Title
Title
Report to the Legislature | Online Infraction Adjudication and Ability-to-Pay Determinations: Annual Legislative Report (February 2022)
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Summary
Summary
This legislative report describes early planning activities completed in preparation for the statewide expansion of online ability-to-pay determinations as authorized by Assembly Bill 143 (Stats. 2021, ch. 79). It also provides data from the courts that have adopted the MyCitations tool to adjudicate eligible infractions as required by Government Code section 68645.5 (art. 7 added by Stats. 2021, ch. 79, § 8). As of the writing of this report, seven courts have adopted MyCitations. Of the 25,246 requests submitted as of June 30, 2021, the total amount of fines and fees initially owed by litigants was $17,485,898, averaging $693 per request. After review by the courts, the total amount of fines and fees ordered through the tool was $9,154,800 and averaged $362 per request. These approvals account for a total of $8,331,098 in reduced fines and fees. Preliminary analysis of requests adjudicated during the pilot program shows that during the period studied, 42 percent of court-ordered debt was collected when a request was approved. By contrast, only 22 percent was collected when denied.