BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    






  SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE         Bill No:              
ab 1191
Senator Quentin L. Kopp, Chairman      Author:         
shelley
                                       Amended:              
6/9/97
Analysis by:   Steve Schnaidt          Fiscal:               
        Yes






SUBJECT:

Traffic fines: red light violations.

DESCRIPTION:

This bill would increase the base fine for running a red  
light to $100 from the current $35 and would specify that a  
portion of the fines, forfeitures, and assessments  
collected for convictions of such violations be allocated  
to the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in  
which the offense occurred.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law requires the driver of a vehicle approaching  
an intersection controlled by a traffic signal light to  
stop at the marked limit line when faced with a steady red  
light or flashing red light.  Under the law, it is an  
infraction punishable by a base fine not exceeding $100 for  
any person to fail to stop at a steady or flashing red  
signal.  A second violation is punishable by a base fine  
not exceeding $200 while third or subsequent violations are  
punishable by base fines not exceeding $250.

State and local penalty assessments are added to base  
traffic fines in the total amount of 170% of the base fine.  
 The operative base fine for running a red light is $35, as  
established by the Judicial Council, making the total fine  
amount $100 when the penalty assessments are added.  Under  
existing law, all fines and forfeitures imposed and  
collected for crimes, other than parking offenses,  









resulting from a filing in a court are required to be  
deposited with the county treasurer and distributed in  
accordance with a specified formula each month to the  
state, counties and cities.

  This bill  would specify that the base fine for running a  
red light is $100, thereby increasing the total fine amount  
to $270 with the addition of existing penalty assessments.   
The bill would require that $80 of each $270 total for  
fines, forfeitures and assessments be allocated to the  
local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which  
the red light offense occurred.  In the case where a person  
convicted of a red light violation is permitted to attend a  
traffic violator school, $80 of the fees paid to attend the  
school shall be allocated to the appropriate local law  
enforcement agency.








































COMMENTS:

1.  The intent of the bill is to make fines for running red  
lights more closely match the seriousness of the offense.   
Running red lights creates significant safety hazards for  
other motorists and pedestrians.  The author has cited a  
number of statistics to that effect, including that running  
red lights and stop signs results in 7% of traffic  
fatalities statewide (288 deaths) and 11% of all  
traffic-related injuries (33,400 injured) in 1995.  In some  
areas of the state, the rate of red-light related  
collisions far exceeds the statewide average of 102  
collisions per 100,000 population:  Pasadena has a rate of  
409, Oakland 246, Modesto 224, Sacramento 213, Ontario 185,  
Riverside 177, San Francisco 158, Concord 152, Long Beach  
133, etc.  The author places the total cost of such deaths  
and injuries in San Francisco in 1995 at $41,782,000.

2.  Opponents of the measure contend that the bill would  
require the court to separately track red light violations  
and report fine distributions to the county treasurer  
because of the $80 fine subvention to local law  
enforcement.  The Judicial Council believes it would have  
to act as a tax collector and bear additional  
administrative burdens.

3.  The required $80 subvention to local law enforcement is  
intended to support increased enforcement efforts.  The  
specified allocation could be construed as a "bounty" for a  
particular offense and would be in marked contrast to the  
state's policy which attempts to avoid a direct link  
between the enforcement agency and revenues from the  
citations issued by same.  Modifying the bill to subvene  
the $80 to the affected cities and counties, rather than  
the law enforcement agency directly, might help ease the  
perception.

Assembly Votes:
     Floor:    60-13
     Appr: 21-0
     Trans:    19-1

POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the Committee before noon on  
Wednesday,
              June 11, 1997. )










     SUPPORT:  City and County of San Francisco
               League of California Cities
               Californians for Safer Streets
               Senior Action Network
               EDS


     OPPOSED:  Judicial Council of California




                                                  6/10/97