Dec 30 2008
New Fees in the New Year
In addition to a bunch of new laws that will go into effect on January 1, there are fees that will be raised as well. Here is a snapshot for some of the fees:
- $35 for traffic tickets, including offenses such as failing to wear a seat belt or driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone. This makes sense - why shouldn’t people pay more when they are breaking the law. If the tickets aren’t expensive, then people will just keep breaking the law. People respond to things that hit their wallet. So go for it. I think these should be higher. If we are going to have laws like the hands-free cell phone law, it ought to be penalized with a huge fine so people don’t do it. Otherwise people will ignore the law, like they do now.
• $30 to sue for divorce. Sure. Why not? I am just sad that so many people sue for divorce.
• $25 to register for traffic school to resolve a moving violation. Wow. Having had to pay this fee a few times myself, this one is a good one, but is going to hit people. Maybe it will cut down on speeding?
• $20 for backyard-fence disputes, fender benders or other small-claims fights.
• $15 for vehicle fix-it tickets to correct broken or dysfunctional equipment.
• $11 to register cars with the Department of Motor Vehicles each year.
• $3 for not feeding parking meters, exceeding time limits on painted curbs, or other ticketed parking offenses.
Court fees to file the first papers in a divorce, probate or “unlimited” civil action – with more than $25,000 at stake – will rise from the current $320 to $350.
Plaintiffs and defendants will be charged the higher fees.
Criminals also will get socked with an extra $30 in fines for each felony or misdemeanor conviction. Costs may be reduced or converted to community service in some cases, however, based on hardship. Go for it. Criminals shouldn’t ge ta free pass on fees because they broke the law. Hit them harder. Felonies and misdemeanors are crimes for reasons (sometimes not good ones - but they are crimes). So they should pay back to the society whose rules they broke.
Bars, restaurants, liquor stores and other sellers of beer, wine or distilled spirits will pay an additional 12 percent for their annual liquor licenses beginning New Year’s Day. I don’t mind this. Maybe this will result in higher alcohol costs for consumers - although I don’t think anyone will mind.
These are just some of the fees. Because they are fees, they have to go to programs related to what the fee is on, so they aren’t budget solutions. It makes me sad to see that the legislators wasted so much time passing bills to raise fees and so little working on the budget problem. We are going to head into the new year with a bunch of new -and ridiculous - laws, and new fees, and no solution to the chronic over-spending problem that California has.
