Transportation / driver-record administration
Drivers could keep points after misdemeanor diversion
AB 1662 would make courts send DMV notice when a dismissed misdemeanor still counts on a driving record. The bill has bipartisan coauthors and advanced without recorded no votes.
In California, a misdemeanor case could still end in dismissal while the driver keeps the points that came with the offense. AB 1662 would require courts to notify the DMV so the record and the traffic penalties stay aligned.
- Diversion could still end the misdemeanor case.
- DMV points would remain on the driving record.
- AB 1662 has eight sponsors, split 4-4 between Democrats and Republicans.
- In California, AB 1662 would change what happens after a misdemeanor diversion ends
- If the underlying offense is one that carries points, the court would have to tell the Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, when the case is dismissed, and the DMV would have to assess the applicable points anyway
In California, AB 1662 would change what happens after a misdemeanor diversion ends. If the underlying offense is one that carries points, the court would have to tell the Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, when the case is dismissed, and the DMV would have to assess the applicable points anyway.
That matters because diversion can erase the criminal case, but not necessarily the driving consequence. Assemblymember Lori Wilson’s bill would amend Section 12810 of the Vehicle Code so a dismissal does not automatically become a clean slate for a record that still affects a license.
The dismissal would not wash out the record
The bill is aimed at the handoff between two systems that do not always move together. Courts can already offer diversion in a misdemeanor case, and if the person completes the terms and conditions, the case is dismissed. AB 1662 would require the DMV to get the notice when that dismissed case involved a violation that must be scored on a driver’s record.
The measure has eight sponsors, split evenly between four Democrats and four Republicans. Available vote records show the bill advanced without recorded no votes.