BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2724
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2724 (Bradford) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUMMARY : Provides that the ability to pay a fine is not a
prerequisite to filing a request that the court vacate a civil
assessment, as specified, and that an agreement to pay a fine in
installments or perform community service in lieu of paying the
fine is sufficient for the court to request that the hold on the
defendant's driver's license be lifted. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Provides that the ability to post bail or to pay the civil
assessment imposed by the court for failure to appear in court
for a proceeding or failure to pay a fine or bail installment
is not a prerequisite to filing a request that the court
vacate the assessment.
2)Provides that the imposition or collection of a civil
assessment does not preclude a defendant from scheduling a
court hearing on the underlying charge.
3)Provides that if an agreement is signed to pay a
lawfully-imposed fine in installments or to perform community
service in lieu of the fine, as specified, the magistrate or
court clerk is required to issue and file with the Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) a certificate showing that an
agreement has been signed and request that the hold on the
defendant's driver's license be lifted.
4)Provides that the court cannot require the payment of bail,
the fine, or a civil assessment before the person requests
that the court vacate a civil assessment, imposed as
specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any person convicted of an infraction may, upon
a showing that payment of the total fine would pose a hardship
AB 2724
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on the defendant, be sentenced to perform community service in
lieu of the total fine that would be otherwise imposed. (Pen.
Code, � 1209.5.)
2)Allows the court, in addition to any other penalty in an
infraction, misdemeanor or felony, to impose a civil
assessment of up to $300 against any defendant who fails to
appear in court for any proceeding, fails to pay any portion
of the fine ordered by the court, or fails to pay an
agreed-upon bail installment, as specified. (Pen. Code, �
1214.1, subd. (a).)
3)Provides that the assessment described above will not become
effective until at least 10 calendar days after the court
mails a warning notice to the defendant, as specified.
Requires the court to vacate the assessment if the defendant
appears within the time specified in the notice and shows good
cause for the failure to appear or the failure to pay a fine
or bail installment. (Pen. Code, � 1214.1, subd. (b).)
4)Provides that if any person has willfully failed to pay a fine
within the time authorized by the court to pay the fine, the
magistrate or clerk of the court may give notice of the
failure to pay to DMV for any violation. Requires the court
to inform DMV if the fine is later fully paid. (Veh. Code, ��
40509, subd. (b), and 40509.5, subd. (b).)
5)Requires the court, upon the request of the defendant, to
consider the defendant's ability to pay in any adjudication of
a Vehicle Code violation. Requires the court, if it
determines that the defendant has the ability to pay all or
part of the costs, to set the amount to be reimbursed and
order the defendant to pay that sum to the county in the
manner in which the court believes reasonable and compatible
with the defendant's financial ability, or, with the consent
of a defendant who is placed on probation, the court shall
order the probation officer to set the amount of payment, not
to exceed the maximum amount set by the court, and the manner
in which the payment is to be made to the county. Requires
the court to take into account the amount of any fine imposed
upon the defendant and any amount the defendant has been
ordered to pay in restitution in making a determination of
whether a defendant has the ability to pay. (Veh. Code, �
42003, subd. (c).)
AB 2724
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Many low-income
individuals cannot afford the spiraling debt caused by unpaid
traffic violations and court assessments. Failure to pay the
penalties can lead to a suspended driver's license. Without a
driver's license, an individual may (1) lose their job because
they are unable to get to work; (2) find it difficult to
obtain a new job; and (3) be ineligible for certain employment
or job training programs. Without a job, an individual cannot
repay the fines to regain their driver's license, and thus
become trapped in a vicious cycle of debt that is very
difficult to escape. This bill helps low-income individuals
keep their jobs and repay assessments by two means. First, it
allows an individual, before penalties are paid, to appear in
front of a judge to contest the assessment or original
violation. Second, it allows a judge to ask the DMV to
reinstate a driver's license after the individual signs an
agreement to pay by installment plan or perform community
service. As courts have billions of dollars in uncollected
fines, this bill will help courts recoup some of this money by
providing individuals with the means to repay penalties."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author's
office, "[f]ailure to appear in court or pay the fine [for a
traffic offense violation] can lead to a suspended driver's
license and a vicious cycle of debt that is very difficult to
escape. It is estimated that the driver's licenses of about
600,000 individuals are suspended as a result of a failure to
appear or failure to pay.
"Unpaid court fines and assessments may result in individuals
going without driving privileges for lengthy periods. It
undermines their ability to keep and obtain employment that
would allow them to pay off the penalties.
"Low-income individuals are easily trapped in a maze of
various fines and assessments.
Under existing law, an appearance before a judge can only be
scheduled once all civil assessments are fully paid. If the
individual cannot afford the assessments, they cannot contest
the assessment or original violation. Furthermore, a judge
cannot release a driver's license hold until fines and
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penalties are fully paid. Even if the individual agrees to a
payment plan, it can be years before their driver's license is
reinstated."
3)Argument in Support : As stated by the Western Center on Law
and Poverty , "[w]hen clients are unable to pay tickets or
assessments, courts will suspend the driver's license. The
Department of Motor Vehicles issues the suspension notice and
under state law is not allowed to reinstate driving privileges
until the court notifies DMV that the fines and assessments
have been paid. Courts, for their part, do not send such a
notice to DMV until the entire accumulated amount is paid off.
Though our clients are permitted to enter payment plans at
that point, the amount they can pay is limited due to their
limited financial resources. This means they often can go
years without a drivers' license.
"The lack of a drivers' license is a major barrier for low
income persons. Many employers will not hire persons who do
not provide a valid drivers' license. The lack of a license
also limits which jobs a person can accept. If they must drive
to get to the job they are faced with a choice of driving
illegally (and often with required insurance) or they simply
cannot accept the job. The lack of a license also impedes the
ability of persons to get on public assistance because state
law requires valid identification to limit the potential for
public benefit fraud. Further, the lack of a drivers' license
can prevent a person from successfully engaging in CalWORKs
welfare to work activities.
?
"AB 2724 is intended to reverse this trend. As written, the
bill does two significant things. First, it allows persons to
go in front of a judge to contest court imposed assessments
for failure to appear without first paying the assessment.
This preserves the right of persons to plead good cause for
not being subject to the assessment. Second, AB 2724
authorizes courts to permit payment plans or community service
be performed for unpaid traffic tickets after suspending the
driver's license. By reinstating the license, many of our
clients will be more able to make the required payments
because they will keep or find employment. Ultimately this
will help the courts, the counties, the state and the various
programs that receive funds from the payment of traffic
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tickets."
4)Prior Legislation : SB 366 (Wright), of this Legislative
Session, would have clarified that a person's ability to pay a
fine should be taken into consideration, that a driver's
license should not be suspended when a person has agreed to a
payment plan or community service, and a person should have
the right to prove good cause for failure to appear when a
civil assessment has been imposed for that failure to appear.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
East Bay Community Law Center (Co-Sponsor)
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area (Co-Sponsor)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (Co-Sponsor)
Bay Area Legal Aid
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles Community Action Network
National Employment Law Project
Personal Insurance Federation of California
Public Counsel
Rubicon Programs
San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi
Western Regional Advocacy Project
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744