BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 881
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
881 (Hertzberg)
As Amended August 24, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 32-7
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Transportation |15-0 |Frazier, Linder, | |
| | |Baker, Bloom, Brown, | |
| | |Chu, Daly, Dodd, | |
| | |Gomez, Kim, Mathis, | |
| | |Medina, Melendez, | |
| | |Nazarian, O'Donnell | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Modifies the traffic amnesty program established for
individuals who have had their driver's license suspended due to
failure to pay (FTP) traffic fines. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the court, where applicable, to file the appropriate
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documents certifying that a person with a suspended license
has fulfilled the amnesty program requirements within 90 days.
2)Requires the court to issue and file the required certificates
to reinstate suspended driver's license for amnesty program
participants no later than March 31, 2017, for applications
submitted before January 1, 2017.
3)Clarifies that amnesty program eligibility requirements, among
other things, that applications be received by the court on or
before the program expiration date of March 31, 2017.
4)Clarifies that the court must process all applications
received on or before the program's expiration date of March
31, 2017, and that all program terms and procedures related to
a participant's payment plan shall remain in effect after the
March 31, 2017, program expiration date.
5)Makes related, clarifying and conforming amendments to
existing law.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes, pursuant to the 2015-16 Budget Act, [SB 85
(Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 26, Statutes
of 2015], a one-time, 18-month traffic infraction amnesty
program running from October 1, 2015, until March 31, 2017,
that reduced the total amount of outstanding court-ordered
debt owed for traffic infractions and certain traffic
misdemeanors by 50%, provided specified criteria are met, and
allowed driving privileges to be reinstated for individuals
who have had their driving privileges revoked as a result of a
failure to appear (FTA) or FTP.
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2)Required courts pursuant to SB 405 (Hertzberg), Chapter 385,
Statutes of 2015, to allow individuals to schedule court
proceedings, even if bail or civil assessment had been
imposed, and further clarified the traffic amnesty program.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown one-time net revenue gain during extended
amnesty period and longer term loss of revenue from reduced
collections.
COMMENTS: In June 2015, the Governor signed into law an amnesty
program for unpaid tickets issued for certain traffic
infractions. The amnesty program began on October 1, 2015, and
is set to expire on March 31, 2017. The program is designed to
help two groups of individuals. The first group includes
individuals with unpaid tickets whose fines were originally due
to be paid on or before January 1, 2013, and who had not made a
payment after September 30, 2015. These persons are eligible to
have their debt reduced by 50% or 80%, depending on their income
and to have their driver's license reinstated if they meet
certain requirements. The second group of individuals affected
by the amnesty program includes those who made payments on fines
after September 30, 2015. While this group is not eligible for
a reduction of that particular ticket, they are eligible to have
their driver's license reinstated if they are in good standing
on a payment plan with a comprehensive collection program.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reports that over 600,000
Californians currently have suspended driver's license for
failure FTA for or FTP traffic tickets. The courts estimate
that approximately 4.9 million people are eligible for the
amnesty program, which represents approximately $4 billion in
uncollected debt. To date, a total of 132,879 delinquent
infraction and misdemeanor accounts have been resolved through
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the amnesty program resulting in nearly $19 million in gross
revenues collected. With regard to driver's license
reinstatement, the Judicial Council reports that over 104,000
requests have been made of the DMV to reinstate driving
privileges through the amnesty program.
The author notes that despite the overall success of the amnesty
program, he remains concerned that courts in some jurisdictions
are significantly delayed in processing the certificates needed
to allow DMV to reinstate the driving privilege for program
participants. Furthermore, he contends that these delays
unfairly harm program participants who need to drive, if for no
other reason, than as a means to pay their debt. To address
this issue, the author proposes to amend the amnesty program to
require that courts process the necessary paperwork with the DMV
within specified timeframes. The author has also suggested
program amendments that would remove ambiguity with respect to
other program requirements.
By specifying clear timeframes by which courts must process
documents needed by DMV to reinstate driving privileges, this
bill will help to ensure that the amnesty program benefits are
fully realized by program participants. Additionally, the
amendments clarifying, what some believe, are ambiguities with
respect to overall program requirements will help to ensure the
program operates as intended.
Analysis Prepared by: Victoria Alvarez /
TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0004955
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