Amnesty Offered to Drivers with Old, Unpaid Tickets

If you’ve been putting off paying an old traffic ticket, you may be able to settle your debt to society half-price if you pay up by June 30.

Under a statewide amnesty program, unpaid traffic tickets that were due to be paid before Jan. 1, 2009, are eligible for a 50 percent discount. The fine must be paid in full—no payment plans will be accepted. More than 6 million tickets could be eligible statewide, according to the Judicial Council of California.

The program will not only help drivers clear their records, it will provide a temporary boost of revenue for cash-strapped governments.

“This is a win-win,” Ronald G. Overholt, interim administrative director of the courts, said in a statement. “People have an opportunity to clear their traffic tickets at a reduced cost, and the courts and the counties will get an injection of much-needed funds to help maintain critical services for the public.”

Parking tickets, DUI and reckless driving cases are not eligible.

To qualify for the 50 percent discount, all of the following conditions must be met:

• You have an outstanding traffic case that was due to be paid in full before Jan. 1, 2009.
• You either failed to appear in court or failed to pay in full.
• The last date you made a payment was on or before Jan. 1, 2009.
• You don’t owe restitution to a victim on any case within the county where the traffic case was filed.
• You have no outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants within the county where the traffic case was filed.

To find out if a ticket is elligible, contact the Superior Court where the violation occurred.