December 5, 2003
Dear Attorney General Lockyer:
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed the proposed initiative measure entitled “Double Fines for Traffic Violations in School Zones” (File No. SA2003RF0052).
Under current law, Alameda County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County, and any city within those counties, may adopt an ordinance to increase the fines for various moving violation misdemeanors and infractions that are committed within specially posted school zones. The law requires county treasurers to deposit the enhanced portion of the fine collected from violators into a special account, which the participating jurisdictions, in cooperation with local school districts, may use to fund pedestrian and bicyclist safety programs. The law is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2007.
This measure (1) expands the current program to allow all cities and counties in the state to increase fines for certain traffic offenses in school zones and (2) repeals the 2007 sunset thereby extending the program permanently.
To the extent that all local governments opt to participate in the program, they would incur one-time costs, potentially totaling $1 million to $2 million statewide, to post warning signage near schools and to reprogram computer systems to record an increase in the fine for several types of moving violations committed within specified school zones. In addition, county treasurers would incur minor costs to establish and administer special accounts dedicated to the funding of safety programs. Depending on the number of offending motorists cited under this measure, participating cities and counties would annually raise unknown revenues for pedestrian and bicycle safety programs. In addition, the Department of Transportation would incur one-time costs, potentially totaling a couple hundred thousand dollars, to post signage on highways that fall within designated school zones.
This measure would have the following fiscal effect:
Potential one-time costs to state and local governments, totaling up to a couple million dollars.
Unknown annual increases in revenue to local governments for pedestrian and bicycle safety programs from the collection of additional fines.