BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1320| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1320 Author: Hancock (D) Amended: 4/26/10 Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 7-1, 4/20/10 AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian NOES: Ashburn NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman SUBJECT : Administrative adjudication of transit violations SOURCE : Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District DIGEST : This bill allows the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District to adopt an adjudication process and impose an administrative penalty for transit-related offenses committed by non-minors, and prohibits the City and County of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District from establishing administrative penalties that exceed the maximum criminal fine set forth in current law. ANALYSIS : Existing law, Section 640 of the Penal Code, makes it a criminal infraction for a person to engage in any of the following activities in a transit vehicle or facility: CONTINUED SB 1320 Page 2 1. Fare evasion. 2. Misuse of a transfer, pass, ticket, or token with the intent to evade the payment of a fare. 3. Playing sound equipment. 4. Smoking, eating, or drinking where those activities are prohibited by the transit provider. 5. Expectorating. 6. Willfully disturbing others by engaging in boisterous or unruly behavior. 7. Carrying an explosive or acid, flammable liquid, or toxic or hazardous material. 8. Urinating or defecating except in a lavatory. 9. Willfully blocking the free movement of another person unless permitted by first amendment rights. 10.Skateboarding, roller skating, bicycle riding, or rollerblading except as necessary for utilization of the transit facility by a bicyclist. 11.Unauthorized use of a discount ticket or failure to present acceptable proof of eligibility to use a discount ticket. The standard process for enforcing these criminal infractions is for the transit officer citing the offense to give the alleged violator a citation with a court date, which the alleged violator signs promising to appear. The court later sends a notice to the alleged violator, reminding him or her of the court date, listing the bail amount, and stating that he or she must appear unless the bail is paid. On the day the case is set for a hearing in court, the defendant enters a plea. If the plea is "guilty" or "no contest," the judge or magistrate fixes the penalty amount. If the plea is "not guilty," the court generally assigns a later trial date. At the trial, the officer is subpoenaed and must appear. In some counties, the defendant may enter a plea with the court clerk or even online, instead of in court. In some counties, the plea hearing and trial may be held at the same time. State law provides that these criminal offenses are punishable by a maximum base fine not to exceed $250 (which becomes $950 when mandatory assessments are added on) and 48 hours of community service. The judges in each county, however, set the bail schedule annually. In Los Angeles SB 1320 Page 3 County, the actual base fines range from $25 for a first offense to $100 for repeated offenses for most violations and from $100 to $250 for defecating/urinating and carrying explosives. Once collected, the base fine monies are distributed between both state and local governments on a roughly 50/50 basis. The assessments flow to various state and local entities for things such as court construction, emergency medical services, peace and corrections officer training, victim-witness assistance, victim restitution, and traumatic brain injury services. A 20 percent assessment goes directly to the state's General Fund. Since the enactment of SB 1749 (Migden), Chapter 258, Statutes of 2006, state law also allows for an alternative civil infraction process in San Francisco and Los Angeles Counties. Under these provisions, the City and County of San Francisco (the overseer of the city's transit system) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) may adopt and impose an administrative penalty and adjudication process for these same violations committed by non-minors. Similar to the process for issuing and enforcing parking tickets, the issuing officer serves the alleged violator with a "notice of fare evasion or passenger misconduct violation," which includes the date, time, location, and nature of the violation, the administrative penalty amount, the date by which the penalty must be paid, and the process for contesting the citation. If the alleged violator contests the citation, then the issuing agency or its contracted processing agency must provide an initial review. If the citation is not dismissed after the initial review, then the issuing agency or its contracted processing agency must provide an impartial administrative hearing at which the citing officer is not required to appear. If the alleged violator is unsatisfied with the results of the administrative hearing, then he or she may still file an appeal in Superior Court, which hears the case de novo. All penalties collected are deposited in the General Fund for Los Angeles or San Francisco County, as applicable. To date, only San Francisco has implemented civil infractions for transit offenses. San Francisco has set the fines for fare evasion and other passenger misconduct offenses at $75 for a first offense, $250 for a second SB 1320 Page 4 offense within one year, and $500 for a third offense within one year. This bill: 1. Allows the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) to adopt and impose an administrative penalty and adjudication process for these same transit-related offenses committed by non-minors. The bill requires AC Transit to follow the same procedures that apply to San Francisco and LAMTA, except that the penalties shall be deposited in the General Fund of the county in which the citation is issued. 2. Prohibits the City and County of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District from establishing administrative penalties that exceed the maximum criminal fine set forth in Section 640 of the Penal Code. 3. Prohibits a person who receives a notice of fare evasion or passenger conduct violation from also being cited for a violation of Section 640 of the Penal Code. 4. Requires the issuing agency, following a review of a citation requested by alleged violator which does not result in cancellation of the notice, to provide the alleged violator a reason for that denial, notification of the ability to request an administrative hearing, and notice of the procedure for waiving prepayment of the penalty based upon the ability to pay. Comments AC Transit historically has relied on passengers paying at the farebox when boarding a bus. With the need for more efficient operations when the smaller, temporary replacement for the Trans-Bay Terminal in San Francisco opens in 2015, those AC Transit riders who board trans-bay buses will be asked to pre-pay tickets and board on the honor system. In addition, AC Transit is planning the development of rapid-bus lines within Alameda County that will likewise rely on the honor system for fare payment. As a result, AC Transit expects citations for fare evasion SB 1320 Page 5 to increase. According to AC Transit, allowing the district to adjudicate any or all of the specified violations through administrative review will free up court dockets to handle more serious offenses and is consistent with the trend to "decriminalize" minor traffic and parking offenses. Moreover, an administrative process will offer fare evaders and other violators a less confrontational setting while still affording them the right to a full hearing. AC Transit believes that an administrative process will enhance public safety, increase the payment of transit fares, and improve compliance with conduct rules by transit riders. The experiences in San Francisco and Los Angeles . San Francisco is the only jurisdiction to date to adopt civil citations for transit infractions, and its representative reports that transit officers there issued 3600 transit-related citations in 2009. LAMTA has studied the feasibility and financial assumptions of an administrative adjudication system, is still considering it, but has yet to adopt one. One of the agency's key objectives for such a system would be to have access to adequate information on the status of individual citations and the penalties assessed. Currently, LAMTA is unable to obtain this information from the county courts. Staff contacted the Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Organizing Project, two consumer-oriented membership organizations active on transit issues, to inquire about rider complaints or concerns with the actual or prospective administrative enforcement programs in those two jurisdictions. Though, neither organization was particularly familiar with the program, neither had any concerns or complaints to share. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 4/28/10) Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (source) California Transit Association SB 1320 Page 6 JA:nl 4/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****