BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1287


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          Date of Hearing:  May 13, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          1287 (Chiu) - As Amended April 29, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill deletes the January 1, 2016, sunset on the City and  
          County of San Francisco's transit authority to do automated  
          enforcement of parking violations in transit-only traffic lanes  
          and expands the authority to allow automated enforcement of  








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          other violations. Specifically, this bill:


          1)Expands the city's existing authority to use forward-facing  
            cameras on transit vehicles for recording all parking  
            violations in transit-only lanes to include violations related  
            to driving in a transit-only lane and crossing a double-yellow  
            line to enter or exit a transit-only lane, and violations  
            related to blocking or obstructing an intersection or a  
            railroad or rail transit crossing.


          2)Requires the city to make a public announcement of the  
            expansion of the program at least 30 days prior to starting to  
            issue notices of violation for all violations that were not  
            previously subject to automated enforcement, and to issue only  
            warning notices for 30 days for those violations.


          3)Subjects recorded violations related to driving in a  
            transit-only lane and crossing a double-yellow line to enter  
            or exit a transit-only lane, and violations related to  
            blocking or obstructing an intersection or a railroad or rail  
            transit crossing, to a civil penalty of no more than $100.


          4)Requires the DMV to refuse to renew the registration of a  
            vehicle if the registered owner or lessee has received a  
            notice of delinquent violation and the owner has not paid the  
            violation penalty and any late payment fees.


          5)Requires the city, by January 1, 2019, to report to  
            legislative policy committees on transportation on the  
            effectiveness, in reducing pedestrian injuries and fatalities,  
            of automated enforcement of violations related to blocking or  
            obstructing an intersection.










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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          One-time special fund costs of around $200,000 to DMV for  
          programming modifications.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background. AB 101 (Ma) Chapter 377, Statutes of 2007,  
            authorized the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency  
            (SFMTA or Muni), until January 1, 2012, to initiate a pilot  
            program to equip transit vehicles with forward-facing parking  
            control devices to record images of vehicles parked in  
            transit-only lanes and issue parking citations based on that  
            video evidence. The program was designed to improve the  
            safety, reliability, and performance of SFMTA transit vehicles  
            using San Francisco's 26 miles of transit-only lanes. 


            Based on the results of the initial pilot and an evaluation  
            report to the Legislature, AB 1041 (Ma), Chapter 325, Statutes  
            of 2011, extended the sunset on the program through January 1,  
            2016, and required SFMTA to submit another report by March 1,  
            2015, on the effectiveness of the program and its impacts on  
            privacy. SFMTA submitted the report as required, which  
            indicated that the program has had success, particularly in  
            terms of reducing the number of repeat violators. 





          2)Purpose. AB 1287 eliminates the sunset on Muni's Transit-Only  
            Lane Enforcement (TOLE) program and expands the program to  
            allow for automated enforcement of all parking violations, not  
            just those occurring in transit-only lanes. AB 1287  
            additionally allows cameras on Muni vehicles to be used to  








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            enforce violations related to driving in a transit-only lane  
            or crossing a double-yellow line to enter or exit a  
            transit-only lane and "blocking the box" violations.
            According to the author, the intent of AB 1287 is to  
            "permanently establish and enhance the existing San  
            Francisco-only pilot program to improve transit service,  
            safety, and reliability.  The TOLE program initially began  
            with cameras on 30 buses; it has been expanded over the last  
            six years with TOLE-compatible video cameras installed on all  
            Muni buses (over 800 vehicles)." The author further states  
            that AB 1287 will allow an effective program to continue and  
            also "enable strategic evolution of the program using proven  
            technology."


          3)Opposition. The Automobile Club of Southern California and AAA  
            of Northern California, Nevada and Utah argue:  "Under AB  
            1287, the violation for 'blocking the box' would no longer be  
            an infraction (crime), but rather a civil violation subject to  
            a civil penalty. This is an important distinction since crimes  
            must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.  The burden under  
            this newly established administrative hearing will be  
            preponderance of the evidence, a significantly lower standard.  
            In addition, enforcement by camera/video may not capture the  
            full nature of the circumstances surrounding the alleged  
            violation.  We can envision circumstances where a live officer  
            would forego enforcement of this section even though a driver  
            technically violated the section because a vehicle on the  
            other side of the intersection stopped unexpectedly, perhaps  
            to back into a parking space or because a person opened their  
            door to enter/exit their vehicle.  A camera may not capture  
            this on tape, whereas a live officer would be able to  
            visualize the entire scene when making their decision whether  
            to cite the driver or not."


          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081









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