assessment/surcharge revenue : Potentially significant
reduction in local penalty assessment, state penalty
assessment, special fund assessment, and state surcharge
AB 2839 (Thurmond) Page 1 of
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revenues (Local Fund/General Fund/Special Funds) due to the
mandated proportional reduction in penalties and assessments
applied against the amount of base fines that have been served
through time served. The magnitude of foregone revenue would
be dependent on numerous factors, including but not limited to
the number of defendants electing to serve time in lieu of
payment of fines, and the ability to collect the penalties and
assessments had they been imposed on the defendant in the
absence of this measure.
Background: Existing law permits a judgment against a criminal defendant
that orders the defendant to pay a fine, with or without other
punishment, other than a restitution fine or order, to also
direct that he or she be imprisoned until the fine is satisfied.
Existing law requires the judgment to specify the term of
imprisonment for nonpayment of the fine, and prohibits the term
from exceeding one day for each $125 of the fine, or exceeding
the term for which the defendant may be sentenced for the
offense of which he or she has been convicted. (Penal Code §
1205 (a).)
In all felony and misdemeanor convictions, either by plea or by
verdict, when the defendant has been in custody, all days of
custody are to be credited upon his or her term of imprisonment,
or credited to any fine, including, but not limited to, base
fines, on a proportional basis, that may be imposed at the rate
of not less than $125 per day, or more, in the discretion of the
court imposing the sentence. (Penal Code § 2900.5.)
Proposed Law:
This bill would prohibit the term of imprisonment for
nonpayment of a fine from exceeding one day for each $125 of the
base fine or the term for which the defendant may be sentenced.
Additionally, this bill:
Specifies that all days that a defendant is in custody
shall be credited upon the defendant's term of imprisonment
or credited proportionally to any criminal base fine,
excluding restitution fines or restitution orders, at a
rate not less than $125 per day.
AB 2839 (Thurmond) Page 2 of
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States that any penalties and assessments imposed on the
base fine shall be reduced proportionally to the reduction
of the base fine awarded as a result of custody credits or
community service.
Related
Legislation: AB 1375 (Thurmond) Chapter 209/2015 increases the
statutory rate for payment of fines by incarceration from not
less than $30 per day to not less than $125 per day.
Staff
Comments: By prohibiting the term of imprisonment for
nonpayment of a fine from exceeding one day for each $125 of the
base fine, as opposed to one day for each $125 of the [total]
fine, this bill will have the effect of shorter lengths of stay
in county jail required for persons incarcerated for the
nonpayment of fines and potential cost savings to local law
enforcement agencies.
This bill additionally requires the penalties and assessments
imposed on the base fine to be reduced by the percentage of the
base fine that was satisfied by jail credits or community
service, which could result in a potential reduction in local
and state penalty assessments, and state surcharge revenues. The
magnitude of foregone revenue would be dependent on numerous
factors, including but not limited to the number of defendants
electing to serve time in lieu of payment of fines, and the
ability to collect the penalties and assessments had they been
imposed on the defendant in the absence of this measure.
Although the probability of collection of the assessed penalties
and assessments imposed in many cases would be small, even a
negligible impact against the substantial level of outstanding
court-ordered debt could have a fiscal impact, at a minimum, in
the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
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