BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 412
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 412 (Williams)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
HEALTH 15-0 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 9-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Monning, Ammiano, Atkins, |Ayes:|Smyth, Alejo, Bradford, |
| |Bonilla, Eng, Gordon, | |Campos, Davis, Gordon, |
| |Hayashi, | |Hueso, Knight, Norby |
| |Roger Hern�ndez, Bonnie | | |
| |Lowenthal, Mitchell, | | |
| |Nestande, Pan, | | |
| |V. Manuel P�rez, Smyth, | | |
| |Williams | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
--------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| |Solorio, Wagner |
| | |
--------------------------------
SUMMARY : Enacts, for Santa Barbara County only until January 1,
2014, a penalty of $5 for every $10 in base fines imposed on
criminal offenses and certain vehicle code offenses and provides
that the amount collected is to be deposited in a county
established Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes, in Santa Barbara County, a penalty of $5 for every
$10 to be imposed on fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected
for all criminal offenses and those vehicle code offenses
related to driving under the influence and sunsets January 1,
2014.
2)Requires the proceeds of the penalty assessment to be payable in
AB 412
Page 2
the same manner as funds in a county Maddy EMS Fund.
3)Conditions implementation of this bill upon adoption of a
resolution of necessity by the Santa Barbara County Board of
Supervisors.
4)Requires the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to report
to the Legislature on the actions taken to implement alternative
local sources of funding.
5)Exempts restitution fines, specified penalties, and parking
offenses from imposition of the additional penalty calculation.
6)States legislative intent that Santa Barbara County secures a
permanent local funding mechanism to ensure the continuation of
trauma care in the region before January 1, 2014.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Revenue to Santa Barbara County of approximately $700,000
annually from penalty assessments, upon the Santa Barbara County
Board of Supervisors' approval.
2)Increasing assessments may result in diminishing returns to
existing assessments. As current penalty assessments quadruple
the base fine, increasing fines and assessments may have the
unintended consequence of reduced fine collections. Judges may
reduce base fines or 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.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is necessary to
reenact the authorization for Santa Barbara County to impose an
additional penalty of $5 for every $10 in base fines collected for
all criminal offenses and five specific vehicle code violations
relating to driving under the influence that expired on January 1,
2011, to provide funding to the Maddy EMS Fund. The author states
that at the time of the enactment of the penalty assessment
intended as the Maddy EMS Fund, Santa Barbara did not have a
trauma center and elected to use the funding for the aging court
system. The author further argues that counties do not have the
authority to raise penalty assessments at the local level and it
is necessary to ask the state for such authority.
AB 412
Page 3
SB 12 (Maddy), Chapter 1240, Statutes of 1987, authorizes counties
to establish a fund to reimburse physicians for the uncompensated
costs of emergency care and other county emergency services
through a $1 penalty assessment (PA) on fines, forfeitures, and
penalties. The Maddy EMS Fund was part of a comprehensive scheme
regulating the treatment of uninsured patients in hospital
emergency departments. AB 544 (Isenberg), Chapter 189, Statutes
of 1991, consolidates various county optional penalty assessments,
including the $2 for the Maddy Fund, into the combined PA. AB 544
also required any county that had established a Maddy EMS Fund
continue to use the penalty revenue in the amount originally
authorized plus a growth factor. Counties that had not
established a Maddy EMS Fund by June 1, 1991, were authorized to
set aside up to 28% of the newly consolidated PA, using up to $2
of the $7 fee collected.
SB 635 (Dunn), Chapter 524, Statutes of 2004, grants Santa Barbara
County authority to impose and collect an additional penalty of $5
for every $10 of base fine on every criminal penalty and $2.50 on
every parking penalty, through SB 635 (Dunn), Chapter 524,
Statutes of 2004. SB 635 included a January 1, 2007 sunset and a
requirement that the Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County
report to the Legislature whether, and to the extent that, actions
are taken by Santa Barbara County to implement alternative local
sources of funding. AB 2265 (Nava), Chapter 768, Statutes of
2006, extends the sunset date for the additional $5 for every $10
in base fines for all criminal offenses, including all vehicle
code offenses and the $2.50 additional penalty on all parking
penalties for the Maddy EMS Fund in Santa Barbara County from
January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2009. AB 2265 also made
legislative findings that the county required additional time to
develop an appropriate local measure and that the Legislature
expects the county to place a proposed county tax ordinance on the
November 2008 ballot.
AB 1900 (Nava), Chapter 323, Statutes of 2008, extends the sunset
date until January 1, 2011 and has therefore expired. AB 1900
covered all criminal offenses, but limited the vehicle code
violations to those relating to driving under the influence and
excluded parking penalties. AB 1900 also required the Board of
Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara to report to the
Legislature whether, and to the extent that, any actions are taken
by the County of Santa Barbara to implement alternative local
AB 412
Page 4
sources of funding.
Analysis Prepared by : Marjorie Swartz / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0001060