Newsom vetoes bill on affordable fines
Legislation prohibiting criminal fines that a defendant can’t afford to pay — which followed a state appeals court ruling that said defendants can’t be punished for being poor — has been vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The bill, AB927 by Assemblyman Reginald JonesSawyer, DLos Angeles, would have required judges to determine a defendant’s finances before imposing fines or fees that are mandated by other state laws. Newsom said he supported the measure’s intent but not its contents.
“We must tackle the issue of burdensome fines, fees and assessments that disproportionately drag lowincome individuals deeper into debt and away from full participation in their communities,” the governor said in his veto message earlier this month. “However, I do not believe that requiring a hearing on defendants’ ability to pay is the best approach in every case.”
Newsom did not elaborate on his objections, but said the issue “needs to be tackled in a comprehensive manner, through the budget process,” which sets aside specific amounts for state programs and must be renewed each year.
The issue is apparently tied to the uncertainties of funding California’s courts, which rely on fines and fees as an important revenue source, said Beth Colgan, a UCLA law professor specializing in criminal law and juvenile justice.
The legal case involved a Los Angeles woman, Velia Dueñas, whose driver’s license was suspended for failing to pay $1,088 in fines she received as a juvenile. That was before passage of a 2017 state law barring license suspensions for those who could not afford to pay their tickets.
Dueñas, now a homeless and disabled mother of two, has repeatedly been convicted of driving with a suspended license and sentenced to jail for failing to pay her fines. In the case before the court, she pleaded no contest to the misde meanor charge in 2015, spent nine days in jail rather than pay a $300 fine, but was ordered to pay an additional $220 that could not be waived and was to be referred to a collection agency if she failed to pay by 2019.
In a precedentsetting decision in January, the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles said the fines assessed against Dueñas, earmarked for court funding and a statewide restitution fund for crime victims, could not be collected unless the judge first determined she could afford to pay them.
“A state may not inflict punishment on indigent convicted criminal defendants solely on the basis of their poverty,” Justice Laurie Zelon said in the 30 ruling.
Zelon said the fines and fees can affect a person’s credit rating, employment prospects and overall ability to rehabilitate and reenter society, because those who can pay such fines in full can seek to get their convictions erased.
The ruling, which the state Supreme Court left intact, is binding on trial courts statewide unless another appellate court issues a conflicting decision. The Second District Court, in a separate case, ruled in March that it was up to the defendant to ask the sentencing judge to consider their ability to pay.
Since the ruling, public defenders across California have been filing “Dueñas motions” for lowincome clients charged with drunken driving and other offenses carrying fines, which often range into thousands of dollars with the addition of various fees mandated by law.
Although Zelon’s observations would apply to all types of fines, the ruling, on its face, was limited to the types of levies imposed against Dueñas. JonesSawyer’s bill was broader and would have required judges in all criminal cases to determine a defendant’s ability to pay “without undue hardship” before imposing a fine.
The California Judges Association opposed the measure because of its potential impact on court funding. A legislative staff analysis estimated revenue losses “in the low millions” to both state and local governments. But the bill cleared the Assembly on a 635 vote and passed the Senate 325 before Newsom vetoed it.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko