BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
                              Senator Jim Beall, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:          SB 881            Hearing Date:    4/12/2016
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Author:   |Hertzberg                                             |
          |----------+------------------------------------------------------|
          |Version:  |3/17/2016                                             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Consultant|Erin Riches                                           |
          |:         |                                                      |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          

          SUBJECT:  Vehicles:  violations


            DIGEST:  This bill makes a number of changes to existing law  
          relating to suspended licenses for individuals who have failed  
          to pay a traffic fine or failed to appear in court.    

          ANALYSIS:
          
          Existing law: 

        1)Authorizes a court to notify the state Department of Motor  
          Vehicles (DMV) when an individual fails to pay a traffic fine  
          (FTP), fails to appear in court (FTA), or fails to comply with a  
          court order (FTC).  Existing law requires the court to notify  
          the DMV if the individual later pays the fine.  

        2)When an individual appears before a traffic referee or superior  
          court judge regarding a traffic offense, requires the court to  
          consider the individual's ability to pay if he or she so  
          requests.  

        3)Existing law prohibits the DMV from issuing or renewing a  
          license for an individual when:

             a)   A license previously issued to the individual has been  
               suspended, until the end of the suspension period, unless  
               the cause for the suspension has been removed.

             b)   A license previously issued to the individual has been  







          SB 881 (Hertzberg)                                 Page 2 of ?
          
          
               revoked, until one year after the date of revocation,  
               unless a different period of revocation has been prescribed  
               or the cause for revocation has been removed.

             c)   The DMV has received a notice from the court of an FTP  
               or FTA.

             d)   The individual's driving record shows two or more FTPs  
               and/or FTAs, until all FTPs and FTAs have been reported to  
               DMV as cleared or adjudicated.  

          1)Requires DMV to suspend the driver's license of an individual  
            when DMV receives a notice from the court of an FTP or FTA for  
            that individual, until the individual's driving record is  
            cleared.

          This bill:

          1)Deletes the existing law provision prohibiting DMV from  
            issuing or renewing a driver's license for an individual when  
            DMV has received a notice from the court of an FTA or an FTP.   
             

          2)Deletes the existing law provision requiring the DMV, upon  
            notice from the court of an FTA or FTP, to suspend the  
            individual's driver's license.

          3)Requires the DMV to, upon request of the driver, restore all  
            driving privileges that have been suspended due to a notice of  
            an FTA or FTP, by July 1, 2017.

          4)Provides that this bill applies to commercial driver's  
            licenses as well as Class C (common driver's licenses) and  
            Class M (motorcycle driver's licenses).  

          5)Provides that the provisions of this bill shall not apply to  
            specified offenses related to reckless driving or driving  
            under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

          COMMENTS:

          1)Purpose. The author states that in California, a ticket for an  
            infraction such as a broken tail light, expired registration  
            tags, or fare evasion can ultimately lead to a suspended  
            driver's license if a defendant does not pay or make a court  








          SB 881 (Hertzberg)                                 Page 3 of ?
          
          
            appearance.  Suspending a license for failure to appear, or  
            failure to pay a fine, is an overly harsh punishment that does  
            not fit the offense and undermines the defendant's ability to  
            hold a job and make amends.  Studies show that people who lose  
            their driver's licenses often end up losing their jobs, making  
            it difficult to pay any fines or fees.  In addition,  
            unnecessary driver's license suspensions add to the burden and  
            costs of state agencies, law enforcement, and courts.  This  
            bill will help ensure that courts and counties will not  
            suspend driver's licenses as a means of collecting  
            court-ordered debt associated with non-safety traffic  
            offenses.  This bill explicitly excludes reckless and drunk  
            driving offenses from this change.  

          2)Background.  The state Judicial Council annually adopts a  
            uniform traffic penalty schedule for all non-parking  
            infractions outlined in the Vehicle Code.  Due to additional  
            surcharges, penalties, and assessments, a base fine of $100,  
            for example, results in a total fine of $541.  For many  
            individuals, a traffic violation can become prohibitively  
            expensive and can lead to a suspended driver's license.  To  
            address this concern, the 2015-16 budget agreement authorized  
            an 18-month traffic amnesty program for delinquent debt.   
            Under this program, the $300 civil assessment imposed by  
            collection programs for an FTA or FTP is waived.  Individuals  
            then receive a 50% reduction in the total amount of  
            court-ordered debt owed for traffic infractions and certain  
            traffic misdemeanors as long as specified criteria are met.   
            In addition, participants in the amnesty program, as well as  
            individuals currently making payments for the same violations  
            included in the amnesty program, can have their driver's  
            licenses reinstated.  Moreover, SB 405 (Hertzberg, Chapter  
            385, Statutes of 2015) requires courts to allow individuals to  
            schedule court proceedings even if bail or civil assessment  
            has been imposed.

          3)LAO recommendations.  The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO)  
            issued a report in January 2016 titled "Improving California's  
            Criminal Fine and Fee System."  In it, the LAO identified a  
            number of problems, such as the fact that the complexity and  
            piecemeal nature of the system makes it difficult to control  
            the use of fine and fee revenues and to distribute revenue  
            accurately.  The LAO made two major recommendations.  First,  
            the Legislature should re-evaluate the structure of the  
            system, giving consideration to system goals, ability to pay,  








          SB 881 (Hertzberg)                                 Page 4 of ?
          
          
            consequences for failure to pay, and whether fines and fees  
            should be adjusted.  Second, the Legislature should increase  
            legislative control of criminal fine and fee expenditures by  
            depositing most revenue in the General Fund; consolidating  
            most fines and fees; evaluating existing programs supported by  
            the revenues; and mitigating impacts on local government.  

          4)What about violation points?  The DMV assigns violation points  
            against an individual's driver's license for certain traffic  
            offenses to identify a driver 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.  Existing law authorizes the DMV to  
            suspend an individual's driver's license for six months if he  
            or she receives four points in one year, six points in two  
            years, or eight points in three years.  The DMV does not  
            assign violation points until it receives a notice of  
            conviction from the court.  By removing the existing law  
            provision requiring DMV to suspend/not issue/not renew the  
            driver's license of an individual for an FTP or FTA, this bill  
            could potentially remove the incentive for an individual to  
            adjudicate a moving violation and indirectly encourage him or  
            her to simply leave the violation in an FTA or FTP state  
            indefinitely.  This bill would, for example, prevent the DMV  
            from issuing violation points and eventually suspending the  
            license of an individual with multiple violations for running  
            red lights, if the individual chooses to never adjudicate the  
            FTAs or FTPs.

          5)Opposition concerns.  The California Police Chiefs  
            Association, writing in opposition to this bill, states that  
            "We agree that our laws should encourage compliance, which is  
            why the system was set up to give individuals facing court  
            charges time and notification to ensure they can abide by our  
            laws.  However, removing the penalties for disregarding our  
            rules will only foster further disregard."  

          6)Issues to consider.  The author may wish to consider  
            addressing several issues as the bill moves forward:

          a)Should additional serious offenses be excluded from this bill?  
             This bill excludes DUI and reckless driving offenses.  It  
            does not, however, exclude "wet reckless" offenses,  








          SB 881 (Hertzberg)                                 Page 5 of ?
          
          
            specifically reckless driving involving alcohol that can be  
            plea-bargained in place of a DUI.  The author may wish to  
            consider amending this bill to exclude this serious offense.    
               

          b)Should moving violations be excluded from this bill?  The  
            author states that suspending an individual's driver's license  
            for what started as a minor infraction such as broken tail  
            light is an overly harsh punishment that does not fit the  
            crime.  This bill, however, goes beyond non-moving violations  
            to include all but the most serious moving violations.  The  
            author may wish to consider narrowing this bill to apply only  
            to non-moving violations, to ensure that deterrents remain in  
            place for more serious violations.

          c)Should commercial driver's license holders be excluded from  
            this bill?  This bill applies to commercial driver's licenses  
            as well as the more common Class C or motorcycle driver's  
            licenses.  The author indicates it is important to include  
            commercial drivers because a suspended driver's license can  
            result in temporary or permanent loss of employment for a  
            truck driver.  However, the state and federal governments have  
            generally chosen to hold commercial drivers to a higher  
            standard, imposing a much more rigorous set of training and  
            testing requirements for commercial driver's licenses.  The  
            author may wish to consider excluding commercial driver's  
            licenses from this bill.  

          1)Double-referral.  Should this bill pass this committee, it  
            will be heard next in the Public Safety Committee.  This  
            committee will focus on the provisions relating to the Vehicle  
            Code; the provisions of this bill relating to the Penal Code  
            will be addressed by the Public Safety Committee. 

          Related Legislation:
          
          SB 405 (Hertzberg, Chapter 385, Statutes of 2015) requires  
          courts to allow individuals to schedule court proceedings, even  
          if bail or civil assessment has been imposed, and clarifies the  
          traffic amnesty program.

          SB 85 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 26,  
          Statutes of 2015) authorized an 18-month traffic amnesty  
          program, beginning October 1, 2015, for delinquent debt.









          SB 881 (Hertzberg)                                 Page 6 of ?
          
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:  Appropriation:  No    Fiscal Com.:  Yes     
          Local:  No


            POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,
                          April 6, 2016.)
          
            SUPPORT:  

          American Civil Liberties Union of California (co-sponsor)
          Western Center on Law and Poverty (co-sponsor)
          A New Way of Life Reentry Project
          California Association of Local Conservation Corps
          Californians United for a Responsible Budget
          Community Housing Partnership
          Courage Campaign
          Forward Together
          Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          Los Angeles Conservation Corps
          Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc.
          National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter 
          Prison Policy Initiative 
          Rubicon Programs
          San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program 
          W. Haywood Burns Institute

          OPPOSITION:

          California Police Chiefs Association
                                      -- END --