Bill Text: CA AB1325 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1325 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Parking penalties: community service.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1325 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1325-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019

Amended IN Assembly March 26, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1325

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 22, 2019

~~An act to add Section 42011 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicle parking violations.~~ An act to add Section 40220.7 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicle parking.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1325, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. ~~Safe parking program participants: community service.~~ Parking penalties: community service.

Existing law authorizes a processing agency that processes unpaid parking penalties to proceed under specified options to collect those penalties, including filing an itemization of unpaid penalties with the Department of Motor Vehicles for the department to collect the penalties along with the registration of the vehicle. Existing law prohibits a processing agency from filing that itemization unless, among other things, the processing agency provides a payment plan option for indigent persons that meets specified requirements.
Existing law allows a person convicted of an infraction, upon showing that payment of the total fine would pose a hardship on the person or the person’s family, to elect to perform community service in lieu of the total fine that would otherwise be imposed.
This bill would additionally prohibit, beginning July 1, 2020, a processing agency from filing an itemization of unpaid parking penalties with the department unless the processing agency provides a community service option for eligible homeless persons that allows them to pay off unpaid parking penalties by performing community service, as specified, including by seeking or obtaining support services. The bill would require information regarding the community service option to be placed on the notice of parking violation and the processing agency’s internet website. The bill would also require a processing agency to rescind the filing of an itemization of unpaid parking penalties for a homeless person, for one time only, if the registered owner or lessee of the vehicle enrolls in a community service option and pays a late fee.
Existing law imposes penalties in various amounts for parking violations. Existing law allows a person convicted of an infraction, upon showing that payment of the total fine would pose a hardship on the person or the person’s family, to elect to perform community service in lieu of the total fine that would otherwise be imposed.
The bill would allow a person participating in a safe parking program, as defined, to perform community service in lieu of any unpaid fines for parking violations committed prior to the person’s participation in the safe parking program. The bill would define community service for these purposes to include time spent seeking or obtaining services from a safe parking program or other social service provider.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 40220.7 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

40220.7.
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 40220 and 40220.5, beginning July 1, 2020, a processing agency shall not file an itemization of unpaid parking penalties and related service fees with the department for collection with the registration of the vehicle pursuant to Section 4760 unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1) (A) The processing agency provides a community service option for homeless individuals that, at a minimum, does all of the following:
(i) Allows a person to use the community service option to pay off unpaid parking penalties and related fees for at least 10 parking citations, or total amounts due of at least fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500), per calendar year.
(ii) Requires a person to complete no more than 50 hours of community service per year, except that the processing agency may require additional hours for safety violations.
(iii) Allows a person at least 90 days to complete the community service option. The 90-day period may be extended at the discretion of the processing agency.
(iv) Allows a person to earn community service hours by seeking or obtaining support services.
(B) A processing agency may partner with a city, county, city and county, or continuum of care formed pursuant to Sections 11381 to 11389, inclusive, of Title 42 of the United States Code to administer the community service option and identify participating social service agencies.
(C) An issuing agency may limit participation in the community service option to only the registered owner of the vehicle that received the parking citation. If the registration of a vehicle has expired, the owner shall show that the owner made a bona fide effort to register the vehicle.
(2) (A) The notice of parking violation includes the information described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and a telephone number and website where the recipient of a parking violation can obtain information about the community service option.
(B) The internet website of the processing agency includes a telephone number and a link to a website where the recipient of a parking violation can obtain information about the community service option.
(C) The website described in this paragraph shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(i) A statement regarding the availability of a community service option and an explanation of the community service option.
(ii) Information regarding the deadlines and procedures for applying for the community service option.
(iii) A statement regarding a person’s right to request a determination of the person’s eligibility for the community service option.
(iv) Information regarding the deadlines and procedures for requesting an eligibility determination, including, but not limited to, an explanation of how the processing agency will make the determination and a list of documents required by the processing agency to make the determination.
(3) The registered owner or lessee fails to enroll in the community service option within the time specified in the notice of parking violation or is not eligible for the community service option.
(b) The processing agency shall rescind the filing of an itemization of unpaid parking penalties and service fees with the department for a homeless individual, for one time only, if the registered owner or lessee enrolls in a community service option and pays a late fee of no more than five dollars ($5).
(c) A person is “homeless” for purposes of this section if the person meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The person is “indigent” as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 40220.
(2) The person is “homeless” as provided in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 10, 2019.
(3) The person has been entered into a Homeless Management Information System, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or a comparable database used by a victim service or legal service provider, as authorized by Section 576.107 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

SECTION 1.Section 42011 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
42011.
(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a person participating in a safe parking program shall be permitted to perform community service in lieu of any unpaid fine imposed for a parking violation provided in this code that was committed prior to the person’s participation in the safe parking program.
~~(b)For purposes of this section, community service includes time spent seeking or obtaining services from a safe parking program or other public or private social service provider.~~
(c)For purposes of this section, “safe parking program” means a program operated by a service provider that is funded by a city, county, or city and county and provides a designated area for homeless persons and families enrolled in the program to park their vehicles, and provides persons enrolled in the program on-site case management support or linkage and referrals to housing navigation or the Coordinated Entry System.