Traffic fines in California

Don Surber reports,

The Sacramento Bee reported, "Turning right on a red light without fully stopping will cost you $500 in California. Parking blocking a wheelchair access curb could get you a $1,100 ticket. Is your license plate paint peeling? Some car owners have been hit with a $1,000 ticket for that.

"State officials who set those fees are now acknowledging that the high amounts are threatening the financial stability of lower-income drivers who can’t afford to pay those amounts.

"In his state budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on judicial authorities to create a statewide program that will allow some of California’s poorer drivers to have their traffic citation amounts cut by 50 percent or more.

"If approved by the legislature, Newsom’s proposal would expand an existing traffic fine reduction program called myCitation which exists in four counties: San Francisco, Shasta, Tulare and Ventura."

If the fines are too high, why not reduce them for everyone?

The story said the state collected $1.4 billion in traffic fines last year, which answered my question.