California AB 177: Public safety
The California Legislature introduced AB 177 which would end the collection of an additional 17 administrative fees charged to people who come into contact with the criminal system. The bill …
News
San Francisco’s Financial Justice Project: Reducing the burden of fines and fees on San Franciscans with low incomes
San Francisco’s cost of living has drastically risen over the past decade, and 47 percent of San Franciscans are financially insecure. To address harmful fines and fees practices, San Francisco …
Speeding in Texas? New analysis reveals where police pulled over the most people
Small towns in Texas are using aggressive ticketing strategies on speeding drivers to raise revenue for their budgets. The Houston Chronicle analyzed traffic stop and ticketing numbers reported to the …
Driven by Debt: The Failure of the OmniBase Program
The OmniBase Failure to Appear Program places holds on license renewals (making it an offense to drive) when the license holder fails to pay fines and fees or fails to …
City of Seattle v. Long
Summary: Steven Long worked as a general tradesman and stored work tools and personal items in his truck, where he had been living since he was evicted from his apartment in …
D.C. parking, traffic tickets snowball into financial hardships
The Washington Post analyzed patterns of moving violations from red light cameras, parking tickets and police stops between 2016 and 2021 in the District of Columbia. The article highlights findings …
How to Use Budgets to Understand Criminal Justice Fines and Fees
The Vera Institute of Justice published a toolkit to help advocates analyze local budgets to better understand the impact of fines and fees and where reforms are needed. The publication …
Cycles of Debt: Research Indicates That Driver’s License Suspensions Over Unpaid Fines Targets Black Drivers
In the first-ever study of failure-to-pay suspensions in the United States, researchers Sian Mughan and Joanna Carroll examined a sample of over 2000 drivers who received traffic tickets in Marion …
Nickels and Dimes? Rethinking the Imposition of Special Assessment Fee on Indigent Defendants
No fine is imposed if the judge determines the defendant lacks the ability to pay any fine, but every defendant is required to pay a special assessment fee of $100 …
The Future of Felon Disenfranchisement Reform: Evidence from the Campaign to Restore Voting Rights in Florida
In 2018, Amendment 4 sought to end felon disenfranchisement in Florida. This article outlines the history of Amendment 4 and shows how unpaid fines and fees undermined the campaign’s efforts. …