BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2085
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 30, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     AB 2085 (Fox) - As Amended:  March 19, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  5-0
                        Transportation                        13-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes, in each county, upon agreement between the  
          county and the court, implementation of an amnesty program  
          whereby a person can pay 50% of a fine or bail due before Jan.  
          1, 2012 for eligible infraction or misdemeanor violations of the  
          Vehicle Code if certain conditions are met. Payment shall be  
          accepted between Jan. 1, 2016 and ending Dec. 31, 2016. This  
          bill also:

          1)Specifies violations are not eligible for amnesty if the  
            defendant owes victim restitution, or if there are outstanding  
            misdemeanor or felony warrants, as specified. 

          2)Prohibits amnesty for parking violations, reckless driving,  
            and driving-under-the influence.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Implementation costs (local and state trial court funds) in the  
          range of $3 million, more than offset by amnesty collections.  
          What cannot be determined, however, is whether amnesty  
          collections will exceed what may have been collected absent  
          amnesty. Moreover, signaling reinstatement of an amnesty program  
          just one year after the previous amnesty period closed, raises  
          questions regarding the impact of anticipated amnesty on future  
          collections.    

          Based on the Judicial Council's program report to the  
          Legislature (Dec. 2012) on the prior amnesty program, which this  
          bill reestablishes, the cost of the program was $2.9 million.  








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          The program collected $15 million and resolved 42,245 cases.  
          Forty-nine counties reported a total of 1,881,665  
          amnesty-eligible cases, with a value of $1.9 billion. Thus the  
          net $12.1 million collected amounts to 0.6% of what counties  
          determined was the amnesty-eligible base.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author contends an amnesty program for  
            penalties due prior to Jan. 1, 2012 - on the heels of what was  
            a one-time amnesty program for penalties due prior to Jan. 1,  
            2009 - will provide relief to persons unable to pay traffic  
            bail and fines while increasing the chance of collecting at  
            least partial revenues on penalties more than three years old.

           2)Prior Amnesty Program  . AB 1358 (Fuentes), Statutes of 2011,  
            required each county to establish a one-time infraction  
            violation amnesty program for fines and bail for persons  
            unable to pay traffic bail or fines with due dates prior to  
            Jan. 1, 2009, and allowed the court and the county to extend  
            the program to specified misdemeanor violations under  
            specified conditions. 

           3)Was the prior amnesty program a success  ? Judging from the  
            program report to the Legislature (Dec. 2012), the answer is  
            elusive. As referenced above, the cost of the program was $2.9  
            million. The program collected $15 million and resolved 42,245  
            cases. Perhaps most importantly, 49 counties reported a total  
            of 1,881,665 amnesty-eligible cases, with a value of $1.9  
            billion, thus the net $12.1 million collected amounts to 0.6%  
            of what counties determined was the amnesty-eligible base.

            The report states that 22 counties stated they would support a  
            future amnesty program, 23 said they did not find the program  
            beneficial, and 13 did not respond to this question.

           4)The Judicial Council Raises Significant Issues  .  In a March 20  
            letter opposing the bill (the Council subsequently withdrew  
            its opposition) the Council raised several issues: (a) not  
            enough time has passed since the 2012 amnesty program, which  
            sends an unintended message that individuals do not need to  
            take traffic and other enumerated violations seriously; (b)  
            the program upon which this effort is predicated was only  
            marginally successful in retiring delinquent debt; and (c) the  
            courts lack the resources to implement and oversee such a  








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            program.

            Notwithstanding the Council's curious change of heart, the  
            issues raised resonate.   

           5)Do consecutive amnesty programs send the message that breaking  
            laws lack consequences  ? If Legislature feels consecutive  
            amnesty programs are necessary because fines are too steep  
            and/or too many people are ignoring them, perhaps the  
            underlying laws are the problem. 
           
           

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081