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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Members Bryan and Celeste Rodriguez</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:Authors>
<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Bryan</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Legislator>
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<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Celeste Rodriguez</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title>An act to amend Sections 40215 and 40220 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>vehicles</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>Parking violations.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law requires a specified administrative hearing process in the enforcement and processing of parking violations and penalties, and requires the issuing agency to conduct an initial administrative review of the notice of parking violation at the request of the contestant to whom the notice was mailed. Existing law authorizes an examiner conducting the hearing or the issuing agency to allow payment of the parking penalty in installments, and authorizes the issuing agency to defer payment if the contestant provides satisfactory evidence to the examiner or the issuing agency, as the case may be, of the inability to pay the parking penalty in full.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would authorize the issuing agency to reduce or
waive the parking penalty if the contestant provides satisfactory evidence of either an inability to pay the parking penalty in full or any other extenuating circumstances relevant to payment of the parking penalty, including, but not limited to, documented homelessness status and financial hardship.</html:p>
<html:p>Existing law authorizes a parking citation processing agency, as defined, to collect an unpaid parking penalty by requesting the Department of Motor Vehicles to place a registration hold on the vehicle to which the citations have been issued, or by obtaining a civil judgment against the registered owner of the vehicle, as specified. Existing law requires a processing agency to offer a payment plan for unpaid parking citations to qualified indigent persons. Existing law requires the payment plan to meet specified conditions, including, among others, that
a person is allowed a period of 120 calendar days from the issuance of a notice of parking violation or 10 days after the administrative hearing determination, whichever is later, to file a request to participate in a payment plan.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would allow the person to file a request to participate in a payment plan at any time.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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Section 40215 of the
<ns0:DocName>Vehicle Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>40215.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
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For a period of 21 calendar days from the issuance of a notice of parking violation or 14 calendar days from the mailing of a notice of delinquent parking violation, exclusive of any days from the day the processing agency receives a request for a copy or facsimile of the original notice of parking violation pursuant to Section 40206.5 and the day the processing agency complies with the request, a person may request an initial review of the notice by the issuing agency. The request may be made by telephone, in writing, or in person. There shall not be a charge for this review. If, following the initial review, the issuing agency is satisfied that the violation did not occur, that the registered owner was not responsible for the violation, or that
extenuating circumstances make dismissal of the citation appropriate in the
interest of justice, the issuing agency shall cancel the notice of parking violation or notice of delinquent parking violation. The issuing agency shall advise the processing agency, if any, of the cancellation. The issuing agency or the processing agency shall mail the results of the initial review to the person contesting the notice, and, if following that review, cancellation of the notice does not occur, include a reason for that denial, notification of the ability to request an administrative hearing, and notice of the procedure adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) for waiving prepayment of the parking penalty based upon an inability to pay.
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<html:p>
(b)
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If the person is dissatisfied with the results of the initial review, the person may request an administrative hearing of the violation no later than 21 calendar days following the
mailing of the results of the issuing agency’s initial review. The request may be made by telephone, in writing, or in person. The person requesting an administrative hearing shall deposit the amount of the parking penalty with the processing agency. The issuing agency shall adopt a written procedure to allow a person who is indigent, as defined in Section 40220, to request an administrative hearing without payment of the parking penalty upon satisfactory proof of an inability to pay the amount due. An administrative hearing shall be held within 90 calendar days following the receipt of a request for an administrative hearing, excluding time tolled pursuant to this article. The person requesting the hearing may request one continuance, not to exceed 21 calendar days.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
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The administrative hearing process shall include all of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
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The person requesting a hearing shall have the choice of a hearing by mail, in person, or, if offered by the issuing agency, by telephone or electronic means. An in-person hearing shall be conducted within the jurisdiction of the issuing agency. If an issuing agency contracts with an administrative provider, in-person hearings shall be held within the jurisdiction of the issuing agency or within the county of the issuing agency.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
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If the person requesting a hearing is a minor, that person shall be permitted to appear at a hearing or admit responsibility for the parking violation without the necessity of the appointment of a guardian. The processing agency may proceed against the minor in the same manner as against an adult.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The
administrative hearing shall be conducted in accordance with written procedures established by the issuing agency and approved by the governing body or chief executive officer of the issuing agency. The hearing shall provide an independent, objective, fair, and impartial review of contested parking violations.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The issuing agency’s governing body or chief executive officer shall appoint or contract with qualified examiners or administrative hearing providers that employ qualified examiners to conduct the administrative hearings. Examiners shall demonstrate those qualifications, training, and objectivity necessary to conduct a fair and impartial review. An examiner shall not be employed, managed, or controlled by a person whose primary duties are parking enforcement or parking citation, processing, collection, or
issuance. The examiner shall be separate and independent from the citation, collection, or processing function. An examiner’s continued employment, performance evaluation, compensation, and benefits shall not, directly or indirectly, be linked to the amount of fines collected by the examiner.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Examiners shall have a minimum of 20 hours of training. The examiner is responsible for the costs of the training. The issuing agency may reimburse the examiner for those costs.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
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Training may be provided through any of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(I)
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An accredited college or university.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(II)
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A program conducted by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(III)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
American Arbitration Association or a similar established organization.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(IV)
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Through a program approved by the governing board of the issuing agency, including a program developed and provided by, or for, the issuing agency.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(iii)
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Training programs may include topics relevant to the administrative hearing, including, but not limited to, applicable laws and regulations, parking enforcement procedures, due process, evaluation of evidence, hearing procedures, and effective oral and written communication.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(iv)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Upon the approval of the governing board of the issuing agency, up to 12 hours of relevant experience may be substituted for up to 12
hours of training. In addition, up to eight hours of the training requirements described in clause (i) may be credited to an individual, at the discretion of the governing board of the issuing agency, based upon training programs or courses described in clause (ii) that the individual attended within the last five years.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(5)
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The officer or person who issues a notice of parking violation shall not be required to participate in an administrative hearing. The issuing agency shall not be required to produce any evidence other than the notice of parking violation or copy of the notice and information received from the Department of Motor Vehicles identifying the registered owner of the vehicle. The documentation in proper form shall be prima facie evidence of the violation.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(6)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The
examiner’s decision following the administrative hearing may be personally delivered to the person by the examiner or sent by first-class mail, and, if the notice is not cancelled, include a written reason for that denial.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(7)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The examiner or the issuing agency may, at any time, and consistent with the written guidelines established by the issuing agency, allow payment of the parking penalty in installments, or the issuing agency may allow for deferred payment or allow for a reduction or
waiver of the parking penalty if the person provides evidence satisfactory to the examiner or the issuing agency, as the case may be, of either an inability to pay the parking penalty in full, or any other extenuating circumstances relevant to payment of the parking penalty, including, but not limited to, documented homelessness status and financial hardship. If authorized by the governing board of the issuing agency, the examiner may permit the performance of community service in lieu of payment of a parking penalty.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
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The provisions of this section relating to the administrative appeal process do not apply to an issuing agency that is a law enforcement agency if the issuing agency does not also act as the processing agency.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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Section 40220 of the
<ns0:DocName>Vehicle Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>40220.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Except as otherwise provided in Sections 40220.5, 40221, and 40222, the processing agency may proceed under one of the following options in order to collect an unpaid parking penalty and related service fees:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
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. For unpaid parking penalties issued on and after July 1, 2018, and related service fees, the processing agency shall not file an itemization with the department unless all of the following conditions have been satisfied:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The processing agency provides a payment plan option for indigent
persons that, at a minimum, does all of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(I)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Allows payment of unpaid parking penalties and related service fees in monthly installments of no more than twenty-five dollars ($25) for total amounts due that are five hundred dollars ($500) or less. The amount of late fees and penalty assessments waived pursuant to subclause (II) shall not be counted in calculating that total amount of five hundred dollars ($500) or less. Unpaid parking penalties and fees shall be paid off within 24 months. There shall be no prepayment penalty for paying off the balance prior to the payment period expiring.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(II)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Waives all late fees and penalty assessments, exclusive of any state surcharges described in Sections 70372, 76000, and 76000.3 of the Government Code, if an indigent person enrolls in the payment plan. Waived late fees and penalty assessments may be reinstated if the person
falls out of compliance with the payment plan.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(III)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Limits the processing fee to participate in a payment plan to five dollars ($5) or less for indigent persons. The processing fee for an indigent person may be added to the payment plan amount, at the discretion of the indigent person. If a processing agency offers a payment plan option to persons who are not indigent, limits the processing fee to participate in the payment plan to twenty-five dollars ($25) or less.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(IV)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Allows a person to file a request to participate in a payment
plan at any time.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
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The processing agency includes the information described in subclauses (I) and (II) in the notice of parking violation, and includes both in the notice of parking violation and on its public internet website, a web page link and telephone number to more information on the payment program. Each processing agency shall ensure that the linked internet web page is readily accessible in a prominent location on the parking citation payment section of the agency’s internet website and includes all of the following information:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(I)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The availability of an installment payment plan and the timeframe in which to apply.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(II)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The person’s right to request an indigency determination and the timeframe in which the person must apply.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(III)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Clear language about how the person can request an indigency determination and what that determination will entail.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(IV)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Documents needed by the processing agency to make an indigency determination.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(iii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The person fails to enroll in the payment plan within the time specified in the notice or is not eligible for the payment plan because the person is not indigent.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The processing agency shall allow a person who falls out of compliance with the payment plan a one-time extension of 45 calendar days from the date the payment plan becomes delinquent to resume payments before the processing agency files an itemization of unpaid parking penalties and related service fees with the department pursuant to subparagraph (A).
</html:p>
<html:p>
(C)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The processing agency shall rescind the filing of an itemization of unpaid parking penalties and related service fees with the department for an indigent person, for one time only, if the registered owner or lessee enrolls in a payment plan and pays a late fee of no more than five dollars ($5).
</html:p>
<html:p>
(D)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Each California State University and community college district governing board shall adopt a parking citation payment plan for persons with multiple unpaid parking citations. A parking citation payment policy adopted under this subparagraph shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following requirements:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(I)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Late fees shall be placed in abeyance while the payment plan is in place and the person adheres to its terms, and shall be waived once the payment plan is completed.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(II)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Once the payment plan is in place and the person adheres to its terms, an itemization of unpaid parking penalties and service fees as described in subparagraph (A) shall not be filed with the department.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(III)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Each California State University and community college district campus shall post the parking citation payment policy on its internet website for students’ awareness and access.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A California State University or community college district governing board that fails to implement a parking citation payment plan pursuant to clause (i) shall implement the payment plan as provided in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, and subdivision (c).
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
If more than four hundred dollars ($400) in unpaid penalties and fees have
been accrued by a person or registered owner, proof thereof may be filed with the court and shall have the same effect as a civil judgment. Execution may be levied and other measures may be taken for the collection of the judgment as are authorized for the collection of an unpaid civil judgment entered against a defendant in an action on a debtor. The court may assess costs against a judgment debtor to be paid upon satisfaction of the judgment. The processing agency shall send a notice by first-class mail to the person or registered owner indicating that a judgment shall be entered for the unpaid penalties, fees, and costs and that, after 21 calendar days from the date of the mailing of the notice, the judgment shall have the same effect as an entry of judgment against a judgment debtor. The person or registered owner shall also be notified at that time that execution may be levied against their assets, liens may be placed against their property, their wages may be garnished, and other steps may be taken to
satisfy the judgment. If a judgment is rendered for the processing agency, the processing agency may contract with a collection agency to collect the amount of the judgment.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Notwithstanding any other law, the processing agency shall pay the established first paper civil filing fee at the time an entry of civil judgment is requested.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
If the registration of the vehicle has not been renewed for 60 days beyond the renewal date, and the citation has not been collected by the department pursuant to Section 4760, file proof of unpaid penalties and fees with the court with the same effect as a civil judgment as provided in paragraph (2).
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
This section does not apply to a registered owner of a vehicle if the citation was issued prior to the registered owner taking possession of the vehicle, and the department has
notified the processing agency pursuant to Section 4764.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), a person is “indigent” if any of the following conditions is met:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The person meets the income criteria set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 68632 of the Government Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The person receives public benefits from a program listed in subdivision (a) of Section 68632 of the Government Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
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The person may demonstrate that the person is indigent by providing either of the following information, as applicable:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
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Proof of income from a pay stub or another form of proof of earnings, such as a bank statement, that shows that the person meets the
income criteria set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 68632 of the Government Code, subject to review and approval by the processing agency or its designee. The processing agency or its designee shall not unreasonably withhold its approval.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Proof of receipt of benefits under the programs described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), including, but not limited to, an electronic benefits transfer card or another card, subject to review and approval by the processing agency. The processing agency or its designee shall not unreasonably withhold its approval.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
If a defendant’s indigent status is found to have been willfully fraudulent, the defendant’s penalties and fees reduction shall be overturned and the full amount of penalties and fees shall be restored.
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