Where your money goes when you get a traffic ticket

Where The Traffic Ticket Money Goes

So where do your fines for a traffic ticket go to? Most people suspect their ticket fines are some kind of bonus for cities and counties. Well the truth is a bit different.

In Oakland, CA, for example, traffic citation revenue helps pay for public libraries, county law libraries, court funding units, local units of government, counties, local law enforcement agencies, and the Justice System Fund.

How the money from the example of a $115 speeding ticket is spent is a little complicated because it depends on whether the speeding was a violation of state statute or local ordinance.

If the ticket is written under state statute, the $75 goes to the local or county treasurer and then to local or county libraries.

If the ticket was written under local ordinance, the $75 is divided. One-third, or $25, goes to the political unit where the violation occurred, and two-thirds, or $50, goes to the court.

And then there’s the Justice System Assessment of $40 that goes to the state’s Justice System Fund.