BILL ANALYSIS
AB 101
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 101 (Ma)
As Amended September 7, 2007
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |72-0 |(May 14, 2007) |SENATE: | |(September 11, |
| | | | | |2007) |
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(vote not available)
Original Committee Reference: TRANS .
SUMMARY : Authorizes the City and County of San Francisco (San
Francisco) to issue citations based on photo-evidence of
transit-only lane parking violations.
The Senate amendments :
1)Provide that videotaped records are confidential, and that
public agencies shall use the records only for law enforcement
purposes or for purposes of this bill.
2)Describe the cameras authorized to be mounted on San Francisco
city-owned public transit vehicles as "automated forwarding
facing parking control devices" and only qualified employees
review the video recordings for determining possible parking
violations.
3)Require that the notice of parking violation also include the
date, time, and location of the violation.
4)Restrict citations to be issued only for violations captured
during the posted hours of operation for a transit-only
traffic lane. Require he devices to be angled and focused so
as to capture video images of parking violations and not
unnecessarily capture identifying images of other drivers,
vehicles, and pedestrians.
5)Require that proof of mailing to the address of the vehicle's
registered owner be maintained by the local agency and
establishes that additional fees, assessments, or charges
cannot be assessed if the registered owner declares, under
penalty of perjury, that the notice of parking violation was
not received.
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6)Change the submittal date of the assessment from July 1, 2011,
to March 1, 2011, and changes the term of the report from an
assessment to an evaluation.
7)Require that video image evidence from forward facing
automated enforcement devices that does not contain evidence
of a parking violation occurring in a transit-only traffic
lane to be destroyed within 15 days after the information is
first obtained.
8)Make findings and declarations that generally recognize that
this bill would impinge upon the privacy rights of individuals
depicted in the videotaped records.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a peace officer or person authorized to enforce
parking laws and regulations to securely attach to a vehicle
in violation of those laws or regulations a notice of
violation, if the vehicle is unattended during the time of the
violation.
2)Authorizes local entities to use cameras for the enforcement
of violations occurring when drivers do not stop at traffic
signals showing a red light.
3)Allows local governments to adopt ordinances restricting the
parking of vehicles for the purpose of street sweeping. The
restrictions must be clearly posted.
4)Establishes a specific procedure for persons to contest
parking citations.
5)Restricts the ability of counties and municipalities to enact
or enforce parking ordinances on the matters covered by the
Vehicle Code unless expressly authorized as "the provisions in
the code are applicable and uniform throughout the state."
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Authorized San Francisco to enforce parking violations in
transit-only lanes and during street sweep hours through the
use of videotaped evidence.
2)Authorized San Francisco to install videotape cameras on
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city-owned public transit and street sweeper vehicles for the
purposes of videotaping parking violations. A designated
employee parking control officer (PCO) would be required to
review the videotape for determining whether these parking
violations had occurred.
3)Required, prior to issuing notices of parking violations, San
Francisco to issue only warning notices for 30 days. Requires
public notification of the program 30 days prior to
implementation.
4)Required the PCO to issue a notice of a parking violation to
the registered owner within 15 days of the violation.
5)Established that a violation of a statute, regulation, or
ordinance governing vehicle parking under this bill, under a
federal or state statute or regulation, or under an ordinance
enacted by San Francisco occurring in a transit-only traffic
lane or during posted street sweeping hours observed by the
designated employee in the recordings is subject to a civil
penalty.
6)Provided that the registered owner of the vehicle shall be
permitted to review the videotaped evidence of the alleged
violation.
7)Authorized the videotaped evidence to be retained for up to
six months from the date the information was first obtained,
or until final disposition of the citation, whichever date is
later, after which time the information shall be destroyed.
8)Required San Francisco to provide an assessment to the Senate
and Assembly Transportation Committees by July 1, 2011.
9)Sunsets this bill's provisions on January 1, 2012.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This legislation would
authorize the City and County of San Francisco to issue parking
tickets based on photographs from forward facing cameras on
transit vehicles and street sweepers that can take a picture of
an illegally parked car's license plate. This proposal is aimed
at:
1)Improving the reliability and performance of San Francisco
Municipal Transportation Agency's vehicles using San
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Francisco's 14.8 miles of transit-only lanes.
2)Leveraging automated enforcement to increase available
enforcement resources for other critical enforcement duties.
"Camera-enforced citations would be used to deter drivers from
parking in the designated lanes, a violation which can
significantly increase the time it takes to make even a short
bus journey, as well as inconveniencing other road users. Only
by reducing the amount of illegal traffic in San Francisco's
transit-only lanes can the San Francisco Municipal
Transportation Agency's service improve sufficiently to meet
on-time performance goals and encourage people to leave cars at
home and take transit. Any citation revenue generated would be
used to further transit system improvements and performance.
"In the case of street sweepers, PCOs currently patrol ahead of
street sweeper vehicles, ticketing vehicles parked illegally in
designated zones. While assigned to this duty, approximately 51
PCOs are unavailable for enforcement of other violations that
impede the efficiency of the multi-modal transit system and
jeopardize public safety. Clean streets are important, but this
parking violation has more resources dedicated to it while
transit-critical violations are under-enforced. Camera-enabled
street sweepers that automatically ticket street sweeping
violations would free up valuable PCO resources for
higher-priority parking violations and enforcement demands.
"The precedent for camera-enabled enforcement already exists in
San Francisco. Since 1996, red light cameras have provided
automated enforcement of numerous San Francisco intersections.
Photographs issued to red-light runners are reviewed by law
enforcement before tickets are issued. This same review
procedure would be utilized for automated transit-only lane and
street sweeper violations."
Automated enforcement program in the City of Richmond:
According to the sponsor, the Office of the Mayor, City and
County of San Francisco, "In Richmond, a pilot program using
street sweeper cameras to photograph cars parked illegally in
street sweeper zones was successfully completed. The cameras
are now used to monitor road maintenance and illegal waste
dumping. Concerns raised by the street sweeper drivers' union
prevented the program from moving forward with a full-blown
implementation of the street sweeper cameras. The concern was
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that the drivers would become targets of abuse by citizens who
were angry about receiving a parking ticket. Richmond did not
explore the legal implications of the camera enforcement
program."
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0003499