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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
civil penalties; traffic; mitigation; restitution
Purpose
Allows a court to order community restitution in lieu of a monetary obligation at a rate equal to Arizona's minimum wage.
Background
Current statute allows a judge to mitigate any civil penalty related to a civil traffic violation if the person ordered to pay the penalty demonstrates that the payment would be a hardship on the person or their immediate family. The court is allowed to consider any relevant information in determining whether to mitigate a civil penalty, including: 1) the civil penalty's impact on the person's ability to pay restitution; 2) whether the civil penalty would constitute a financial hardship to the person or their immediate family; 3) whether the person receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Nutritional Assistance; 4) whether the person receives benefits pursuant to the Supplemental Security Income Program; and 5) whether the person is legally authorized to be employed and is seeking, obtaining or maintaining employment or is attending school (A.R.S. § 28-1603).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows a court to order a person to perform community restitution in lieu of a monetary obligation imposed for a civil traffic violation.
2. Requires the court to credit any community restitution performed at a rate equal to Arizona's minimum wage.
3. Requires the court to determine the location where community restitution is performed.
4. Allows a judge to mitigate any civil penalty for a motor vehicle driver license violation.
5. Defines monetary obligation as a civil penalty, a surcharge, an assessment or a fee, except for a time payment fee.
6. Makes a technical change.
7. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
TRANS 1/20/21 DP 6-2-1-3
3rd Read 2/4/21 43-16-0-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 18, 2021
ZD/SS/kja