The signs along Highway 101 warn that a carpool ticket is at least $381. That’s a bit short.

Here’s how the ticket cost breaks down, according to the Sonoma County courts:

–$100 base fine

–$20 surcharge, calculated by adding on 20 percent of base fine.

–$170 penalty assessment by county and state, which is $17 per $10 of the base fine

–$30 court facility construction fund, which is $3 per $10 of base fine

–$20 state court construction penalty, which is $2 per $10 of base fine

–$10 state DNA program assessment, which is $1 per $10 of base fine

–$30 second DNA assessemnt, which is $3 per $10 of base fine

–$1 night court fee

–$20 EMS additional assessment, which is $2 per $10 of base fine

–$4 EMS air transport assessment, which is $4 per conviction

–$40 court operations assessment, which is $40 per conviction

–$35 criminal conviction assessment, which is $35 per conviction

Total cost for a carpool ticket: $480.

For those who wonder if the CHP is just generating revenue for itself by giving out carpool tickets, remember that all of the various assessments were approved by the Legislature and are for specific programs and that the $100 base fine goes to the county. The CHP’s budget is nearly all funded by DMV fees.

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