Existing law authorizes the court, in addition to any other penalty in an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony case, to impose a civil assessment of up to $300 against any defendant who fails, after notice and without good cause, to appear in court for any proceeding authorized by law, or who fails to pay all or any portion of a fine ordered by the court or to pay an installment of bail, as specified. Existing law provides that the assessment shall not become effective until at least 10 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant, and requires the court, if the defendant appears within the time specified in the notice and shows good cause for the failure to appear or for the failure to pay a fine or installment of bail, to vacate the assessment. This bill would instead provide that the assessment would not become effective until at least 20 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant. The bill would provide that payment of bail, fines, penalties, fees, or a civil assessment is not required in order for the court to vacate the assessment at the time the person makes an appearance, as specified. The bill would also provide that payment of a civil assessment is not required to schedule a court hearing on a pending underlying charge. Existing law requires a county to establish an amnesty program for fines and bail initially due on or before January 1, 2013, for Vehicle Code infractions to be conducted in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Judicial Council. Existing law requires the program to accept payments from October 1, 2015, to March 31, 2017, inclusive. Eligibility criteria for the program include, among other things, that the person is not currently making payments to a comprehensive collection program for fines or bail already due, as specified. This bill would revise that criterion to make a person eligible for the program if he or she has not made any payments after September 30, 2015, to a comprehensive collection program for fines or bail already due. The bill would authorize the Judicial Council to consider, adopt, or develop recommendations for an appropriate mechanism to allow reinstatement of the driving privileges of a person who otherwise meets the criteria for amnesty but who has violations in more than one county. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
This measure would proclaim April 12 through April 19, 2015, as California Holocaust Memorial Week and would urge Californians to observe these days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.
This measure would urge the federal government to take steps to reform the outdated and inadequate Official Poverty Measure to better reflect poverty and the unmet needs demonstrated by the Supplemental Poverty Measure.
This measure would urge the United States Congress to require the United States Postal Service to take all appropriate measures to restore service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012, would urge Congress to place a moratorium on planned shutdowns of mail sorting centers, and would urge Congress to oppose any postal reform legislation that does not continue the mandate for 6-day delivery service or protect door-to-door delivery as it currently exists. The measure would also urge the Secretary of State to publicly oppose changes in the United States Postal Service that negatively impact the rights of California voters who vote by an absentee ballot.
This measure would respectfully request that the Congress of the United States take immediate action to extend the federal investment tax credit in Sections 48 and 25D of Title 26 of the United States Code.
This measure would proclaim August 4, 2015, as National Night Out in California and would urge the people of California to observe and participate in National Night Out.
This measure would urge the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold the federal constitutional principle of "one person, one vote" and not deny California's children and immigrants equal protection under the law.
Existing law provides that certain minors who have committed specified crimes may be prosecuted under the general law in a court of criminal jurisdiction if the juvenile court concludes, after the evaluation of 5 criteria, that the minor is not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the juvenile court law. This bill would enumerate, within each of those 5 criteria, certain factors that may be given weight. Existing law generally provides that when a person is prosecuted for a criminal offense committed while he or she was under 18 years of age, he or she is subject to the same sentence as an adult convicted of the identical offense, except under certain circumstances, including, among others, when the conviction was for a type of offense that, in combination with the person's age at the time the offense was committed, would have made the person eligible for transfer to a court of criminal jurisdiction pursuant to a rebuttable presumption that the person is not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the juvenile court law, and the person prevails on a motion requesting that he or she receive a disposition under the juvenile court law. Existing law requires, in order to prevail on that motion, the person to demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he or she is a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the juvenile court law, based upon 5 specified criteria. This bill would enumerate, within each of the 5 criteria, certain factors that may be given weight.