BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      AB 1287


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1287 (Chiu)


          As Amended  April 29, 2015


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                 |Noes                 |
          |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
          |Transportation  |10-4  |Frazier, Bloom, Chu, |Baker, Kim, Linder,  |
          |                |      |Daly, Dodd, Eduardo  |Melendez             |
          |                |      |Garcia, Gomez,       |                     |
          |                |      |Medina, O'Donnell,   |                     |
          |                |      |Santiago             |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |12-5  |Gomez, Bonta,        |Bigelow, Chang,      |
          |                |      |Calderon, Daly,      |Gallagher, Jones,    |
          |                |      |Eggman,              |Wagner               |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |                |      |Eduardo Garcia,      |                     |
          |                |      |Gordon, Holden,      |                     |
          |                |      |Quirk, Rendon,       |                     |
          |                |      |Weber, Wood          |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Deletes the sunset on the City and County of San  
          Francisco's authority to do automated enforcement of parking  








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          violations in transit-only traffic lanes and expands the authority  
          to allow automated enforcement of other violations.  Specifically,  
          this bill:  


          1)Deletes the January 1, 2016, sunset date on San Francisco's  
            authority to enforce parking violations in transit-only traffic  
            lanes with cameras attached to the front of transit vehicles.


          2)Expands the city's authority to use forward-facing cameras on  
            transit vehicles to record all parking violations, 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.


          3)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.


          4)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.


          5)Authorizes an individual identified by the registered owner as  
            the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation  
            to review the recorded evidence of the alleged violation.


          6)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to refuse to  
            renew the registration of a vehicle if the registered owner or  








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            lessee has received a notice of delinquent violation and the  
            owner has not paid the violation penalty and any late payment  
            fees.


          7)Requires the city, on or before January 1, 2019, to provide a  
            report to Assembly Transportation Committee and the Senate  
            Transportation and Housing Committee evaluating the  
            effectiveness of automated enforcement of violations related to  
            blocking or obstructing an intersection in reducing pedestrian  
            injuries and fatalities. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, one-time special fund costs of around $200,000 to DMV  
          for programming modifications.


          COMMENTS:  San Francisco considers its 26-mile network of  
          transit-only lanes essential to the timeliness of the city's  
          public transportation system, which is operated by the San  
          Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).  Illegal  
          parking and driving in these lanes can significantly impact the  
          ability of SFMTA to meet its on-time performance goals.  The city  
          also has established a goal of eliminating all traffic-related  
          fatalities by 2024 and is planning an ambitious expansion of  
          transit service over the next decade.


          AB 101 (Ma) Chapter 377, Statutes of 2007, authorized SFMTA to  
          initiate a pilot program, referred to as Muni's Transit-Only Lane  
          Enforcement (TOLE), 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.  AB 101 required SFMTA to evaluate the pilot program and  
          submit a report to the Legislature by March 1, 2011, which it did.  
           AB 101 also included a sunset date of January 1, 2012.  Based on  
          the results of the initial pilot and the subsequent report to the  
          Legislature, AB 1041 (Ma), Chapter 325, Statutes of 2011, extended  








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          the sunset on the program through January 1, 2016, and required  
          SFMTA to submit another report to the Legislature 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. 


          Arguments in support:  Writing in support, SFMTA, the sponsor of  
          AB 1287, argues:  "The TOLE program is a key component of two  
          comprehensive initiatives in San Francisco to make transit more  
          reliable and our streets safer for all users - Muni Forward and  
          Vision Zero.  Under Muni Forward, the SFMTA plans to expand  
          transit service by 10% over the next 2 years and implement an  
          additional 22 miles of transit-only lanes within the next 10  
          years.  Under Vision Zero, adopted as citywide policy in 2014, San  
          Francisco has a goal of eliminating all traffic-related fatalities  
          by 2024, committing to build better and safer streets, educate the  
          public on traffic safety, enforce traffic laws, and adopt policy  
          changes that save lives."


          Arguments in opposition:  Writing in opposition, the Automobile  
          Club of Southern California and the American Automobile  
          Association 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  








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          to visualize the entire scene when making their decision whether  
          to cite the driver or not."




          Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of  
                          this bill.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                               
                          Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093  FN:  
          0000624