Launched the Fines and Fees Task Force.
San Francisco Treasurer authored op-ed in San Francisco Chronicle announcing launch of the Financial Justice Project.
Announced Recommendations of the Fines and Fees Task Force with a report and presentation to the Board of Supervisors.
Released “Do the Math: Money Bail Doesn’t Add Up for San Francisco” and present findings to Board of Supervisors.
Worked with SFMTA to introduce new low-income payment plan to reduce fees charged to low-income people enroll in payment plans and community service.
Worked with Supervisor London Breed, the SF Public Defender, and others to introduce legislation to become first in the nation to eliminate all locally charged criminal justice administrative fees.
- Worked with SFMTA to provide discounted boot and tow feesfor people below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
- Worked with San Francisco Department of Child Support Services to launch a pilot project that relieved all government-owed child support debt for 32 familiesso all their future payments would go to their children.
- Worked with Public Utilities Commission to eliminate water shut off and turn on feescharged to people whose water was turned off for nonpayment.
- Financial Justice Project named finalist for Harvard Innovations in American Government Award.
- Passed legislation making San Francisco first in nation to eliminate all locally authorized criminal justice fees, and released “High Pain, Low Gain” report.
Courts approved petition to lift $33 million in debt from 21,000stemming from criminal justice administrative fees.
- Announced launch of Debt Free Justice California.
- Launched new ability to pay process for low-income residents with San Francisco Superior Traffic Court.
- The CONNECT Program goes live that allows homeless residents to resolve Quality of Life citations through receiving social services.
- Released “Long Overdue,” detailing the impact of overdue library fines and recommendations for reform.
- Library votes to end use of overdue fines, clear $1.5 million in debt, restore library cards for 17,000 library patrons.
- California State Senator Holly Mitchell introduced the Families Over Fees Act, SB 144, to eliminate administrative fees in the court and criminal justice systems.
Worked with the Human Services Agency to launch an income verification tool, creating a streamlined process for departments to verify eligibility for income-based discounts.
- Released “The Payback Problem: How Taking Parents’ Child Support Payments to Pay Back the Cost of Public Assistance Harms California Low-Income Children & Families.”
- Urban Institute conducted focus groups on San Francisco Child Support Debt Relief Pilot.
- San Francisco ends poverty penalty and lifts up to 88,000 holds on people’s driver’s licenses who missed their traffic court dates.
Launched San Francisco Museums for All to offer free admission to low-income San Franciscans who receive public benefitswith over 25,000 people participating.
Announced commitment to stop generating revenue from incarcerated people and their support networks, free jail phone calls and an end to markups on commissary items, saving low-income San Franciscans $1.7 million each year.
Urban Institute released evaluation of San Francisco Child Support Debt Relief Pilot.
Announced launch of Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice.
San Francisco District Attorney announced the end of money bail in San Francisco, citing the Financial Justice Report: Do the Math, Money Bail Doesn’t Add Up for San Francisco as part of the rational for reform.
- Released compilation of fine and fee relief actions taken by the City and County of San Francisco in light of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.
- SFMTA creates deeper discounts on towing and booting fees for low-income people, expands access to free Muni.
- Released report Driving Toward Justice, an analysis showing there has been no impact on court collections after the court stopped suspending driver’s license for failure to pay.
- Partnered with SaverLife to conduct a survey on the impact of fines and fees on Californians, finding that 54% say fines and fees caused a financial hardship.
- Released three-minute video: Everything You Think You Know About California Child Support is Probably Wrong, narrated by W. Kamau Bell and Robert Reich, in partnership with the Truth & Justice In Child Support Coalition.
- Launched the inaugural class of Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice with 10 cities and counties selected to participate following a national competitive process for localities committed to advancing fine and fee reforms.
- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance to prevent the City and County from profiting off of incarcerated people.
- San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passes resolution to affirm commitment to fine and fee justice in the City and County’s annual budget.
- Free phone calls in San Francisco County jails go into effect, increasing call volume by 41 percent overnight.
- Released new research on how California jails and youth lockups profit off of incarcerated people and their families, in partnership with the Young Women’s Freedom Center and the Children’s Defense Fund of California.
California becomes first state in the nation to repeal criminal administrative fees and debt by signing the Families Over Fees Act (AB 1869). The Debt Free Justice CA Coalition championed this reform that ends the assessment and collection of 23 criminal administrative fees and lifts $16 billion of largely uncollectible debt from people with low incomes.
Launched MyCitations, a new online tool in SF Superior Court for people struggling with traffic court debt. Applicants receive discounts based on their ability to pay.
Released Justice is Calling, an issue brief on San Francisco’s reforms to put people over profits, make jail phone calls free, and end commissary markups.
Director of Financial Justice Project, Anne Stuhldreher, launches OVERCHARGED, a series of monthly columns in CalMatters.
Launched the Commissary Allowance Program to provide a $10 monthly allowance for indigent people incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails to purchase essential nutrition and hygiene items from the jail store. Created in partnership with the Sheriff’s Office and SF Jail Justice Coalition.
- San Francisco announces the SF Museums for All program to become permanent and year-round and launches awareness campaign. Creates two-minute videoin partnership with BAYCAT Studio.
- Partnered with the Mayor’s Office to eliminate or reduce several municipal fines and fees that have an adverse, disproportionate impacton people with low incomes and communities of color through the budget process.
- Partnered with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to launch a new pilot program to provide steep discounts and debt forgiveness on water and wastewater bills for San Franciscans with low incomes.
- Successfully advocated to the California Public Utilities Commission to lower the cost of in-state phone calls from all carceral facilities in California to $0.07/minute in partnership with community advocates. Previously the average per minute cost statewide was 31 cents a minute.
Results for America publishes case study on the SF Financial Justice Project on how we reform excessive fines and fees in San Francisco and describes how other governments can do the same.
Advocacy with the Debt Free Justice California Coalition results in Governor Gavin Newsom signing AB 177, a bill that abolishes and eliminates debt from 17 fees charged to people in the criminal legal system. The bill lifts an estimated $534 million in debt off of struggling Californians.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) significantly reduces bridge toll violation penalties from $25 to $5 for the first notice and from $70 to $15 for the second notice after years of advocacy.
Launched a new two-minute video to advertise the new Text-Before-Tow Program launched by the SFMTA to alert people before a car is towed.
- Released new issue brief, The Hidden Court Fee that Criminalizes Poverty, in partnership with the Debt Free Justice California Coalition.
- Launched new Be The Jury Pilot Program to increase compensation to low-income jurors in San Francisco to increase economic and racial diversity in juries.
- Co-hosted the inaugural Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice Bootcamp, attended by representatives from over fifty local jurisdictions across the country.
SFMTA launches CONNECT program to to allow people experiencing homelessness to earn credit toward their parking tickets ($17 per hour) by receiving social service assistance.
Launched the second leadership network of Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice, which includes six local jurisdictions committed to advance fine and fee reforms.
San Francisco Superior Court eliminates $50 million in outstanding debt for tens of thousands of local residents who owe $300 late fees on traffic court tickets.
- The Governor signs the Keep Families Connected Act, making prison phone calls free statewide.
- The Truth and Justice in Child Support Coalition successfully advocates for transformative child support reforms in California, eliminating the government interception of child support payments for families receiving public benefits.
Released preliminary results of the Be The Jury Pilot Program which demonstrate significant progress in expanding racial and economic diversity of San Francisco juries.
Launched a 3-month, multi-media campaign to spread awareness about local fine and fee discounts.
New child-friendly visiting room opens at the San Francisco jail with aim to reduce intergenerational incarceration, increase family bonds, and reduce recidivism.
Launched the nation’s first tablet program that provides completely free tablet computers with no hidden costs to all people incarcerated in the local jails.
- Published case study and impact report on the San Francisco Museums for All Program, which showed that the program had been used 130,000 times by San Francisco residents in 2022.
- Welcomed San Francisco’s 1,000th participant to the Be The Jury Program and released a one-year evaluation on the program.
Released issue brief: Incarceration Without Exploitation that explains how San Francisco eliminated steep price markups in the jail commissary store to lift a financial burden off families and incarcerated people.
The California Truth and Justice in Child Support Coalition celebrates 62,000 California parents relieved from $500 million in burdensome child support debt owed to the government, after years of advocacy.
Published Better for Everyone: Repairing Harm for Crime Survivors and Young People, 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.