BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




            
                                                          AB 1346
                                                         Page 1

Date of Hearing:  January 9, 1996
 Counsel:         Donald J. Currier

                ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                       Paula L. Boland, Chair

           AB 1346 (Baldwin) - As Proposed to be Amended


 ISSUE:  SHOULD A COURT BE AUTHORIZED TO IMPOSE A CIVIL ASSESSMENT  
IN THE AMOUNT OF UP TO $250 UPON THOSE WHO FAIL TO PAY  
COURT-ORDERED FINES?


                            FOR VOTE ONLY


 DIGEST

Urgency statute.  2/3 vote required.

 Under current law, the court is authorized to impose a civil  
penalty upon a defendant when that defendant fails to appear in  
court.  (Penal Code section 1214.1.)

 This bill expands the Penal Code section allowing civil  
assessments in criminal cases to authorize courts to impose civil  
assessments upon defendants who fail to pay court-ordered fines.

 COMMENTS

1)   Purpose.  According to the author:

        The effectiveness of jail terms for those who refuse to  
       pay court ordered fines has been greatly reduced by jail  
       overcrowding.  Courts have been using the threat of civil  
       assessments for failure-to-appear (FTA) cases with great  
       success.  This bill would give the courts another valuable  
       tool in obtaining compliance with court orders to pay  
       fines.

2)  Background.  Because jail space is at a premium, it has become  
   difficult to impose jail time on those who fail to appear for  
   their court appearances and those who fail to pay court-ordered  
   fines.  

   The administrator for the El Cajon Municipal Court reports that  
   civil assessments have been used with great success in San  
   Diego County on failure-to-appear (FTA) cases.  Last year, the  
   county raised $4.2 million revenue in one year by enforcing  












            
                                                          AB 1346
                                                         Page 2

   compliance on FTA cases with civil assessments.  The FTA rate  
   was also greatly reduced.  The administrator believes that  
   because the tools used to obtain compliance in FTA cases were 
used with success, the same tools will prove successful in  
obtaining compliance with court-ordered fines.

3)  Potential Effect.  Expanding the court's authority to impose  
   civil assessments in failure to pay court-ordered fine cases  
   would improve the court's ability to collect those fines.  

   This measure should ease overcrowding in local jails as courts  
   rely more on civil assessments and less on commitment orders as  
   a remedy for failure to pay fine cases. 

  SOURCE:    Frederick Lear, El Cajon Municipal Court Administrator

  SUPPORT:   Municipal Court Judge's Association of Los Angeles  
           County
            Judicial Council of California
            Trial Courts Legislation Committee
            County Clerk's Association
            California Association of Superior Court  
           Administrators
            California Court Clerk's Association
            Urban Counties Caucus

  OPPOSITION:  American Civil Liberties Union
            California Attorneys for Criminal Justice     


  Analysis prepared by:  Donald J. Currier / apubs / 445-3268