Proposed amendments to LCMC “Prohibited activities while driving” and LCMC “Penalty assessment misdemeanor; definition; schedule of assessments”

Background On Dec. 7, 2009, the City of Las Cruces amended LCMC “Prohibited activities while driving” to specifically prohibit the use of a cell phone while driving.

Prohibited activities while driving As originally amended, violations of this ordinance required a mandatory court appearance. The original penalty for violating this ordinance was a fine of not more than $500, or up to 90 days in jail, or both, at the discretion of the Municipal Court judge.

Prohibited activities while driving On Feb. 2, 2010, the ordinance was amended to include a tiered sentencing structure. –1st offense:$50 fine –2nd offense:$100 fine –3rd or subsequent offense:$500 fine, or 90 days in jail, or both. This amendment still mandated a court appearance as police officers do not have the capability of determining how many prior convictions a violator has at the time of the traffic stop.

Prohibited activities while driving City Council has indicated its desire for violators of this ordinance to have the option of mailing in a fine in lieu of a appearing in court. By creating a penalty assessment for this ordinance, violators will have the option of acknowledging guilt of the offense and agreeing to mail in the fine. This is more convenient for the offender, and will reduce the work-load of the court.

How was the fine determined? The City of Las Cruces currently has five penalty assessments in use: –$56 (typical for equipment and parking violations) –$76 (typical for Seatbelt and Child Restraint, and less serious moving violations) –$126 (typical for more serious moving violations, e.g. Red Light, Stop Sign, Following Too Closely, etc.) –$176 (only applies to Careless Driving) –$276 (only applies to No Insurance, and Racing on Streets) There is an additional $36 in State of NM mandated fees added to every penalty assessment.

How was the fine determined? A penalty assessment of $126 would keep this ordinance in line with the other more serious moving violations, while maintaining a distinction between it and the more serious offense of Careless Driving. The penalty assessment would remain constant, regardless of the number of prior convictions a violator has.

Where do the fines / fees go? Fines / penalty assessments collected by Municipal Court are placed into the general fund. The additional mandatory court costs / fees are placed in special funds as outlined below: –$20 Correction fee (CLC) –$3 Judicial Education fee (State) –$10 Court Automation fee ($4 CLC / $6 State) –$3 Traffic Safety fee (CLC) (refer to Section 1-11 LCMC and Ord. # 2535)

Penalty assessment misdemeanor; schedule of assessments In order to provide a penalty assessment for “Prohibited activities while driving”, it is also necessary to amend the “Schedule of Assessments”. As we are already amending this ordinance, we would like to take this opportunity to add additional misdemeanors to this list; in doing so, we give the public the option to pay fines by mail in lieu of a court appearance.

Options / Alternatives Adopt the ordinances. Adoption means the listed violations of the Las Cruces Municipal Code will become penalty assessments. Do not adopt the ordinances. This means certain violations of the Las Cruces Municipal Code will remain violations which require a court appearance. Modify the ordinances and provide further direction to staff.