Collaborative court program incentives.

Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant in specified cases, including when the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder, specified controlled substances crimes, and when the defendant was, or currently is, a member of the United States military. Existing law imposes various fines, fees, penalties, and assessments on a defendant in a criminal proceeding, including the fine set by statute, restitution fines and fees, and assessments to support the state court system. This bill would require the court, when an indigent defendant enters a collaborative court program, to waive all penalties assessed over the base fines for current and prior nonfelony violations of the Vehicle Code and other misdemeanors or infractions. The bill would also require the court to suspend all remaining fines for an indigent defendant pending successful completion of the collaborative court program and authorize the court to determine how an indigent defendant will satisfy the suspended fines by specified methods that include a complete or partial waiver of the fines. The bill would reinstate all previously waived or suspended fines for a defendant who is removed from a collaborative court program prior to completion and prosecution proceeds or sentencing is imposed. The bill would define terms for its purposes and make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions.