BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 737 (Stone) - Vehicles: electronic wireless communication
devices: penalties
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|Version: April 30, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 8 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 18, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 737 would double the base fines for texting while
driving (from $20 to $40 for a first offense, and from $50 to
$100 for a subsequent offense), and impose a violation point for
those violations.
Fiscal
Impact:
DMV programming costs of several million dollars in 2015-16 to
assign a violation point for a violation with an eight byte
reportable code section. (Motor Vehicle Account) See staff
comments.
Unknown penalty revenues gains, likely in the low millions
annually. (General Fund, special funds, local funds)
Background: Existing law generally prohibits a person from using a
handheld wireless phone, unless equipped with hands-free
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technology, or engaging in text-based communication while
operating a motor vehicle. A driver who is under the age of 18
is prohibited from using a cell phone to talk or text, even if
the device is hands-free. The base fine for a violation of
these prohibitions is $20 for an initial offense and $50 for
each subsequent offense. Current law prohibits the imposition
of a violation point for a conviction of these offenses. After
all penalty assessments, fees, and surcharges are added to the
base fine, the total bail for a base fine of $20 is $162 and the
total bail for a base fine of $50 is $285, not including fees
for traffic violator school (According to the Administrative
Office of the Courts 2015 Final Bail Schedule).
DMV assigns violation points against a driver's license for
certain traffic offenses to identify an individual as a
negligent operator. Violation points vary with the gravity of
the offense; for example, a "fix-it" ticket does not count for
any violation points, a speeding ticket counts for one violation
point, and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
counts for two violation points. DMV may suspend a driver's
license for six months if a person receives four points in one
year, six points in two years, or eight points in three years.
Proposed Law:
SB 737 would increase the base fines for using an electronic
communication device to write, send, or read a text-based
communication while driving from $20 to $40 for a first offense,
and from $50 to $100 for a subsequent offense, and impose a
violation point for convictions related to texting while
driving. These increased penalties and fines would apply to
both adults and minors.
Related
Legislation: AB 1646 (Frazier, 2014) would have assessed a
violation point on convictions for using a wireless
communication device while driving. Governor Brown vetoed the
bill last year, stating the following:
I certainly support taking reasonable steps to curb cell
phone use and texting while driving, but I don't believe
this bill is necessary at this time to achieve that goal.
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I'm instructing the Department of Motor Vehicles to add a
question about the dangers of using a communication device
on the driver license exam. Additionally, the department is
beginning a review and analysis of data on distracted
driving in California. Let's wait to see the results before
enacting a law requiring a violation point.
The Governor has also vetoed other bills that sought to increase
the base fines for distracted driving and other vehicle code
violations. Both SB 1310 (Simitian) and SB 28 (Simitian) from
the 2011-12 Session would have increased the base fines for
using a wireless communication device while driving. The
Governor vetoed both bills, stating objections to the increases
in base fines. For example, his veto message on SB 1310 stated
the following:
I believe the current fines and penalties of $213 and $336
for cell phone use and texting while driving are a powerful
deterrent. I have found even a $50 ticket unpleasant
enough. My point here is that the current fines are not
trivial but do in fact get drivers' attention. Upping the
fines may satisfy the punitive instincts of some, but I
severely doubt that it will further reduce violations.
Staff
Comments: According to DMV statistics, there were 399,153
handheld cellphone convictions, and 27,207 texting convictions
in 2013. While the number of handheld cellphone convictions has
decreased in each of the last few years, the number of texting
convictions has increased every year since 2009. The increase
in base fines for convicted drivers would result in significant
increases in penalty revenues that would benefit the General
Fund, certain special funds, and local funds pursuant to
statutory formulas.
DMV indicates that the costs to make programming changes related
to the imposition of a violation point for convictions of
texting while driving would be substantial because its
antiquated IT infrastructure can only support violation code
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sections of less than eight characters. Programming to accept
eight bytes (such as a code citation of A23124b2 for minors
convicted of a violation) would be several million dollars.
Staff notes that DMV has a significant programming backlog of
federal and state mandates. These include federally-mandated
changes to the Commercial Driver License System, compliance with
which is tied to federal transportation funding, and state
mandates such as programming for the veteran designation on
driver's licenses and IDs (AB 935, Chap 644/2014) and the
issuance of free ID cards for homeless applicants (AB 1733, Chap
764/2014). Given the backlog, it would be difficult for DMV to
complete the programming necessary to implement this bill by the
January 1, 2016 operative date without impacting currently
scheduled programming priorities.
Recommended
Amendments: Staff recommends an amendment to make technical
drafting corrections to ensure that provisions of the bill that
are subject to a violation point are in a reportable code
section with fewer than eight bytes.
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