SB 626

Abstract

Amends the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act. Deletes language providing that one hour of public or community service shall be equivalent to $4 of assessment. Provides instead that the period of public service necessary to satisfy the assessment shall be set by the court, but in no event shall the hourly rate of the public or community service performed by the defendant be equivalent to less than the minimum wage of the State. Provides that the performance of public or community service may (rather than shall) be a condition of probation, conditional discharge, or supervision and shall be in addition to the performance of any other period of public or community service ordered by the court or required by law. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. In a provision regarding assessment waiver, removes language from the definition of "assessments" excluding assessments tied to violations of the Illinois Vehicle Code. Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the engrossed bill, and further amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Reduces the amount by which criminal and traffic assessments may be waived for traffic and certain criminal offenses. Effective immediately. Fiscal Note, House Committee Amendment No. 1 (Admin Office of the Illinois Courts) Based on a review of the bill. it has been determined that the proposed legislation would likely have a negative fiscal impact on local circuit court budgets. as well as state, county. and municipal entities and law enforcement agencies who share revenue collected from traffic assessments. It is not possible to formulate a reliable estimate of the fiscal impact of this bill because comprehensive statewide data does not currently exist regarding the percentage of defendants in traffic cases, who would be eligible for full or partial waivers under the criteria contained in the bill, or the dollar amount of waived assessments in those cases that otherwise would have been collected. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Removes the change to the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 that alters the definition of "assessments" to include assessments tied to violations of the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides instead that, in a county having a population of more than 3,000,000, "assessments" includes assessments for violations of the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the added language is inoperative on and after July 1, 2024.