Financial Justice Project Accomplishments

  1. Home
  2. Financial Justice Project Accomplishments
The accomplishments we list below are not ours alone. We achieved them through working in partnership with community groups, legal service providers, and the leadership of government department and the courts. 
Click here for a timeline of our accomplishments

Accomplishments to Date

Scales of justice icon
Eliminated administrative fees charged to people exiting jail and the criminal legal system
Car tow icon
Reduced or eliminated San Francisco's steep tow and boot costs for low-income people and people experiencing homelessness
Bus icon
Expanded access to free transit for people experiencing homelessness
Driver's License Icon
Ended and cleared all “poverty penalty” driver’s license suspensions for people who missed traffic court dates
Park bench icon
Allow people struggling with homelessness to clear “Quality of Life” citations by receiving social services
Parking ticket icon
Cut fees and created low-income payment plan to make it easier for low-income people and people experiencing homelessness to pay off parking tickets and other citations
Traffic light icon
Made it easier for lower-income people to pay traffic court fines and fees by basing them on people’s ability to pay
Phone icon
Made phone calls from jails free, eliminated jail store markups, and passed a first-in-the-nation People Over Profits Ordinance
Library icon
Eliminated overdue library fines and cleared $1.5 million in outstanding debt from these fines
Museum icon
Launched SF Museums For All to provide free access to San Francisco museums for low-income San Franciscans
bridge toll icon
Successfully advocated to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for a reduction in fines and fees associated with crossing the Bay Area’s bridges
Faucet icon
Eliminated San Francisco Public Utility Commission fees for people who have had their water shut off
Justice icon
Successfully advocated for the elimination of money bail in San Francisco
Database icon
Created an income verification database to make it easier and simpler for departments and the courts to discount fines and fees for people with lower incomes
Dollar sign in hand
Eliminated and reduced a host of municipal fees that have an adverse impact on people with low incomes and communities of color
soap icon
Developed the Commissary Allowance Program, which provides a $20 monthly allowance to eligible people incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails to purchase items from the commissary
Faucet icon
Developed the Community First Temporary Pilot Program, which will provide up to 90% off water and wastewater bills and offer debt forgiveness for eligible customers with low incomes
Jury icon
Developed the Be The Jury Program, a first-of-its-kind program in SF Superior Court to compensate low-income jurors $100 a day for their jury service
tablet icon
Launched the nation’s first-of-its kind tablet program that provides completely free tablet computers to all people incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails
jail justice reform icon
Launched reforms in the San Francisco County Jail to improve the conditions to people incarcerated and keep people connected to their communities, including creating a child-friendly visiting room
AFTER program icon
Launched the AFTER Program to provide an alternative to the traditional juvenile restitution process and set both the crime survivor and the young person and their family on a more economically stable path
Children holding hands
Developed a pilot program to relieve low-income parents of child support debt owed to government
California
Advanced statewide fine and fee reforms in California, including successful efforts to eliminate state-controlled administrative fees, reform the child support system, and reduce phone call fees for incarcerated people

Eliminated administrative fees charged to people exiting jail and the criminal legal system

The context: People exiting jail or the criminal legal system are often charged thousands of dollars in administrative fees and surcharges that aim to cover costs. In San Francisco, people could be charged a $50 monthly probation fee (usually $1,800 upfront for a three-year term), $35 a day to rent their ankle monitor, $135 to get booked into jail, as well as fees to pay for investigations, reports, and other tests. These fees are charged to very low-income people who cannot afford to pay them, disproportionately are charged to people of color, create barriers to re-entry, and are a counterproductive, anemic source of revenue. The collection rate on the largest fee, the monthly probation fee, was just nine percent. 

The reform: In July of 2018, San Francisco became the first county in the nation to eliminate all locally controlled fees assessed from people exiting jail or the criminal legal system. The ordinance, authored by then Board of Supervisors President London Breed (now Mayor of San Francisco) was passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, and had the support of San Francisco’s District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff, and Chief of Adult Probation. After the ordinance passed, the city worked with the courts to waive $32.7 million in debt stemming from these fees that was owed by approximately 21,000 individuals.

Resources

Reduced or eliminated city’s steep tow and boot fines for low-income people and people experiencing homelessness

The context: San Francisco’s towing fines are the highest in the country, averaging $557. Ten percent of cars were never retrieved, presumably because people could not afford to get them out. Getting towed can be devastating for people with lower incomes, who sometimes must decide between paying their rent or paying to get their car back.

The reform: San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority voted unanimously in June 2018 to deeply discount tow and boot fines for San Franciscans who earn below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line (about $50,000 for a family of four)—covering about 25% of households in San Francisco. With the new reform, the boot removal fine is discounted from $500 to $100, and the tow fee is discounted from over $550 to $220-the hard cost of the tow or the amount the city pays the tow company. The reform also allows eligible individuals to pay off any underlying tickets on payment plan over time, or through community service.

In 2020, the SFMTA voted to further reduce towing and boot fees. They created:

  • A new, one-time waiver of towing and booting costs for people experiencing homelessness
  • A reduced boot removal fee of $75 for people below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (down from the standard boot fee of $550)
  • A reduced tow fee of $100 for people below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (down from the standard tow fee of $574)

And in 2022, the SFMTA launched the Text-Before-Tow Program for people to sign up to receive a text before their vehicles are towed.

Resources

Expanded access to free transit for people experiencing homelessness

The context: The community organizations we work with shared that many of their clients either do not take the bus, or ride without paying, because they cannot pay even the discounted monthly fare of $40, which in some cases represents more than a third of their monthly income. For example, for a low-income people who is struggling with homelessness and receives general assistance, they would need to spend half of their monthly benefit of $90 to purchase a $40 discounted bus pass. Numerous community organizations noted that their constituents who could not afford to pay were receiving fare evasion tickets, a $105 citation. In San Francisco, over 50,000 fare evasion citations are handed out each year. After discussions with SFMTA staff, we conducted a survey of more than 20 nonprofits that serve people living in deep poverty to better understand the potential fiscal impact of offering Muni passes to people living in deep poverty. We asked the nonprofits to estimate of the people they serve that live in deep poverty (less than $16,000 a year in income), how many currently ride Muni without paying. 84% indicated that their clients often or always ride without paying, and 89% indicated that their clients sometimes do not take transit because they cannot afford the fare.

The reform: In April 2020, the SFMTA Board voted to create the Access Pass, a new, free Muni pass for people struggling with homelessness. Anyone enrolled in the city’s Coordinated Entry system would qualify for the free pass. Successful enrollees in the Access Pass will also be eligible to have all prior transit violation citations waived.

Resources

  • Ordinance
  • Flyer on SFMTA's discounts for people experiencing homelessness

Ended and cleared all “poverty penalty” driver’s license suspensions for people who missed traffic court dates

The context: Tens of thousands of local residents had their driver’s license suspended, not for a driving violation, but because they could not afford to pay traffic fines, or they missed a traffic court date.  According to a 2015 report, “Driver’s License suspensions make it harder for people to get and keep jobs, further impeding their ability to pay their debt. They harm credit ratings. They raise public safety concerns. Ultimately, they keep people trapped in long cycles of poverty that are difficult, if not impossible to overcome.” The San Francisco Superior Court estimated that 88,000 residents had a suspended driver’s licenses because they failed to appear (FTA) in court to pay traffic citations. Court leadership and legal aid attorneys agree that people do not appear for their traffic court dates primarily because they cannot afford to pay their citations. According to several legal service providers on the SF Fines and Fees Task Force, people are often concerned that they will be sent to jail or someone would physically take their driver’s license away if they appeared in court. The San Francisco Courts recently adopted an official policy to stop this practice, because they believed suspending driver’s licenses placed an undue burden on low-income San Franciscans.

The reform: The Mayor’s Budget Office and The Financial Justice Project collaborated with the San Francisco Court to lift all outstanding driver’s license holds for missing a traffic court date. A broad array of legal aid and community organizations helped advance this reform. In April of 2020, The Financial Justice Project released “Driving Toward Justice”- the report finds that ending the use of license suspensions for failure to pay did not impact collections. In fact, collections per ticket filed went up in the years after the reform.

Resources

Allow people struggling with homelessness to clear “Quality of Life” citations by receiving social services

The context: San Francisco Police gave over 15,000 citations for “Quality of Life” incidents in 2016. These citations are often for offenses like sleeping or camping where it is prohibited, blocking a sidewalk, loitering, or having an open container of alcohol. Most of the tickets start at $200 and grow to nearly $500 when people are unable to pay them on time. A report found that 90% of tickets go unpaid, not because people do not want to pay the fines, but because they are too poor to do so. Community organizations shared how the record of these citations created barriers to jobs and housing for people struggling with homelessness.  

The reform: Through the fines and fees task force, our first recommendation was for SFPD to issue written warnings rather than citations when responding to Quality of Life infractions. For people that did receive the citations, we also wanted to create a clear and simple way to clear the citation through receiving services. The Adult CONNECTion To Services Program ( (The CONNECT Program) grew out of the District Attorney Office’s participation in the San Francisco Fines and Fees Task Force. The District Attorney’s Office collaborated with the Financial Justice Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Legal Services for Children, The San Francisco Superior Court, and others to develop this program.

Through the Adult CONNECT Program, people struggling with homelessness can now clear all outstanding quality of life citations if they receive 20 hours of social service assistance from a provider of their choice.

We also developed a similar program for youth who received quality of life citations when they were under 18: the Youth CONNECT Program. The Youth CONNECT Program allows youth who are experiencing homelessness to clear all outstanding quality of life citations if they receive 20 hours of social service assistance. The Youth CONNECT Program was developed in partnership with the San Francisco Superior Court, Legal Services for Children, and Huckleberry Youth  Programs. 

Resources

Cut fees and created low-income payment plan to make it easier for low-income people and people experiencing homelessness to pay off parking tickets and other citations

The context: The SFMTA, San Francisco’s transportation agency, has long offered community service and payment plan options to pay off parking tickets and other citations. However, we heard through the Fines and Fees Task Force that these options were often inaccessible to low-income people. SFMTA charged an upfront $62 fee to enroll in a payment plan, and a $75-$155 fee to enroll in community service, depending on the dollar value of the ticket. These fees, which were paid in addition to paying or working off the cost of the ticket, made these options inaccessible to low-income people. 

The reform: In March 2018, SFMTA reformed their policies to make it easier for low-income people to pay off parking tickets and other citations. The payment plan enrollment fee was reduced to $5 for people below 200% of the federal poverty level, and the community service enrollment fee is waived once per year. People who enroll in and successfully complete the low-income payment plan can also have all of their late fees waived, which double the price of the ticket. In 2018, the State of California passed AB503. The bill requires jurisdictions to offer payment plans and limits the enrollment fee to $5 for indigent individuals and $25 for all other individuals. San Francisco’s reforms build on this legislation, expanding the criteria for who is considered indigent, and cutting additional fees. During the first three months of offering these discounts, people participating in payment plans increased 400%, and revenue increased compared to the same period the previous year.

In October 2021, SFMTA also created additional relief from parking and fare evasion tickets for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. These include:

  • One-time only, free removal of all open parking tickets on one vehicle
  • Dismissal of fare evasion tickets anytime
  • Removal of late penalties on all open parking tickets on one vehicle anytime

These discounts for people experiencing homelessness were created after dialogue between the SFMTA and Poverty Tows Coalition.

Resources

Made it easier for lower-income people to pay traffic court fines and fees by basing them on people’s ability to pay

The context: California traffic tickets are among the priciest in the nation, often exceeding $500, and many low-income residents struggle to pay them. A 2017 study by the Federal Reserve found that more than 40% of Americans could not cover a $400 emergency expense without selling something or borrowing money. When someone can’t afford to pay, a series of consequences set in. The debt can be referred to the Franchise Tax Board, wages can be garnished, tax returns intercepted, and bank accounts levied.

The reform: In late 2018, The San Francisco Superior Court adopted advisory guidelines to relieve the burden of traffic fines and fees on people who cannot pay them. Under the new guidelines, people with incomes below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (approximately $60,000 a year for a family of four) can get their citations discounted by 80% or more. People can also pay off the balance through a payment plan or by performing community service.

In December 2020, Mayor London Breed, The Financial Justice Project, and the San Francisco Superior Court announced the launch of the MyCitations Online Tool, which allows people to request an Ability-To-Pay discount online. The Financial Justice Project worked closely with the courts to streamline the ways people verify incomes and make the ability-to-pay process easier for people to navigate and simpler for courts staff to administer. People are now allowed to show their benefits cards (SNAP, TANF, Medi-CAL) to verify their eligibility for a discount. We also worked with the Courts to revise their Ability-To-Pay paper application form. People can apply for the discount online, in person, or by-mail, and can submit an application even if the citation is past due and in collections. The average traffic ticket discount people receive through the MyCitations Online Tool is over 80%. 

Resources

Made phone calls from jails free, eliminated jail store markups, and passed a first-in-the-nation People Over Profits Ordinance

The context: Across the country, it’s a common practice in jails and prisons to mark up prices for phone calls and jail store items. Phone call and jail store/commissary costs are a significant economic drain on low-income people. In San Francisco, if someone made two 15-minute phone calls a day, it would cost $300 over 70 days (the average jail stay) or $1,500 over the course of the year. In total, people in the San Francisco county jails and their families paid more than $1.7 million each year in phone call costs and commissary markups. Research shows the cost is most often borne by low-income women of color. In a national survey of incarcerated people and their families, eighty-two percent of survey participants reported that family members were primarily responsible for phone and visitation costs. Of the family members who were responsible for the costs, 87% were women. Increased communication between incarcerated people and their loved ones decreases recidivism, and improves reentry outcomes after release. Phone calls are people’s lifelines to their support networks. Staying in touch with family and support networks helps people get through their time in jail; maintain family ties that they will need when they get out; find work; and plan for a place to live. 

The reform: In June 2019, San Francisco announced it would make all phone calls from jail free and end all county markups on jail store items. All jail phone calls became free in August 2020. Because of these reforms, incarcerated people are spending 81% more time in communication with their loved ones and support networks, paying 43% less for commissary items on average, and saving $1.7 million annually. The Financial Justice Project worked with community-based organizations to conduct a survey of more than 700 people in the San Francisco jail to inform implementation of the free phone call policy.

In July 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the People Over Profits Ordinance, making San Francisco the first city to prohibit profiting off of incarcerated people and their families through jail phone calls, commissary items, and other services. This ordinance made permanent our reforms to make jail phone calls free and eliminate commissary markups. 

All of these reforms were made possible through our partnership with the San Francisco Sheriff's Office and the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition. 

Resources

Eliminated Overdue Library Fines and cleared $1.5 million in outstanding debt from these fines

The context: In 2019, The Financial Justice Project and the Library released a report titled “Long Overdue: Eliminating Fines on Overdue Materials to Improve Access to San Francisco Public Library.” Through interviews with librarians across the country, surveys of library staff and patrons, and analysis of library data, the report finds that overdue library fines restrict access and exacerbate inequality, create conflict between patrons and the library, and do not improve on-time return rates. Libraries nationwide are going fine-free, since fines keep low-income people out of libraries and disproportionately impact low-income people. Five percent of adult card holders of the San Francisco library had their library cards blocked because they owed late fines. Our findings suggest that patrons across the city — regardless of income — miss return deadlines at similar rates. However, patrons in low-income areas face much more difficulty in paying the fines and fees associated with overdue items. As a result, overdue fines can widen existing inequalities: 11.2 percent of cardholders in the Bayview branch (which has relatively high rate of poverty (23.5%), and the highest percentage of Black residents in San Francisco) are blocked from accessing library materials, more than three times as many as in high-income locations. Across the city, branches that serve lower-income populations have a greater share of blocked patrons. Furthermore, late fines do not encourage patrons to return books. Better ways exist such as more frequent reminder notices and allowing people to autorenew books. 

The reform: On January 17th, 2019 the San Francisco Public Library Commission voted to eliminate fines on overdue materials. The proposal was approved by the Board of Supervisors in June of 2019, and the library discharged more than $1.5 million in outstanding debt from overdue fines, and restored access to more than 17,500 library patrons.

Resources

Launched SF Museums For All to provide free access to San Francisco museums for low-income San Franciscans

The context: San Francisco is home to some of the world’s greatest cultural institutions—from the SFMOMA to the De Young to the Academy of Science. Many families in San Francisco, however, cannot afford the high entrance fees to visit these and other institutions, which can range from $20 to $150 for a family of four to visit. 

The reform: In partnership with Mayor London Breed, The Financial Justice Project and the San Francisco Human Services Agency, the city launched San Francisco Museums for All, which allows San Francisco residents with Medi-Cal or EBT cards to recieve up to 4 free or discounted tickets per visit to participating museums. The program was launched during the Summers of 2019 and 2020 and was made permanent and year-round in Summer 2021.

More than 200,000 people – nearly one in four San Franciscans- receive one of these means-tested benefits.  According to a survey of participating museums, 25,000 San Francisco residents used the program to visit local museums during the first summer. We also heard from museum leaders that the program helped them diversify their visitors. San Francisco Museums for All grows out of the national Museums for All initiative.

Resources

Successfully advocated to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for a reduction in fines and fees associated with crossing the Bay Area’s bridges

The context: Costly fines and fees from unpaid bridge tolls put thousands of Bay Area residents into debt every year. When a person drives over one of the region’s toll bridges, they are charged a $6 toll and are mailed an invoice for the amount owed or one of multiple kinds of accounts are charged. If people do not promptly pay their toll, or if their related accounts are empty, they are charged a series of fines and fees that can ultimately reach $70 for each missed toll payment (over 10 times the original missed toll). When people accrue multiple of these unpaid tolls, they can find themselves in hundreds or thousands of dollars in debt, with the original tolls representing a fraction of the amount owed and with many having no way to repay their debts.

In 2019, there were 5 million such instances of unpaid tolls resulting in violation notices. Of those violations more than 1 million came from just 20 zip codes in the nine-county Bay Area, indicating that a handful of communities disproportionately bear the brunt of the current system. Communities residing in these zip codes are more likely to be low-income than the rest of the region, and are more racially diverse. In San Francisco, the neighborhoods most disproportionately represented among people ticketed are Bayview and Hunter’s Point, two of the city’s last neighborhoods with large Black populations.

The reform: After advocacy from The Financial Justice Project, SPUR, and community advocates, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the body that manages tolls on the Bay Area's bridges, moved to reduce the total possible fines and fees from a total of $70 to $20 starting in January 2022. MTC commissioners and staff described this action as a “first step” and The Financial Justice Project will continue to work with our partners to advance more reforms.

Resources:

Eliminated San Francisco Public Utility Commission fees for people who have had their water shut off

The context: Approximately three people a day have their water shutoff in San Francisco, often because they cannot pay their bills. Previously people would need to pay $110 in fees to have their water turned back on- a $55 fee for the water shutoff, and a $55 fee for their water to be turned back on. These fees disproportionately impact low-income people and communities of color.

The reform: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to eliminate these fees. They have also worked to expand enrollment in the low-income discount program, and eliminated a variety of other high pain, low gain fees, such as return check fees. 

Resources

Successfully advocated for the elimination of money bail in San Francisco

The context: The Financial Justice Project released a report entitled “Do The Math: Money Bail Doesn’t Add Up for San Francisco” in June 2017. In the report, we described how nonrefundable bail fees strip $10-15 million per year from low-income neighborhoods and communities of color and offered recommendations for reform. These included Pretrial Diversion, funding for weekend rebooking through the District Attorney’s Office, and support for the Public Defender’s Bail Unit. 

The reform: We worked with Supervisor Hillary Ronen to hold a hearing on the impact of money bail on women in San Francisco. Dozens of women came and testified about their experience with money bail. The report was cited by local and statewide media outlets, used by community advocates in litigation and calls for reform, and was cited by the Chief Justice  in calls for reform.  In January of 2020, the San Francisco District Attorney ended the use of money bail in San Francisco, citing research from the Financial Justice Project as part of the rationale for reform.

Resources

Created an income verification database to make it easier and simpler for departments and the courts to discount fines and fees for people with lower incomes

The context:We heard from many departments or court staff that were interested in offering discounted fees or fines for lower income people but had concerns about the administrative burden of verifying people’s incomes. We also had concerns about asking people to bring extensive documentation for every program they applied to, since onerous application requirements often discourage participation. 

The reform: To address these concerns, we work with departments to accept benefits cards as proof of eligibility. If a card is not available, departments can be trained to utilize a cloud-based lookup tool created by our Human Services Agency. HSA currently verifies the income of about 225,000 San Franciscans (25% of city residents) to determine eligibility for means-tested benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWORKs. To streamline the application process for both departments and for people, If the individual applying for a low-income waiver or discount requests their income be verified automatically, the department can now look up whether an individual has already had their income verified by HSA. Through this new process, the individual does not need to submit additional proof of income to qualify for the fee reduction or discount, and the department can streamline their application process. The database does not indicate what HSA benefits the person is receiving, but will only confirm the person’s eligibility. People need to sign a consent form to have their income looked up in the database, and there are stringent reporting and consent confirmation systems in place.

Resources

Eliminated and reduced a host of municipal fees that have an adverse impact on people with low incomes and communities of color

The context: When The Financial Justice Project was launched, we convened a Fine and Fee Task Force comprised of community groups and government partners to identify fines and fees that have an adverse and disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color in San Francisco.

Once the Task Force released its findings and recommendations, The Financial Justice Project worked with the San Francisco Mayor's Budget Office to conduct an assessment of fines and fees across San Francisco government. We worked to create a preliminary inventory of fines and fees and asked City and County agencies to respond to a survey detailing the types of fines and fees they assess. We have continued to work with agency leaders and staff to discuss and implement potential reforms.

The reform: In addition to the many fines and fees we have reduced or eliminated, we have worked with the Mayor's Budget Office and our partners in City and County agencies to eliminate the following fees for municipal services:

  • Elimination of the Street Artist License Fee ($849), which has been historically paid by artists who are low-income, immigrants, and/or aging. This license fee permits vendors to sell their art in designated spaces to support themselves and their families. The elimination of this fee will help expand diverse and vibrant marketplaces for artists as the City reopens.
     
  • Elimination of Medical Examiner fees that are primarily charged to family and friends of deceased, typically for deceased people who were experiencing homelessness or very low-income crime victims. These fees include proof of death letter ($10), statement of non-contagion ($10), disaster bag ($67), removal of remains ($632), cremation ($1,196).
     
  • Elimination of fees associated with City ID cards ($6 for youth and $18 for adults). These fees are primarily paid by undocumented and low-income individuals and can be barriers to obtaining this form of identification. 
     
  • Elimination of two Animal Care and Control fees: owner surrender of animal ($33) and dog license late fees ($32), which can be challenging to pay for low-income residents.  

Resources: 

Developed the Commissary Allowance Pilot Program, which will provide a $20 monthly allowance to eligible people incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails to purchase items from the commissary

The context: In partnership with the San Francisco Sheriff's Office and the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition, The Financial Justice Project worked to make San Francisco the first county in the nation to make jail phone calls free and eliminate markups on commissary items. These reforms save incarcerated people in San Francisco County Jails $1.7 million annually. However despite these reforms, many incarcerated people in San Francisco jails are still unable to pay for basic toiletries, like soap and toothpaste, and supplemental nutrition, like coffee and ramen, which have become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While everyone in jail has access to basic hygiene supplies, family members and loved ones typically put money on incarcerated people’s accounts so they can supplement these supplies and buy additional food items. However, approximately one-third of people incarcerated in San Francisco jails, about 300 people, lack outside support and are unable to purchase items from the jail store.

The reform: Beginning in May 2021, people incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails who have little or no support from the outside will receive a $10 monthly allowance to purchase essential hygiene items and food from the jail store, or commissary.

Developed by The Financial Justice Project, San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, and the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition, the Commissary Allowance Pilot Program helps ensure incarcerated people maintain their dignity and ability to purchase essential items, like shampoo, deodorant, and food. The program will be piloted for one year and is believed to be one of the first programs of its kind in the country. 

Resources:

Developed the Community First Temporary Pilot Program, which will provide up to 90% off water and wastewater bills and offer debt forgiveness for eligible customers with low incomes

The context: Between March 2020 and August 2021, the number of San Francisco water and wastewater accounts with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) that were delinquent has grown by 250%. During that same time period, the average balance of delinquent residential accounts at the SFPUC has increased by 93% to more than $1,000 of water and wastewater debt per household.

Households with low incomes and in communities of color have been disproportionately impacted.

The reform: The Financial Justice Project had previously worked with SFPUC to eliminate water shut-off fees and we were excited to work with SFPUC again to address this growing issue. Together, SFPUC and The Financial Justice Project launched the Community First Temporary Pilot Program in August 2021. This 6-month pilot program will provide steep discounts—up to 90% off—on water and wastewater bills for eligible customers with low incomes. A portion of those residents will also be randomly selected to receive debt forgiveness for up to $1,000 of back payments owed to the SFPUC if they are able to make six discounted payments toward their monthly bill. 

Resources: 

Developed the "Be The Jury” Pilot Program, a first-of-its-kind pilot program in SF Superior Court to compensate low-income jurors $100 a day for their jury service

The context: While California law requires employers to provide time off for employees who are summoned to jury duty, employers are not required to compensate employees who serve on a jury. If a juror’s employer does not cover their salary while serving, jurors earn nothing on their first day of service and $15 per day after that. As a result, juries tend to be composed of people who can afford to serve unpaid or who have employers who will pay them while they are serving. The nominal compensation amounts to a hidden fee on jury duty that prices too many people out of jury service. 

This is confirmed by a survey by the Administrative Office of the Courts of California, which found that 35% of San Francisco jurors report that jury service imposed a financial hardship. And because income inequality is strongly correlated with race and ethnicity, juries have become less racially diverse due to an inability to afford to participate.

The reform: The Financial Justice Project partnered with the San Francisco Superior Court, San Francisco Public Defender's Office, San Francisco District Attorney's Office, and Bar Association of San Francisco to develop the "Be The Jury" pilot program, which will compensate low-income jurors in San Francisco $100 a day to remove barriers to serving and to increase economic and racial diversity of juries. The Be The Jury pilot program will be the first-of-its-kind in San Francisco Superior Court.

The Be The Jury pilot program was authorized by AB 1452, a piece of state legislation that was authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), co-authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), and signed into law by Governor Newsom. The pilot program is expected to launch in January 2022.

Resources:

Developed a pilot program to relieve low-income parents of child support debt owed to government

The context: Every year, hundreds of thousands of California families do not receive their full child support payments. That's because low-income families that receive public benefits only receive the first $50 of their monthly child support payment. The rest is redirected to government to pay back the cost of public assistance, like Medi-Cal and CalWORKs. Last fiscal year, California redirected $368 million in child support payments to the state, federal, and local governments to pay back the cost of public assistance.  Furthermore, parents who are late to pay back public assistance are charged ten percent interest, have their driver’s license suspended, and their credit score is damaged, creating formidable barriers to employment and to obtaining housing. These punitive policies deprive low-income children of valuable resources, disproportionately harm children and families of color, and create conflict in families. 

The reform: We collaborated with the San Francisco Department of Child Support Program to leverage a statewide debt forgiveness program using philanthropic dollars to pay down the debt parents owed to the government. Doing so ensured that all of the funds collected by child support can go directly to the custodial parent, usually the mother, and child. Funding was secured for the pilot from the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and Tipping Point Communities. As a result of the pilot, parents’ payments increased 15-30%, their relationships with their child and co-parent improved, and their financial, housing, and employment opportunities improved.  The pilot was evaluated by the Urban Institute. 

Resources

Advanced Statewide Reforms

In partnership with community organizations across the state, the Financial Justice Project has worked to advance reforms at the state level that build on San Francisco reforms, and that would benefit city and county residents. 

    Eliminating fees charged to people exiting the criminal justice system statewide

    The context: The San Francisco Financial Justice Project sits on the steering committee of Debt Free Justice California, a coalition of more than 70 organizations pushing forward reforms to California’s criminal legal system. While San Francisco eliminated all locally authorized criminal justice fees in 2018, dozens of fees authorized by the state still remained, creating barriers for low-income residents reentering in San Francisco.

    The reform: The San Francisco Financial Justice Project worked with the Debt Free Justice California to co-sponsor, advocate for, and pass AB 1869, the Families Over Fees Act. AB 1869 repealed 23 state-controlled criminal administrative fees and lifted billions of dollars of uncollectible debt off of California's most vulnerable communities. AB 1869's enactment into law made California the first state in the country to repeal criminal administrative fees.

    Debt Free Justice California was also instrumental in passing AB 177 in October 2021, which abolished and eliminated debt from 17 additional state-controlled fees charged to people exiting the criminal legal system. AB 177 lifted an estimated $534 million in debt off of people involved in the criminal legal system.

    Resources

    Reforming California’s punitive child support policies that take resources away from low-income children

    The context: Previous California law required that low-income families who receive public benefits only receive the first $50 their monthly child support payment; the rest is redirected to pay back the cost of public benefits, like Medi-Cal and CalWORKs. In 2019, California redirected $368 million in child support payments away from children to repay the cost of public assistance. These statewide policies create a multitude of harms. In a state with one of the highest child poverty rates, these policies take valuable resources from low-income children and disproportionately harm children of color, as more than two-thirds of the children impacted by these policies are children of color. They create conflict in families as the custodial parent doesn’t know how much the noncustodial parent is actually paying. And for non-custodial parents, they cause parents to quickly accrue debt to pay back the cost of welfare. Low-income parents owe $7 billion in debt to pay back the cost of welfare in California. In 2019, the Truth and Justice in Child Support coalition released a report called “The Payback Problem,” which outlines the negative impact this system has on low-income parents and families.

    The reform: The Financial Justice Project is working with community groups across the state to advance statewide bills to end these punitive practices. Working together, we have successfully passed:

    • AB 2325 (Carrillo, D-Los Angeles) which will prevent child support obligations from piling up while the non-custodial parent is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized. When non-custodial parents leave jail or prison with years of child support debt that is owed to the government, children and families suffer.
    • AB 2338 (Weber, D-San Diego) which will prevent the incarceration of non-custodial parents who owe child support debt to the government and would allow the court to grant an alternative, such as probation or a conditional sentence. There is no evidence that imprisonment helps people who owe child support orders become more able to pay and incarcerating a child’s parent significantly interferes with the child-parent relationship.
    • Reforms to the child support system through the California State Budget FY 2021-22, which allowed for the removal of uncollectible government-owed child support debt for certain families, specifically individuals who are veterans, CAPI recipients, and SSI recipients.
    • SB 1055 (Kamlager, D-Los Angeles) which protects low-income parents from driver's license suspensions because of child support debt.
    • 2022 Budget Trailer Bill  - beginning July 1,2023, the budget trailer bill directs full child support pass-through for families that formerly received CalWORKS benefits. The bill also makes clear the intent of full family pass-through of child support by 2025 for families currently receiving CalWORKS benefits. These two policy reforms together will put approximately $350 million each year in the pockets of low-income parents and children.

    Resources

    Reducing and eliminating phone call fees for incarcerated people statewide

    The context: Across California, it’s a common practice in jails to mark up prices for phone calls and jail store items. Phone call and jail store/commissary costs are a significant economic drain on low-income people. Research shows the cost is most often borne by low-income women of color. In a national survey of incarcerated people and their families, eighty-two percent of survey participants reported that family members were primarily responsible for phone and visitation costs. Of the family members who were responsible for the costs, 87% were women. Increased communication between incarcerated people and their loved ones decreases recidivism, and improves reentry outcomes after release. Phone calls are people’s lifelines to their support networks. Staying in touch with family and support networks helps people get through their time in jail; maintain family ties that they will need when they get out; find work; and plan for a place to live.

    The reform: The Financial Justice Project and a coalition of advocates, including The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and Worth Rises, are active participants in a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proceeding to address the high cost of phone calls in jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, and immigrant detention centers in California.

    Because of our efforts, the CPUC imposed an interim rate cap $0.07 per minute on all phone calls made by incarcerated people while the proceeding is ongoing. This is the lowest intrastate rate cap in the country. We will continue to advocate for a final lower rate cap statewide.

    We've also worked to reduce phone call fees for incarcerated people through state legislation.

    Resources