Government-levied fines and fees reform: San Francisco, CA
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Government-levied fines and fees reform
At-a-Glance
Summary
In 2019, 47% of San Franciscans were financially insecure, with less than $2,000 in net savings. Municipal fines and fees, often stemming from the criminal justice system and traffic enforcement, were creating significant burdens for low-income residents.
In 2016, in response to growing calls for local governments to reevaluate excessive fines and fees, the Office of San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros and former Director Anne Stuhldreher created The Financial Justice Project (FJP). FJP works with departments across local government to eliminate or find alternatives to fines and fees that disproportionately impact San Franciscans with low incomes.
Keys to the program’s success include cultivating champions in a range of elected officials, which built the trust and credibility needed for FJP to work across government; FJP’s ability to ease the administrative burden of departments implementing reforms; continuous collaboration with community partners, which ensures priorities are met; and the use of research and evaluation to support the push for reform.
Challenges faced by the program include collecting accurate data on fines and fees, persuading leaders concerned about revenue loss, challenging perceptions about the necessity of fines and fees, and ensuring people eligible for fines and fees relief are aware of opportunities.
Results and accomplishments
$32M
in criminal justice system debt waived or eliminated, largely due to efforts of San Francisco's Financial Justice Project
21,000
residents who received debt relief from the waiving and elimination of criminal justice system debt
88,000
holds on driver's licenses lifted after FJP helps end license suspensions for missed traffic court dates
Eliminated $32 million in debt from locally-controlled fees in the criminal justice system: the Financial Justice Project (FJP) helped make San Francisco the first city and county to eliminate and waive debt from locally-controlled criminal administrative fees, providing debt relief to around 21,000 people. Previously, monthly probation fees, ankle monitoring rental fees, and jail booking fees, and others were being charged to people in the criminal justice system. These fees heaped debt onto low-income residents who could not pay them, created barriers to their reentry, and were an ineffective source of revenue.
Ended driver’s license suspensions for missing court dates, lifted thousands of holds on licenses: FJP worked with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Superior Court to lift all outstanding driver’s license holds for missing a traffic court date. Suspending driver’s licenses for missing court dates was an extreme penalty that created barriers to employment and housing for thousands of San Franciscans. Rather than negatively impacting revenues, FJP’s April 2020 report, “Driving Towards Justice,” found that ending license suspensions increased average collections per ticket by 8.9 percent in the year after the reform.
Implementation of “ability to pay” reforms, payment plans, and alternative payment plans: FJP worked with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to create payment plans and community service plans
to help people with low incomes pay their parking tickets and fare evasion citations, create significant discounts on towing and booting fines and fees for people with low incomes, and make bus fares free for people experiencing homelessness.Made jail phone calls free and ended jail commissary markups: In August 2020, FJP worked closely with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the San Francisco Sheriff, and community advocates to make San Francisco the first county in the country to make jail phone calls free and end markups on items in the jail commissary. These fees created barriers to communication between incarcerated people and their support networks, which research shows is crucial to people’s successful reentry. These reforms will save incarcerated people and their families $1.7 million annually according to FJP’s “Justice is Calling” issue brief.
Waived debt from overdue library fines: In 2019, FJP worked with the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) to eliminate and waive debt from overdue library fines. Research conducted by FJP and SFPL found that overdue fines restrict access to the library and exacerbate inequality by disproportionately affecting low-income and communities of color.
Cleared “Quality of Life” citations with social services: Working with the San Francisco Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and a range of other partners, FJP helped create the CONNECT Program, which allows people experiencing homelessness to clear all outstanding quality of life citations when they receive 20 hours of social service assistance from an approved provider.
Increased racial and economic diversity in jury pools: FJP partnered with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Superior Court to launch the Be The Jury program, which compensates low- to moderate-income jurors $100 a day for jury service in criminal trials in San Francisco (as opposed to California’s current compensation model which provides no compensation on the first day and $15 per day starting on day two). This program substantially increased racial and economic diversity in jury pools.
Launched the AFTER Program (Aims to Foster Transformation & Ensure Restitution), one of the first efforts in the country to pilot an alternative to the traditional restitution process. The AFTER Program ensures people harmed are compensated quickly through a public fund and supports young people through restorative justice opportunities in lieu of requiring restitution payments that perpetuate financial instability.
Overview
What was the challenge?
Deep financial insecurity among a near-majority of San Franciscans: Over the past decade, the cost of living in San Francisco has risen dramatically. A 2019 report by the Urban Institute found that despite one of the highest median wages in the country, 47% of San Franciscans were financially insecure, with less than $2,000 in net savings.
Fines, fees, and debt create additional barriers to upward mobility: Municipal fines and fees, particularly stemming from the criminal justice system and traffic enforcement, generally do not take into consideration someone’s ability to pay--creating significant burdens for San Franciscans with low incomes on top of the city’s already high cost of living. Fines and fees worsen household debt, damage credit scores, and make it difficult for residents with low incomes to access work, school, and healthcare.
Fines and fees disproportionately impact communities of color: Black residents make up less than 6% of San Francisco’s population but in recent years made up nearly 45% of people arrested for failure to appear or failure to pay traffic court warrants. In Bayview-Hunters Point, the San Francisco neighborhood with the highest percentage of Black residents, the rate of driver’s license suspension was over three times the statewide average.
Punitive fines and fees widespread across local government and the courts: Fines and fees that exceed people’s ability to pay are not an isolated problem in one or two departments, or even in just San Francisco--many public entities and local departments across the country charge fines and fees that severely impact people with low incomes.
What was the solution?
Creation of San Francisco's Financial Justice Project: In 2016, in response to growing calls for local government to reevaluate excessive fines and fees, San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros and Anne Stuhldreher created The Financial Justice Project (FJP), which works with departments across local government to eliminate or find alternatives to fines and fees that disproportionately impact San Franciscans with low incomes. FJP is housed within the San Francisco Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector.
Deep engagement with community partners to identify priorities: FJP’s operations are rooted in close partnerships with community organizations that work with San Franciscans with low incomes and communities of color. This enables the initiative to identify significant fine and fee “pain points” and prioritize the highest-impact reforms.
Creating an inventory of fines and fees across government: FJP works with the San Francisco Mayor’s Budget Office and departments across local government to collect fines and fees data, create inventories of the fines and fees utilized across government, and identify the fines and fees that most negatively affect San Franciscans with low incomes.
Partner with agencies to find solutions: FJP works directly with city and county departments and agencies levying harmful fines and fees to find alternative solutions. These alternative solutions generally fall into one of three categories: basing the fine or fee on a person’s ability to pay; eliminating the fine or fee and identifying alternative methods to achieving the policy goal; or encouraging departments to accept non-monetary alternatives to payment.
What were the key components of the program’s design?
Capacity to identify harmful fines and fees: FJP collects and analyzes data, speaks to community members and impacted people, and gathers perspectives to identify fines and fees that disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
Producing research and recommendations: FJP researches equitable solutions and develops recommendations in collaboration with community advocates and other San Francisco departments.
Developing solutions for government partners: FJP creates the blueprint for pilot programs to address the issues, in collaboration with stakeholders, and support with implementation and evaluation of the piloted solutions.
Communicating findings to key stakeholders and the public: FJP communicates key findings and recommendations to inform and build awareness locally and statewide.
Helping spread reform nationally: FJP supports other cities and counties, helps advance statewide reforms, and creates shareable resources to support.
Who were the key stakeholders?
San Francisco Office of the Treasurer, Mayor’s Office, and Board of Supervisors: Beginning with support from a few key government partners opened doors for FJP to establish collaborative partnerships across many government branches.
Community-based organizations: FJP works closely with community-based organizations to ensure that community concerns are elevated to government actors.
Low-income communities of color: In order to receive feedback and input from communities of color, FJP facilitates and participates in several local and statewide coalitions.
Local government project partners: FJP works closely with government agencies to implement fine and fee reforms. Key partners include the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Human Services Agency, Juvenile Probation Department, Municipal Transportation Agency, Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, Department of Child Support Services, and San Francisco Superior Court.
What factors drove success?
Leadership from the Office of the Treasurer, the Mayor’s Office, and other elected officials: FJP’s strong support from the San Francisco Treasurer, the San Francisco Mayor, the San Francisco Sheriff, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and other elected officials has enabled the office to work in close collaboration with partners across government. Because it is housed within the Office of the Treasurer, FJP is able to establish trust and credibility and convene the right government partners in ways that would not have been possible as an outside actor.
Easing administrative burdens for departments to develop and implement reforms: The FJP brings staff capacity to develop and implement reforms; assists in creating guidelines, applications, and forms; and conducts outreach to build awareness of discounts amongst eligible populations. The FJP also worked with San Francisco’s Human Services Agency to create a cloud-based income verification system, a crucial step in helping departments verify eligibility for discounts.
Deep and continuous collaboration with community-based partners: One-on-one engagement, robust listening sessions, and ongoing partnerships with community organizations and leaders have enabled FJP to serve as an effective bridge between community actors and local government entities and ensure that community concerns are heard. FJP conducts regularly scheduled meetings with a range of coalitions and groups, including the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition, the End Poverty Tows Coalition, Debt Free Justice California, the Truth and Justice in Child Support Coalition, and others.
Focus on establishing trust among government partners: FJP has taken a deliberate approach to relationship and trust building across government partners, working with leadership and staff in a range of departments to help them understand the need for reform and to implement equitable solutions. FJP staff approach government partners with a solutions-oriented mindset, starting by jointly examining and defining the challenge, then conducting research to understand the scope of the issue, conducting interviews with individuals directly impacted, then bringing these affected parties into direct communication with department leaders and staff. FJP then helps partners explore potential solutions, implement new policies, and communicate reforms.
Research and evaluation fuels advocacy: FJP has conducted extensive research on various fine and fee pain points and published numerous reports in support of reform, many of which have been cited by public officials as a reason for reform.
What were the major obstacles?
Collecting accurate data on fines and fees: FJP initially struggled to collect accurate data across government on fines and fees. Some departments across government did not collect key data points or were resistant to sharing data. Significant time and trust-building was required to create fine and fee inventories with many department partners.
Persuading leaders concerned about revenue loss from fines and fees: When working with leaders of city and county departments, FJP often encountered fears from department leadership about the revenue that would be lost if the fines or fees were reformed. Research on low levels of collections, discussions about the purpose of the fine or fee, and collaboratively developing alternative solutions helped address these concerns.
Challenging perceptions around the necessity of fines and fees: For many, the belief that violations of the law should be punished with fines and fees is deeply ingrained. Moving beyond these punitive mindsets is a challenge for the FJP team, which tries to combat these attitudes by publishing evidence of the effectiveness of alternative approaches.
Ensuring people eligible for fine and fee discounts know about them and apply: Reaching out to San Franciscans with low incomes to inform them of various discounts and eligibility has been a consistent challenge for FJP and its partners.
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Timeline
The report reveals that Ferguson, MO has engaged in a range of predatory and excessive practices which disproportionately impacted Black residents with low incomes, charging residents $531 for overgrown yards, $792 for failure to obey charges, and $375 for lacking proof of car insurance, among others. In response to the Ferguson report, advocates in California published “Not Just a Ferguson Problem,” an examination of harmful fines and fees practices across the state.
San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros authors an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle announcing the launch of FJP. Among the first major tasks of the FJP was to staff the newly-created San Francisco Fines and Fees Task Force, a group created by legislative mandate that brought together staff from city and county departments, the court system, and community organizations.
The Fines and Fees Task Force publishes its recommendations in May 2017, providing a clear initial agenda for reform.
FJP, working with then-San Francisco County Board Supervisor (and future San Francisco mayor) London Breed, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and others, introduces legislation to eliminate all local administrative fees related to the criminal justice system. The legislation is enacted in July 2018, and in August 2018, $32 million in debt from administrative fees is lifted.
FJP worked with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to provide significant discounts on towing and booting fines and fees for people below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line. FJP also worked with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to eliminate water shut off and turn on fees charged to people whose water was turned off for nonpayment.
FJP is named as a finalist for the Harvard Innovations in American Government Award.
Working with the San Francisco Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and a large group of social service providers, the FJP helps launch the CONNECT program, which allows homeless San Franciscans to resolve Quality of Life Violations through receiving social services.
Following the release of FJP’s report, “Long Overdue,” which evaluates the impact of overdue library fines and presents recommendations for reform, the San Francisco Public Library votes to end the use of overdue fines, lift $1.5 million in debt, and restore suspended library cards for 17,000 patrons.
In response to widespread concerns over the administrative complexity of determining discount eligibility, FJP works with San Francisco’s Human Services Agency to create an income verification tool, creating an easy to use and instantaneous process for departments to check eligibility for income-based discounts.
Working with the San Francisco Superior Court, San Francisco lifts holds on driver’s licenses for 88,000 people who missed traffic court dates.
The evaluation finds that when parents’ debt to government stemming from missed child support payments was lifted, parents paid more consistently, their personal finances improved, and their relationships with their child and co-parent benefitted.
Citing FJP’s “Do the Math: Money Bail Doesn’t Add Up,” San Francisco’s District Attorney announces that the city and county will stop using money bail.
San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency, which had already reduced fines and fees related to towing and booting, further reduced and waived these charges and allowed for free Muni transit for San Franciscans experiencing homelessness.
FJP worked closely with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the San Francisco Sheriff, and community advocates to make San Francisco the first county in the country to make jail phone calls free and end markups on items in the jail commissary.
Working with the Debt Free Justice California coalition, FJP co-sponsored successful legislation which made California the first state to eliminate and forgive debt from 23 criminal administrative fees. This transformative reform lifted billions of dollars in debt off of tens-of-thousands of Californians.
In partnership with the San Francisco Superior Court, FJP launches MyCitations, an online tool for individuals with traffic court debt. The platform allows affected residents to access discounts on those debts based on their ability to pay.
Working closely with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and the SF Jail Justice Coalition, FJP launches the Commissary Allowance Program. The program provides $20 per month for low-income individuals incarcerated in a county jail to purchase nutrition or hygiene items.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission launches a pilot program to forgive up to $1,000 in SFPUC utility debt and offer discounts of up to 90 percent for certain low-income residents.
Governor Gavin Newsom signs AB 177, a bill eliminating an additional 17 criminal administrative fees and approximately $534 million in debt associated with those fees. Advocacy from FJP and the Debt Free Justice California Coalition, played a key role in securing this relief.
FJP partnered with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Superior Court to launch the Be The Jury program. The program compensates low- to moderate-income jurors $100 a day for jury service in criminal trials in San Francisco, leading to a substantial increase in racial and economic diversity in jury pools.
In partnership with the Fines and Fees Justice Center and Results for America, FJP hosts the first Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice Bootcamp. Designed to assist communities in launching local reform efforts, it is attended by representatives from more than 50 jurisdictions.
The San Francisco Superior Court eliminates outstanding debt for residents who owe late fees on traffic court tickets, amounting to approximately $50 million in debt relief.
The Keep Families Connected Act (SB 1008), co-sponsored by FJP and the Keep Families Connected Coalition, is signed into law, providing relief for over 90,000 incarcerated people and their families and saves California families $33 million annually.
FJP launches a three-month public education campaign to increase awareness of local fine and fee discount programs.
This program provides completely free tablet computers with no hidden costs to all people incarcerated in the local jails. Read the report.
FJP publishes a report detailing the process and impact of eliminating mark-ups on items in jail commissary stores. Notably, the report reveals that, since the reform occurred in 2020, incarcerated individuals buy 82 percent more items from the commissary.
FJP publishes a report about San Francisco's AFTER Program (Aims to Foster Transformation & Ensure Restitution), one of the first efforts in the country to pilot an alternative to the traditional restitution process.
A new California policy prohibits the government from intercepting child support payments intended for families who formerly received CalWORKs benefits, in response to years of advocacy from FJP, the Truth and Justice in Child Support Coalition, and others.
Implementation process
How were community members engaged?
- Consistent engagement with community members and advocacy groups: FJP partners closely with community organizations that work with individuals with low incomes and communities of color in San Francisco. These partnerships are central to FJP’s ability to identify the most pressing areas for fine and fee reforms.
- Leadership of and participation in numerous coalitions: FJP facilitates and participates in multiple local and statewide coalitions. These coalitions are spaces where FJP can hear from impacted people, community organizations, and advocates as they work to advance policies and reforms. FJP also seeks to ensure that all solutions and communications materials are easily accessible for all to understand the problems, solutions, and recommendations.
How did racial equity considerations factor in?
- Racial equity at the center of our mission: Because fines and fees have an outsized impact on low-income communities of color, FJP’s work is inherently focused on improving equity outcomes.
- Research and advocacy to highlight inequities: FJP’s research has repeatedly demonstrated that policies such as overdue library fees and drivers license suspension disproportionately affect low-income and communities of color. By revising or eliminating existing punitive fines and fees policies, FJP is working to prevent the criminalization and exacerbation of poverty.
What were the key activities leading up to and following launch?
Hiring initial staff: When the Financial Justice Project was launched, Anne Stuhldreher was named founding director. She brought the initial idea to Treasurer Cisneros and had previously worked with him and former San Francisco Mayor (now California Governor) Gavin Newsom to create other financial empowerment programs.
Staffing Fines and Fees Task Force: The first contribution of the FJP was providing staff capacity to the newly-formed San Francisco Fines and Fees Task Force. This group, created by legislative mandate, brought together leaders from a range of city and county departments, the justice system, and community groups. The Task Force’s recommendations were published in May 2017, providing the FJP with a clear set of priorities for reform.
Initial focus on the criminal justice system: Two of the earliest focus areas of the FJP were on ending the use of money bail and eliminating a range of administrative fees related to the criminal justice system. Two reports, “Do the Math: Money Bail Doesn’t Add Up for San Francisco,” and “High Pain for People, Low Gain for Government,” shaped reform conversations in both spaces.
How was the approach funded?
Initial philanthropic funding: At launch in October 2016, FJP was funded with $200,000 in philanthropic grants provided by Citi and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund. These funds went towards supporting one full-time staff person and a temporary fellow.
City and County allocate funding: After FJP successfully staffed the Fines and Fees Task Force and demonstrated the value of the initiative, the City and County of San Francisco began allocating public funds to cover a portion of FJP’s operational costs. As of 2024, the initiative has a $1.5 million budget, about 25 percent of which is covered through the local general fund.
Addressing concerns about revenue: After implementing fine and fee reforms, staff at FJP’s partners in government often find that “foregone” revenue was already uncollectible. Post-reform, it became apparent to many government departments that they were collecting very little money from fines and fees, if any. For example, FJP’s report, “Criminal Justice Fees: High Pain for People, Low Pain for Government,” demonstrates that prior to FJP’s reforms to eliminate these fees, the collection rate for some fees was in the single-digits.
How was the approach measured and refined?
Measurement as a starting point: In nearly all relevant policy domains, FJP has conducted and published research on the landscape of local fines and fees, described the impact these have on low-income San Franciscans, and offered recommendations for reform. This data is collected in close partnership with agencies across city and county government.
Evaluation enables greater reform: In many cases, after helping implement reform, FJP has worked in partnership with relevant agencies to evaluate impact. Beyond improving outcomes for low-income San Franciscans, in several cases, reforming practices have actually led to increased collections.
Continuing relationships after initial reforms: FJP has maintained relationships with departments after first helping implement reforms. In several cases, these continued relationships have led to further reforms, like in the case of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, where FJP has worked with the agency to institute reductions and waivers of towing and booting fines and fees and expand access to free transit.
Evaluation partnership begins with Urban Institute: Starting in April 2019, FJP began working with the Urban Institute to evaluate one specific area of reform, the waiving of government-owed child support debt. The evaluation demonstrated the value of the reform, creating momentum for reform beyond San Francisco.
Growing state and national advocacy: FJP has worked closely with community partners in California to advance statewide legislation to reform fines and fees, such as The Families Over Fees Act (AB 1869) which made California the first state in the country to eliminate and waive billions of dollars of debt from state-controlled criminal administrative fees. In May 2020, FJP launched Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice, in partnership with the Fines and Fees Justice Center and PolicyLink, a cohort of ten cities and counties around the country committed to advancing bold and innovative reforms to unjust fines and fees. In 2022, Results for America joined as a lead partner in the Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice leadership network. FJP also works with statewide coalitions to advance reforms in criminal administrative fines and fees, jail phone call fees, and child support.