Image by OPINION – California has experienced an alarming decline in available dollars for the Crime Victims Fund. These sharp drops in funding for California nonprofits will directly result in victims of crime not being able to access much-needed services.
The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)A bipartisan group of state legislators are urging increased funding for California’s 84 rape crisis centers as reports of sexual assault and domestic violence rise under COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.
Photo illustration of a sexual assault survivor: (Image: Joe Techapanupreeda, via Shutterstock)Despite a continued rise in California’s cost of living and the increase in the centers’ operating expenses, the state’s general fund contribution to its 84 rape crisis centers remains at $45,000 and $1.7 million from the State Penalty Fund, far less than the funding from the federal government through Congressional appropriations.
California drivers in a Los Angeles traffic jam.(Photo: ShutterStock)A motorist who faced more than $1,600 in fines for a traffic violation is suing the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state Judicial Council in federal court, contending that millions of California drivers had their licenses suspended illegally because they were unable to pay spiraling fees. “Traffic courts in California routinely impose exorbitant penalty assessments, fines and fees on all traffic court cases over and above the statutory fines” required for public safety, the pending suit contends.
An elderly patient in a wheelchair receiving care at a California hospital. (Photo: bikeriderlondon, via shutterstock)In 2008, outraged by a string of snooping incidents involving celebrities’ medical records, California legislators passed a groundbreaking law that compelled hospitals to quickly report patient privacy breaches and gave the state power to levy fines for such violations. But a ProPublica analysis of state data shows enforcement has been inconsistent.
A professionally operated drone heads into the sunset. (Photo: Concept W, Shutterstock)A squadron of drone bills that emerged from the Legislature wound up crashing on the governor’s desk. Gov. Brown vetoed three measures over the weekend that sought to block drones from flying over schools or prisons, and which would have allowed emergency personnel to shoot down a drone if it came into a fire zone.
As rush hour approaches, traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. (Photo: Frontpage)Gov. Jerry Brown, who got nailed for parking in a yellow zone, is pushing an amnesty program for millions of California drivers caught in what he called a “hellhole of desperation” from spiraling legal fines and fees. Some 4.2 million California motorists – one in six drivers across the state – have suspended licenses because they can’t afford the fines, according to a recent study. Hardest hit are low-income drivers.
California motorists in a traffic jam. (Photo: Shutterstock)With one in six California drivers – about 4.2 million people — having suspended licenses because they can’t pay court fines, a lawmaker has proposed reducing the suspensions in non-violent cases and setting up an amnesty program to help motorists.
The bicycling competition at Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Photo: Rodolfo Arpia)For years, the California Coastal Commission has sought the power to impose fines on people who violate the state’s coastal protection laws. But the high-profile efforts – at least three times in five years — were defeated in the Capitol by business interests, developers and property rights activists, among others. But beginning July 1, in what environmentalists described as a “sea change,” the Coastal Commission will have the authority to fine property owners who block the public’s access to beaches.
An effort to beef up campaign disclosure rules prompted by the dramatic, multimillion-dollar infusion of stealth cash into the November 2012 elections could be on the governor’s desk by the end of the month – in time for this year’s races.