The California Legislature is considering a proposal to link the cost of the traffic fines on income status of a person. Supporters said if it becomes law, it will keep minor traffic violations from pushing low-income California drivers deep into debt. And, it could help the state recoup tens of millions of dollars in delinquent fines that people just cannot afford to pay.
California has some of the country’s harshest penalties for minor traffic violations. Thanks to a host of automatic surcharges, a $100 ticket actually starts out at $490. Then late fees can pile on. Failure to pay on time raises the price to $800, and then $1,100, and so on.
Paul Tepper, executive director for the Western Center on Law & Poverty, said that a ticket for, say, not signaling, can start a person on a downward spiral.
A bill that passed the California Senate recently lets judges reduce fines for people earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, about $30,000 a year for a single person. It offers them payment plans to keep their licenses. The proposal covers minor moving violations; penalties for DUI or reckless driving are not affected.
Senators who voted against the bill did not respond to a request for comment. But critics said that ending automatic license suspension might make it less likely violators will pay.
The bill’s author, Sen. Bob Hertzberg, said people were more likely to pay under a recent two-year traffic amnesty that ended in April.
Supporters of the measure point out that when drivers keep their licenses, and their jobs, the state collects more income taxes and pays out less in unemployment.
Donald Shoup, a research professor of urban planning at UCLA, said the bill is about giving low-income Californians a break.
Gov. Jerry Brown said the current law could send people into a “hellhole of desperation.” He supports the change.
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