How an $85 infraction turns into a $500 fine... paid ON TIME

[mominatrix]

this right here is why people hate government:

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Why a traffic ticket costs so much in SLO County
The fine for the actual infraction is just a small portion of the overall charge, which routes money to a range of public safety uses
BY MATT FOUNTAIN
[e-mail] 1, 2015 Updated 16 hours ago


Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the fine used as the example throughout. The fine is for running a flashing red light. In addition, the state surcharge had the incorrect amount. It is $20.







If you’ve received a traffic ticket lately, you’re probably not alone in expressing outrage at the cost.

Although the actual fine for running a flashing red light is $85, for example, the ticket rings in at nearly $500 when additional assessments and surcharges approved by state and local governments are added.

It’s even worse if you don’t pay the ticket on time.

You’re charged an additional $300 for a 10-day late payment, and your driver’s license is automatically suspended. This year, a few thousand San Luis Obispo County residents are expected to at least temporarily lose their licenses as a result.

But some relief may be on the way — at least for those who don’t pay the original ticket on time. Efforts have begun to condense the added charges, incentivize payment and make it possible for people to continue driving while paying off their debt.

As for all those assessments and surcharges that drive up the original cost, you’re out of luck for now. But a state court task force seeking to find efficiencies may wind up recommending some reductions.

California has about $10 billion in uncollected court-ordered debt and about 4 million residents with suspended licenses.




What are you paying for?

The cost of a traffic ticket includes a base fine plus various assessments and fees approved by the California Legislature to fund specific state and local government activities.

Base fines are typically 25 percent to 35 percent of the maximum fine allowed by law and in general have not increased in 20 years, according to the Judicial Council of California, which sets fines for traffic offenses.

For example, the base fine for running a flashing red light in 2014 was $85 — a $35 penalty, a $40 court operations fee and a $10 administrative fee. However, assessments and surcharges multiply that base fine many times over.

Consider the ticket for driving through a flashing red light. In addition to the $85 base fine, 19 assessments and additional fees total $394 and include charges such as:

$2.74 as an emergency medical air transport fee;
$3.43 for the San Luis Obispo County fingerprint fund;
$9.80 to fund DNA databases, 75 percent of which goes to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department;
$13.72 for local courthouse construction;
$20 in a state surcharge equal to 20 percent of the base fine;
$20.58 for state courthouse construction; and
$163.86 in local fees with 30 percent going to the jurisdiction of the ticket-issuing agency.



“The system has gotten so complicated over time with these assessments,” said Curt Soderlund, chief administrative officer for the Judicial Council.

In times of budget crises, the Legislature has the ability to divert the state fees to the state general fund. The county, however, does not have that ability, and each fee must be directed to the appropriate government department or agency.

The San Luis Obispo County Auditor-Controller’s Office receives monthly reports from San Luis Obispo Superior Court and the county Probation Department identifying how the funds are distributed. Last March, for example, the Probation Department distributed $317,945 in court fines and restitution to various funds among its department, according to records from the Auditor’s Office.




Local numbers

While fees may be a boon to government agencies and facilities, the system has been criticized for unfairly penalizing low-income residents.

If a person receives a ticket and fails to pay or appear in court, the court will send the person a Failure to Appear or Pay notice, stating they have 10 days to pay the fine in full or appear in court.

Should they fail to do either, they are slapped with a $300 civil assessment and the court notifies the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which by law must suspend their license, DMV spokesman Artemio Armenta said.

Some courts operate differently, but San Luis Obispo Superior Court contracts collection services to private collection companies. Once the ticket has been paid, the collection agency notifies the court, which lifts the Failure to Appear and notifies the DMV, which then lifts the suspension.

According to data provided by San Luis Obispo Superior Court Chief Executive Officer Susan Matherly, the number of traffic citations filed with the court has declined by 34 percent in the last five years. About 48,915 traffic citations were filed in 2009 compared with 32,367 last year. One reason for the drop was fewer CHP officers on the road to issue tickets.

As the number of citations declined, so has the number of cases referred to collection agencies.

In the 2009-10 fiscal year, for example, 12,948 cases were referred to collections with driver’s licenses suspended. In the 2013-14 fiscal year, only 4,184 cases were referred to collections, according to data provided by the court. The number sent to collections is expected to rise, however, because some of the drop was caused by a backup in processing as the court switched over to a new computer system.

California Department of Motor Vehicles data for the number of local people who had licenses reinstated was not available.



State of reform

Several efforts are underway in California to curb fines and surcharges that can lead a low-level offender down a rabbit hole of debt and criminal prosecution.

In its 2015 report, “Not Just Ferguson: How Traffic Courts Drive Inequality in California,” the Western Center on Law and Poverty found that 4 million Californians had suspended licenses last year, though many were not a public safety threat.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators says that suspending licenses for nonpayment is dangerous because it diverts officers from public safety priorities and costs millions for police, courts and the DMV to process the suspensions.

Hoping to address this, Gov. Jerry Brown included an 18-month traffic fine amnesty in his proposed 2015-16 budget. Under the proposal, fines would be cut in half and the civil assessment dropped from $300 to $50 for unpaid traffic tickets issued before Jan. 1, 2013.

State Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, introduced Senate Bill 405 in February that takes the governor’s proposal a step further, restoring driver’s licenses suspended for ticket nonpayment, so the person is more likely to be able to pay what they owe. The law would take effect Jan. 1, 2016, and sunset Jan. 1, 2018.

Hertzberg cites a study of New Jersey showing that 42 percent of drivers who lost their licenses also lost their jobs, and of those, nearly half were unable to find new employment.

His office, working with the DMV, found that less than 2 percent of the 4.2 million Californians whose licenses were suspended between 2006 and 2013 ever had the license restored.




How a typical citation breaks down

A driver who fails to stop at a flashing red light in San Luis Obispo will pay nearly $500 for the offense. In addition to the state surcharge and mandatory fees and assessments, the ticket would include 19 other additional penalties. Here’s a look at how they break down, including the official code for the offense.

GC: government code; PC: penal code; VC: vehicle code; MOE: “maintenance of effort,” the cost of distributing funds

CHARGE OFFENSE COST
State surcharge PC1465.7 $20.00
Mandatory fees & administrative assessments $85.00
» Conviction assessment — infraction GC70373 $35.00
» Court operations fee PC1465.8 $40.00
» Prior administrative fee VC40508.6 $10.00
Additional penalties PC14 $394.00
» 2 percent automation fund GC68090.8 $7.88
» Emergency medical air transport fee GC7600.10(c) $2.74
» County MOE PC1464 $20.58
» DNA additional — state GC76104.7 $39.20
» DNA database — county probation GC76104.6 $2.94
» DNA database — county sheriff GC76104.6 $4.41
» DNA database — state GC76104.6 $2.45
» Emergency medical services GC76000.5 $19.60
» Emergency medical services — county GC76104 $13.72
» Fingerprint fund — county GC76102 $3.43
» State courthouse construction GC70372 $13.72
» State courthouse construction fund GC70372(a) $20.58
» Local courthouse construction fund GC76100 $13.72
» Local justice facilities fund GC76101 $17.15
» Penalty assessment PC1464 $48.02
» San Luis Obispo base — county PC1463.001 $3.61
» San Luis Obispo base MOE PC1463.001 $10.80
» San Luis Obispo base PC1463.002 $54.20
» San Luis Obispo — red light PC1463.11 $95.25
Total $499.00




Read more here: www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/06/01/3659846_why-traffic-tickets-cost-so-much.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

[meshaliuknits]

$2.74 as an emergency medical air transport fee;
$3.43 for the San Luis Obispo County fingerprint fund;
$9.80 to fund DNA databases, 75 percent of which goes to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department;
$13.72 for local courthouse construction;
$20 in a state surcharge equal to 20 percent of the base fine;
$20.58 for state courthouse construction; and
$163.86 in local fees with 30 percent going to the jurisdiction of the ticket-issuing agency.

WTF? Am I being ticketed or booking a flight?

[MrsAxilla]

This is one example of what can happen when people (and legislatures) vote down tax increases and bonds. Most of those charges should come from tax revenue, where it can be apportioned more fairly. No one wants their taxes raised, but that shit has to be paid for somehow. BAM! Fees.

[Deleted]

Nope nope nope, I can't even think about the fuckery of traffic tickets without getting enraged. I had my license suspended over a paid speeding ticket.

*flips all the tables*

[zoegirltx]

Jun 2, 2015 18:00:26 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

This is one example of what can happen when people (and legislatures) vote down tax increases and bonds. Most of those charges should come from tax revenue, where it can be apportioned more fairly. No one wants their taxes raised, but that shit has to be paid for somehow. BAM! Fees.

well these all basically amount to taxes when they are added to a fine. 

[MrsAxilla]

Jun 2, 2015 19:57:26 GMT -5 zoegirltx said:

Jun 2, 2015 18:00:26 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

This is one example of what can happen when people (and legislatures) vote down tax increases and bonds. Most of those charges should come from tax revenue, where it can be apportioned more fairly. No one wants their taxes raised, but that shit has to be paid for somehow. BAM! Fees.

well these all basically amount to taxes when they are added to a fine. 

Except that instead of everyone paying their share for the new courthouse, speeders and dudes with busted tailights foot the bill.  And, like everything else in our system, poor people suffer the most.