BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1392
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1392 (Tran) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill creates a new $150 fine for graffiti-related offenses
and a $300 fine if the offense is committed by a person
determined to be an active member of a criminal street gang, as
defined, and earmarks the fine revenue for specified purposes.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates the Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund (fund) within
the Department of Justice (DOJ), for deposit of the above fine
revenues, to fund technological advances in the identification
and apprehension of vandals and gang members.
2)Specifies the CalGang Executive Board, under the DOJ, shall
distribute funds from the Fund based on the recommendations of
the California Gang Node Advisory Committee and the California
Graffiti Advisory Committee (which does not currently exist).
At least 30% of the funds shall go to "graffiti-related
purposes," 30% shall go to "gang-related purposes," and the
balance to "law enforcment's greater need for technology."
3)Requires DOJ to maintain annual fiscal reports and report
annually to the CalGang Executive Board on the status of the
fund.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown increased fine revenue and commensurate increased
expenditures , potentially in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
It is difficult to estimate the number of graffiti
AB 1392
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convictions, in addition to the difficulty of estimating
offenders' ability to pay an additional fine, but for order of
magnitude purposes: based on an average of about 500
graffiti-related arrests per year by the L.A. P.D., if a
similar number of arrests were made by L. A. Sheriff's
Department, and if those 1,000 arrests are offset by 50% for
cases that do not result in a conviction, L.A. County alone
would have about 500 annual convictions. If 20% of the 500
were unable to pay the fine, and if the fines levied averaged
$225, potential proceeds to the Graffiti and Gang Technology
Fund from L.A County would be about $90,000. Extrapolating
statewide, the fund would likely receive less than $300,000.
2)Proliferation of assessments and charges has driven fines
upward . For example, a $1,000 criminal fine for a
graffiti-related offense, with current maximum assessments
would be $4,785, shocking defendants who think $1,000 means
$1,000.
3)Increasing assessments may result in diminishing returns .
Judges do have the discretion to reduce the base fine, which
then reduces revenue to state and local governments, as well
as to assessments. As current penalty assessments more than
triple the base fine, increasing fines and assessments may
have the unintended consequence of reduced fine collections.
Indigent defendants facing ever-increasing fees may simply
choose to spend time in jail in lieu of paying the fine,
causing taxpayers to pay the jail costs while state and local
government receive fewer penalty funds. Moreover, county jail
population caps may provide additional incentives to opt for
jail time over fines, as the time served for nonviolent
offenders may be minimal.
As noted by the California Research Bureau (CRB) in its 2006
review of penalty assessments, "High penalty assessments may
result in higher rates of default by the guilty parties. Some
offenders may spend time in jail, or plea for community
service, rather than pay the fine and penalty assessment. The
end result may be that a substantial amount of fines, fees and
revenue is not collected."
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends this bill will provide
additional funding to combat gangs and graffiti.
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2)Related legislation , AB 576 (Torres, 2009), also contained a
fine for graffiti-related offenses. The fine was deleted from
the bill by this committee and AB 576, which also allows local
governments to qualify as victims for purposes of
graffiti-related restitution, is pending in the Senate.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081