Eliminating Discriminatory Fines and Fees: Learning from San Franscisco
In New York City, fines and fees provide the city with more than $2 billion in revenue each year. However, many of these fines and fees fall on lower income …
Race Representation and Revenue: Reliance on Fines and Forfeitures in City Governments
The Department of Justice’s Ferguson report suggests cities with a higher population of Black people and an overrepresentation of White people in their law enforcement agencies levy fines at higher …
Civil Assessments: The Hidden Court Fee That Penalizes Poverty
California allows courts to charge a civil assessment fee of up to $300 to people who miss a deadline to pay or appear in court. An estimated 300,000 people receive …
What is Wrong with Monetary Sanctions?: Directions for Policy, Practice, and Research
Each year tens of millions of people are assessed fines, fees, and other costs stemming from their contacts with the criminal legal system, ranging from felony convictions to traffic violations. …
What Is Wrong with Monetary Sanctions? Directions for Policy, Practice, and Research
Monetary sanctions are an increasing form of punishment for criminal offenses that have generated billions of dollars in revenue while also generating massive amounts of penal debt for low-income individuals. …
Bridging the Gap
When someone drives over one of the Bay Area’s toll bridges, they are charged $6 and sent an invoice. If the toll is not paid promptly, drivers are charged a …
Eliminating fees in the Alameda County juvenile justice system meaningfully reduced financial burdens on families
Parents and families are typically responsible for the financial responsibilities imposed on minors by the juvenile justice system. In 2018, California became the first state to repeal administrative fees in …
Parking fines no longer pay the city’s bills
The city of Los Angeles’ traffic enforcement division use to generate $20 million of net income. For the past five years, fines from parking tickets generated over $617 million for …
Cato’s Project on Poverty and Inequality in California: Final Report
California has the largest economy of any state and a gross domestic product of almost $3 trillion. However, before the pandemic, 17.2 percent of the state population lived below the …
Discounts for People Experiencing Homelessness in San Francisco
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is offering discounts on citations and fees for people experiencing homelessness. Discounts include a one-time waiver of all open parking citations, removal of …