via Picryl
Fines are punishment and fees are meant to be standard procedure, but they can feel like a punishment too. If you’re a working-class person or you’re poor, court fines and fees can really do DAMAGE!
But good news is on the horizon for California residents!
It’s looking like California might just eliminate court fines and fees, just like Alameda county and San Francisco have already done. At the state level, this would mean BILLIONS of dollars in relief for vulnerable people harmed by all this debt.
Introduced by Sen. Holly Mitchell, SB 144, also known as the “Families Over Fees Act,” would eliminate tons of administrative fees and help low-income people feel some relief. As expensive as California can be, you already know this would be HUGE!
This issue disproportionately affects our community, thanks to “over-policing and systemic racial bias,” Mitchell co-wrote in an op-ed for The Mercury News. She also noted, “The California Court of Appeal in January recognized that ‘imposing unpayable fines on indigent defendants is not only unfair, it serves no rational purpose.’”
If the bill makes it through the assembly and is signed by the governor, it will be a reality. California certainly NEEDS this.