Traffic fines could cost you up to 50 percent more if a handful of state lawmakers succeed with proposals to add more money to county budgets.

Rep. Tommy Waters, D-51st (Waimanalo, Lanikai), has introduced a 50 percent surcharge on traffic fines that would give county police departments millions more to help recruit and retain officers. The surcharge would be applied to the traffic fine, not the entire cost of getting a ticket, which also includes court fees and other costs.

In the other chamber, nine senators introduced a bill that would impose a 10 percent surcharge to provide extra revenue to counties where the tickets are issued.

Considering 470,822 traffic tickets were filed during the past fiscal year, the surcharge could mean millions more in revenue for county police departments that struggle to fill vacancies and lose officers to higher paying municipalities on the Mainland, conditions that Waters said led him to introduce his bill.

In 2004, the state collected $15.8 million in traffic fines. Based on that, a 50 percent surcharge could potentially bring in $7.9 million, while a 10 percent surcharge would add $1.6 million to county coffers.

While several motorists interviewed by The Advertiser complained about the proposal, Kaimuki resident Val Saio, 36, said motorists should just drive more carefully.

"I think it's a good idea, considering police officers are underpaid," he said.

The surcharge also might give drivers more of an incentive to obey the law, which would lead to fewer violations and less revenue, Saio said.

However, more drivers sided with Trisha Tollefson, who said the fines are steep enough as they are.

"What about the people who can't afford it?" asked the 32-year-old preschool aide.

Waters said he encourages such debate and said he proposed the 50 percent surcharge as a starting point to generate ideas on how to get more officers on the street.

"I think people are probably going to be upset about the high fine or surcharge," he said. "Mostly, I wanted to generate discussion on the idea of a surcharge because the counties need the help."

SURCHARGE ON FINE

Most fines for traffic violations have fees or administrative costs attached to them, so the surcharge wouldn't add 50 percent to the total cost of the ticket. But as some motorists noted, it would add a sizable chunk to the total cost.

For example, if someone is stopped for running a red light, the fine is $50, administrative costs are $40 and another $7 goes to the driver education fund. Therefore, the price for the $97 ticket would jump to $122.

Parking in a disabled parking stall without a permit carries a $250 fine, plus $10 in administrative costs, so it would increase to $385. And the charge for an expired parking meter would rise $12.50 to $47.50.

But Waters noted that counties have been fighting for more than a decade to get those unadjudicated traffic fines — and he has introduced a bill for the past three years to no avail. Nevertheless, he has introduced it again this year hoping for better results.

An obstacle in getting the surcharge passed is likely to be one that has stopped the counties from getting a share of the fines that do not require the offender to appear in court.

A report by the Legislative Reference Bureau suggests that using traffic fines as a source of revenue could compromise the judicial system or police departments by creating a conflict of interest.

In the case of Waters' proposal, the surcharge would bring financial benefit to police officers, since his idea is to use the revenue to help make their pay competitive with Mainland departments.

But Waters said he is focused on making the streets safer.

"Patrolling police officers are the best deterrent to crime," he said.

POLICE PRESENCE

If a driver notices a police car on the street, he automatically steps on the brakes, Waters said. And when potential criminals see a police officer patrolling a beat, they leave, he said.

That is why he earmarked the surcharge to go directly to county police, rather than the county itself, as the Senate bill does.

To Waters, raising police salaries would help attract more recruits to become police officers, as well as provide incentive to keep trained officers from accepting jobs on the Mainland where salaries are often higher and the cost of living lower.

"There's no reason why we can't do either a surcharge or perhaps a compromise on how much the counties get," he said, referring to the uncontested fees. "If not all of it, maybe we can settle on a percentage."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.