We are excited to announce that the San Francisco Superior Court has eliminated $50 million in outstanding debt for people who owe “civil assessments,” $300 late fees charged by traffic court when people miss a deadline to pay or appear. The debt relief is part of California-wide reform enacted by the Legislature in Assembly Bill 199 and signed by Governor Newsom to lower unfair and unnecessary fines and fees. Read our press release here.
This action eliminated approximately 180,000 $300 civil assessments that were charged prior to July 1, 2022. After July 1, civil assessments will be capped at $100 for late payment after 21 days. Anyone who wants to see how much they owe on their San Francisco traffic ticket should go here and enter their driver’s license number.
In San Francisco, an estimated one-third of people who received traffic tickets could not pay them on time and were charged the civil assessments. As part of the reform, revenue from the lowered $100 civil assessment late fee will no longer fund local court operations, but instead will go to the statewide general fund. This change aims to remove the incentive for local courts to raise revenue through giving out more citations or charging more late fees.
The San Francisco Superior Court is a leader in ensuring fines and fees do not place a disproportionate burden in people with low incomes. San Francisco has the most robust ability to pay discounts in California for traffic tickets. In 2015, the San Francisco Court became the first in the state to end the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for people who could not afford to pay their traffic tickets. Court leaders were responding to community outcry that the penalty was too extreme, driving people with low incomes deeper into poverty. Since then, the state of California and twenty-one other states have adopted the same reform.
We are grateful to our partners in the Debt Free Justice California Coalition and the San Francisco Superior Court.
There should be no price tag on justice. Our courts should not be funded by unnecessary, unfair, and excessive fees. We look forward to continuing to advance financial justice reforms with all of our partners.
Yours in Financial Justice,
Anne and Michelle
