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