BILL ANALYSIS AB 2567 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 5, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair AB 2567 (Bradford) - As Amended: April 12, 2010 SUBJECT : Photo enforcement: parking: street sweepers SUMMARY : Authorizes local public agencies to use automated parking enforcement systems for street sweeping-related violations. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the importance of street sweepers in clearing streets and roads of trash and pollutants. 2)Authorizes local agencies to install and operate automated parking enforcement systems on local public agency-owned or -operated street sweeping equipment for purposes of digitally photographing street sweeping parking violations. 3)Requires the photo enforcement equipment to be angled and focused so as to capture digital photographs of license plates and so as not to unnecessarily capture images of drivers, other vehicles, and pedestrians. 4)Provides that citations can only be issued for violations captured during designated street sweeping hours. 5)Provides that citations cannot be issued to vehicles that park in restricted zones after the street has been cleaned by the street sweeper. 6)Allows a local public agency to contract with a private vendor for the processing of parking violation notices so long as the local public agency maintains overall control and supervision of the automated parking enforcement system. 7)Requires public agencies to give advanced public notice, at least 30 days, of their intent to use automated parking enforcement systems. 8)Restricts local agencies to issuing only warning notices during this 30-day period using the automated enforcement system; specifically provides, however, that local public AB 2567 Page 2 agencies may use a manual system to issue citations, before, during, and after the 30-day warning period. 9)Requires a designated local public agency employee, who is qualified to issue parking citations for that agency, to review digital photographs to determine the validity of a parking citation. 10)Requires that digital image evidence be retained for up to six months from the date the information was first obtained or 60 days after final disposition of the citation, whichever date is later, after which time the information must be destroyed. 11)Provides that digital photographs made by an automated parking enforcement system are confidential and use of the photographs is limited. 12)Requires a designated employee to issue a notice of a parking violation to the registered owner of the vehicle within 15 days of the violation and prescribes specific data to be included in the violation. 13)Sets forth provisions governing the processing of violations and appeals. 14)Requires a local public agency that utilizes an automatic parking enforcement system to report specific information to the Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees and the Assembly Transportation Committee by January 1, 2015. 15)Sunsets on January 1, 2016. EXISTING LAW : 16)Authorizes the City and County of San Francisco, until January 1, 2012, to issue citations based on photo-evidence of parking violations in transit-only lanes. 17)Authorizes the use of automated enforcement systems at rail or rail transit signals and crossing gates. 18)Authorizes the use of automated enforcement systems at intersections to detect red light violations. AB 2567 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : According to the author, the intent of this bill is "to reduce the amount of dirt, oil, and debris being washed into the storm drains, thereby having a positive environmental impact." The California Public Parking Association, sponsor of this bill, suggests that by allowing automated parking enforcement systems to be placed on street sweepers, this bill will effectively complement the work of existing parking enforcement personnel and help allocate scarce resources. Currently, Chicago and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) use the automated street sweeper system, which uses photo-light sensing, character recognition, and global positioning system technology to spot parking violators. In California, use of similar automated enforcement technology is authorized for red light violations by a governmental agency. Last session, usage of this technology was also authorized on a pilot project basis for the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) to issue citations based on photo-evidence of transit-only-lane parking violations. The authority granted to San Francisco was provided for in AB 101 (Ma), Chapter 377, Statutes of 2008. Provisions of this bill are similar to those in AB 101 and identical to last year's AB 1336 (Eng) that passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message, the Governor wrote, "This bill could present a significant risk of violating an individual's privacy unrelated to the enforcement of law. It may also lead to the unwarranted proliferation of camera enforcement in many other arenas." Interestingly, subsequent to the Governor's veto of AB 1336 for these reasons, the Governor introduced his budget proposal which calls for the deployment of a massive statewide speed camera program to generate nearly $400 million in net profit to state and local government. As proposed, the camera program is expected to print over two million citations each year. Previous legislation : AB 1336 (Eng) of 2009, was identical to this bill. AB 101 (Ma), Chapter 377, Statutes of 2008, authorized the City AB 2567 Page 4 and County of San Francisco to issue citations based on photo-evidence of transit-only-lane parking violations. SB 1136 (Kopp), Chapter 54, Statutes of 1998, extended indefinitely provisions that allow the use of automated enforcement systems at official traffic control signals. SB 833 (Kopp), Chapter 922, Statutes of 1995, originally authorized, for a limited time, the use of automated photo enforcement for all places where a driver is required to respond to an official traffic control signal (i.e. red light cameras). REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Public Parking Association California State Association of Counties League of California Cities City of San Diego Opposition American Civil Liberties Union Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093