BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2173
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2173 (Beall) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
Policy Committee: HealthVote:15-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Emergency Air Medical Transportation
Act, which would create a $3 penalty assessment on all Vehicle
Code violations (except parking offenses) to provide a funding
source to augment Medi-Cal reimbursement for air ambulance
services. Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds $3 to every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and
collected by the courts for all offenses involving a violation
of the Vehicle Code or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to
the Vehicle Code, except specified parking offenses. The
county board of supervisors shall establish in the county
treasury a special fund into which the $3 assessment will be
deposited prior to monthly transfer to the State Controller
for credit to the Emergency Air Medical Transportation Act
Fund, created by this bill, under the State Department of
Health Care Services (DHCS) to augment Medi-Cal emergency air
medical transportation reimbursements.
2)Requires DHCS to seek federal matching funds by the Emergency
Air Medical Transportation Act Fund to augment Medi-Cal
reimbursements for air ambulance service.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential increased revenue in the range of $40 million .
Extrapolating from the 7,248,217 court abstracts with
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convictions for typically multiple Vehicle Code violations,
which average about two per abstract, between March 2008 and
March 2009, a $3 penalty assessment on each traffic fine would
result in increased revenue of about $43.5 million, assuming
no diminishing returns as a result of changes in judicial
behavior, collections, or ability to pay.
2)Proliferation of assessments and charges has driven fines
upward . For example, a $500 criminal fine with current maximum
assessments would be $1,995, shocking defendants who think
$500 means $500.
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 can almost
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 states that air ambulance services are a
crucial, cost-effective component of the emergency medical
system that is significantly undercompensated by Medi-Cal. The
purpose of this bill is to create a funding source to increase
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Medi-Cal reimbursents for air ambulances.
According to the author, "Air ambulance services provide
life-saving emergency transportation for the most critical
patients from accident scenes directly to trauma centers.
Emergency helicopter air ambulance providers maintain a
critical link between rural areas and urban tertiary care
hospitals (trauma centers, heart/stroke centers, burn units,
etc.).
"They are an essential part of the Statewide EMS system and
play a key role in disaster response and homeland security.
The Medi-Cal program pays air ambulance services far below the
cost of providing emergency air transportation, and pays
nothing if the patient is indigent and not eligible for
Medi-Cal. Current Medi-Cal base rates for helicopter services
are only 40% of the average Medicare rates in California,
which are similarly inadequate to cover costs. In rural areas
this can fall below 35% of the cost of the transport."
2)Existing Penalty Assessments . Existing law provides for a
series of intertwined and complex penalty assessments. As
noted by the CRB, "California now has dedicated funding
streams for over 269 separate court fines, fees, forfeitures,
surcharges and penalty assessments that may be levied on
offenders and violators." The major assessments include:
a) A state penalty assessment of $10 for every $10 on every
fine, penalty or forfeiture imposed and collected by the
courts for all criminal offenses, including vehicle
offenses except parking fines. Of the funds collected, 70%
goes to the state and 30% to the county. The state portion
is distributed as follows:
i) Fish and Game Preservation Fund: .33%
ii) Restitution Fund: 32.02%
iii) Peace Officers Training
Fund: 23.99%
iv) Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund: 25.70%
v) Corrections Training Fund: 7.88%
vi) Local Public Prosecutors and Public Defenders
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Fund: .78%, not to exceed $850,000
vii) Victim-Witness Assistance Fund: 8.64%
viii) Traumatic Brain Injury Fund: .66%.
b) A county penalty assessment of $7 for every $10 on every
fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the
courts for criminal offenses, including vehicle offenses,
except parking fines. Proceeds are distributed to funds
established by county boards of supervisors: Courthouse
Construction, Criminal Justice Facilities Construction,
Automated Fingerprint Identification, Emergency Medical
Services, DNA.
c) A state surcharge of 20% on every base fine collected by
the court, deposited in the GF.
d) A State Court Facilities Construction penalty assessment
of up to $5 for every $10 upon every fine, penalty or
forfeiture collected by the courts for criminal offenses.
e) A court security fee of $30 on every conviction for a
criminal offense for court security.
f) Proposition 69 levied a $1 penalty assessment on every
$10 in fines and forfeitures resulting from criminal and
traffic offenses and dedicates these revenues to state and
local governments for DNA databank implementation purposes.
g) The EMS Fund provides supplemental financing for local
emergency services via a $2 penalty assessment for each $10
of traffic fines.
h) An additional 20% assessment of $2 for every $10 on
every fine, penalty, forfeiture or criminal offenses and
all offenses dealing with the Vehicle Code except parking
offenses for emergency medical services, in addition to the
EMS Fund.
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i) An additional $30 for every felony or misdemeanor
criminal conviction and $35 for every criminal infraction,
including traffic offenses, but not including parking
offenses, for the Immediate and Critical Needs Account
(ICNA) within the existing State Court Facilities
Construction Fund (SCFCF).
j) The CRB found that 86% of penalty assessments are paid
by Vehicle Code violators . Criminal defendants who
committed more serious offenses are less likely to have the
ability to pay any fines assessed in addition to other
punishments such as county jail or state prison sentences
3)Support . The California Chapter of the Association of Air
Ambulance Medical Services (CAL-AAMS) states that air
ambulances provide an essential service and provide emergency
transports to many trauma and cardiac patients without any
form of health insurance.
The Regional Council of Rural Counties states that given the
vast distances between hospital or trauma facilities and the
range of geographic barriers for land-based transportation,
access to air ambulance services is often a matter of life or
death in rural areas.
4)Opposition . The Automobile Club of Southern California and the
AAA of Northern California states that 70% to 80% of penalty
assessment revenue is generated from Vehicle Code moving
violations. The AAA contends that while air medical
transportation is a laudable program, increasing program
funding via Vehicle Code assessments places a disproportionate
burden upon the motoring public.
The California Teamsters Public Affairs Council notes the cost
of citations has increased dramatically in recent years as an
alternative means of funding services. As a result, citations
are now unaffordable for many Californians and often fall on
commercial drivers.
5)Previous Legislation . This bill is essentially the same as the
author's AB 1153, which was held on this committee's Suspense
File last year.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
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