SB 185: Crimes: infractions.

Under existing law, a judgment that a person convicted of an infraction be punished by a fine may also provide for the payment to be made within a specified time or in specified installments. Existing law requires a court, in any case when a person appears before a traffic referee or judge of the superior court for adjudication of a violation of the Vehicle Code, upon request of the defendant, to consider the defendants ability to pay, as specified.

This bill would require the court, in any case involving an infraction filed with the court, to determine whether the defendant is indigent for purposes of determining what portion of the statutory amount of any associated fine, fee, assessment, or other financial penalties the person can afford to pay. The bill would provide that the defendant can demonstrate that he or she is indigent by providing specified information, including attesting to his or her indigent status under penalty of perjury. Because a violation thereof would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require the court to reduce the base fine and associated fees by 80% if the court establishes that the defendant is indigent, and to provide alternatives to immediate payment of the sentence, including a payment plan option. The bill would require the court to determine the amount a defendant can afford to pay per month by using a payment calculator developed by the Judicial Council, as specified. For persons not found to be indigent, the bill would require that the monthly payment not exceed 5% of the defendants family monthly income, as provided. For defendants found to be indigent, the bill would require that monthly payments be $0 until the defendants financial circumstances change, and would require the remaining amount owed to be discharged after 48 months in the interest of justice.

Existing law authorizes any county or court to implement a comprehensive collection program as a separate revenue collection activity, and requires the program to meet certain criteria, one of which is that the program engages in specified activities in collecting fines or penalties. One of those activities is initiating suspensions or holds for drivers licenses, as specified.

This bill would delete initiating suspensions or holds for drivers licenses from the list of activities the program may engage in. The bill would require the program to provide a payment plan option based on the debtors ability to pay and requires the program to notify the defendant of his or her right to an indigency determination for infractions.

Existing law requires, whenever a person is arrested for any nonfelony violation of the Vehicle Code, or for a violation of an ordinance of a city or county relating to traffic offenses and he or she is not immediately taken before a magistrate, the arresting officer to prepare in triplicate a written notice to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail, as specified. Existing law further requires the officer to deliver one copy of the notice to appear to the arrested person, and the arrested person in order to secure release must give his or her written promise to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail.

This bill would require the court to send the defendant a reminder notice of his or her promise to appear in court and would require the reminder notice to include specified information, including an appearance date and location and the right to an indigency determination.

Existing law authorizes the court to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles when a person has failed to appear or failed to pay a fine or bail, with respect to various violations relating to vehicles. Existing law requires the department to suspend, and prohibits the department from issuing or renewing, a persons drivers license upon receipt of one of those notices, as specified.

This bill would instead require the court to issue a notice to the defendant that he or she must appear in court within 60 days, as specified, if the person has failed to appear, and authorizes the court to notify the department only when the defendant does not appear within those 60 days. The bill would also repeal the provisions authorizing the court to notify the department of a failure to pay a fine or bail. The bill would repeal certain provisions prohibiting the department from issuing or renewing a persons drivers license upon receipt of a notice of a defendants failure to pay, with respect to designated violations.

Existing law provides that a person willfully violating his or her written promise to appear or a lawfully granted continuance of his or her promise to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail, or willfully failing to pay bail in installments or a certain lawfully imposed fine, as specified, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The bill would instead provide that a person willfully violating his or her written promise to appear or a lawfully granted continuance of his or her promise to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail is guilty of an infraction if it is on more than one case in the past 5 years. The bill would require, for the first occurrence of any of these violations, the person to be instructed to appear before a judge or a clerk of the court to schedule a new hearing date within 60 days of the willful violation. The bill would make it an infraction to fail to appear within these 60 days. infraction. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would repeal the misdemeanor for willfully failing to pay bail in installments or a lawfully imposed fine.

This bill would declare that its provisions do not alter existing law related to suspension of the privilege to operate a motor vehicle in connection with violations relating to reckless driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as specified.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.