Beverly Hills tries to give homeless a break

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. The council must still take a final vote on the plan. There's a catch to the offer, in exchange for dropping the fines, the person must complete a 90-day rehabilitation program.

The program includes drug rehab, a life skills program and a section on dealing with mental illness. The Beverly Hills program is designed to help the Los Angeles County Homeless Court.

The court's mission is to help those who are struggling with citations for jaywalking, driving with a broken headlight or failing to pay a Metro fare.

Public Counsel, a public interest law office, says such tickets prevent people from renewing their licenses or vehicle registrations.

Public Counsel hopes other cities follow the example of Beverly Hills.