BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 716|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 716
Author: Dickinson (D), et al
Amended: 8/15/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/21/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Rubio,
Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman, Pavley
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/5/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-8, 5/19/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Transit districts: prohibition orders
SOURCE : Sacramento Regional Transit District
DIGEST : This bill eliminates the sunset date on the law
that allows Sacramento Regional Transit and Fresno Area
Express to issue prohibition orders banning persons from
entering district property for determined periods of time
for specified offenses, and adds the San Francisco Bay Area
Rapid Transit District, until January 1, 2015, to the
program.
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ANALYSIS : SB 1561 (Steinberg), Chapter 528, Statutes of
2008 allows Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) and Fresno
Area Express (FAX), until January 1, 2012, to issue
prohibition orders banning persons from entering the
property, facilities, or vehicles of the transit district
for determined periods of time for specified offenses.
Specifically, existing law allows RT and FAX to issue a
prohibition order to a person who has been cited on at
least three separate occasions within a period of 60 days
for any of the following infractions committed in or on a
transit vehicle, bus stop, or station of the transit
district:
Interfering with the operator or operation of a transit
vehicle, or impeding the safe boarding or alighting of
passengers.
Committing any act or engaging in any behavior that may,
with reasonable foreseeability, cause harm or injury to
any person or property.
Willfully disturbing others on or in a transit facility
or vehicle by engaging in boisterous or unruly behavior.
Carrying an explosive or acid, flammable liquid, or toxic
or hazardous material in a public transit facility or
vehicle.
Urinating or defecating in a transit facility or vehicle,
except in a lavatory.
Willfully blocking the free movement of another person in
a transit facility or vehicle.
Defacing with graffiti the interior or exterior of the
facilities or vehicles of a public transportation system.
Existing law also allows RT and FAX to issue a prohibition
order to a person who has been arrested or convicted once
for any of the following misdemeanors or felonies committed
in or on a vehicle, bus stop, or station of the transit
district:
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Acts involving violence, threats of violence, lewd or
lascivious behavior, or possession or sale of any illegal
substance.
Loitering with the intent to engage in drug-related
activity.
Loitering with the intent to commit prostitution.
The maximum duration of a prohibition order is as follows:
30 days for a first order, 90 days for a second order
within one year, and 180 days for a third order within
one year related to infractions.
30 days if issued pursuant to an arrest for a misdemeanor
or felony offense. Upon conviction for the offense the
order may be extended to a total of 180 days for a
misdemeanor and one year for a felony.
A prohibition order is effective eleven days after delivery
is deemed complete unless the person contests the proposed
order within 10 days in accordance with procedures adopted
by the transit district. The procedures must include,
among other things, an opportunity to request an initial
review and the opportunity, if the person is dissatisfied
with the results of the initial review, to request an
administrative hearing. The hearing must provide an
independent, objective, fair, and impartial review of the
prohibition order, and the hearing officer's employment and
compensation may not be directly or indirectly linked to
the number of prohibition orders upheld. If the transit
district or hearing officer determines that the person did
not understand the nature and extent of his or her actions
or did not have the ability to control his or her actions,
the prohibition order shall be canceled. If the person is
dependent upon the transit system for trips of necessity,
including travel to or from medical or legal appointments,
school or training classes, places of employment, or
obtaining food, clothing, and necessary household items,
the transit district or hearing officer must modify the
prohibition order to allow for those trips. If the person
is dissatisfied with the result of the administrative
hearing, he or she may seek judicial review of the
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administrative hearing decision within 90 days.
Prior to implementing the prohibition order program, the
transit district must establish an advisory commission that
is tasked, among other things, with monitoring the issuance
of prohibition orders to ensure compliance with
anti-discrimination laws and with providing the governing
board of the transit district and the Legislature with an
annual report on the program.
Separate from the SB 1561 provisions, current law makes it
a misdemeanor for a person to enter or remain upon without
permission any rail transit related property owned or
operated by a county transportation commission or
transportation authority or for a person to interfere with,
interrupt, or hinder the safe and efficient operation of
the rail-related facility.
Existing law also provides generally that a peace officer,
when arresting a person for an infraction, may only require
the arrestee to present his or her driver's license or
identification for examination and to sign a written
promise to appear. Until January 1, 2012, a transit
district inspector or supervisor whose duties include
enforcement of district ordinances may arrest and issue
citations pursuant to the peace officer provisions but may
not make custodial arrests.
This bill:
1.Eliminates the sunset on the law described above that
allows RT and FAX to issue prohibition orders banning
persons from entering district property for determined
periods of time for specified offenses.
2.Grants, until January 1, 2015, the same authority to Bay
Area Rapid Transit District to issue such prohibition
orders.
3.Allows a transit district to issue a prohibition order to
a person who has been cited on at least three separate
occasions within a period of 90 days, as opposed to 60
days, for specified infractions committed in or on a
vehicle, bus stop, or station of the transit district.
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4.Expands the current prohibition on trespassing or
interfering with safe operation of a train on rail
transit-related properties to include all transit-related
property or vehicles.
5.Removes the sunset on the provision of law authorizing
the Sacramento RT board to enact ordinances, punishable
as infractions, prohibiting:
A. Knowingly giving false identification to a
district employee engaged in the enforcement of
district ordinances or state laws, or otherwise
obstructing the issuance of a citation for violation
of district ordinances or state law.
B. Unauthorized operation of, interference with,
entry into, climbing upon, attaching to, or
loitering on or in transit facilities or other
transit property.
C. The removal, displacement, injury, destruction,
or obstruction of any part of any track, switch,
turnout, bridge, culvert, or any other district
structure or fixture.
D. Specifying conditions under which a passenger may
board a district vehicle with a bicycle and where
the bicycle may be stowed.
E. This provision authorizes the board to provide
that a violation of any such ordinance adopted is an
infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $75,
and that a violation by a person after the second
conviction is punishable by a fine not to exceed
$250 and by community service for a total time not
to exceed 48 hours over a period not to exceed 30
days which do not conflict with the violator's hours
of school attendance or employment.
6.Recasts provisions in current law allowing Sacramento RT
District inspectors or supervisors whose duties include
enforcement of district ordinances to issue citations for
specified infractions and any ordinance adopted by the
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district, and requires those persons to receive specified
training appropriate to those duties.
7.Makes other technical, non-substantive changes to update
cross-references to recently amended code sections.
Background
Reports on Existing Programs . In its recent annual report,
RT indicates that it issued nine prohibition orders based
on misdemeanor or felony arrests between October 1, 2009
and October 31, 2010. None of the alleged violators
contested the order. In addition, RT issued 129
infractions over this same period for violations on the
list of infractions eligible for a prohibition order. The
top three violations included:
Willfully disturbing others on or in a system facility or
vehicle by engaging in boisterous or unruly behavior
(59%).
Urinating or defecating in a system facility, except in a
lavatory (17%).
Interfering with the operator of the transit vehicle and
impeding the safe boarding or alighting of passengers
(12%).
None of the cited offenders repeated the violations three
or more times within the 60 day period.
FAX began implement its exclusion order program on February
1, 2010. In its annual report for 2010, FAX stated that it
has issued 26 prohibition orders, all for misdemeanor and
felony acts, with over half relating to battery of public
transit employee or passenger. None of the orders was
appealed, however FAX modified three orders and dismissed
two. In the cover letter accompanying the report, FAX
states, "It is very apparent to us that this law has helped
reduce some of the behavioral issues aboard FAX buses."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/11)
Sacramento Regional Transit District (source)
California Transit Association
City of Fresno
Ridership for the Masses
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "ÝO]ver
the years RT has received a high number of complaints from
rider regarding the safety of RT vehicles, parking lots,
and passenger waiting areas. To encourage ridership and to
reduce emissions associated with daily commuting, potential
passengers need to feel that transit services are a safe
alternative to driving. SB 1561 allowed RT and FAX to
exclude passengers cited for certain offenses, helping to
reduce passenger disruptions and improve overall service. .
. .ÝT]he Legislature should make the program permanent and
improve the program by authorizing prohibition orders for
repeat offenses over a longer period of time and, most
importantly, creating a consequence for failure to obey a
prohibition order."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-8, 5/19/11
AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NOES: Bill Berryhill, Donnelly, Grove, Hagman, Knight,
Mansoor, Morrell, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Garrick, Gorell, Logue, Ma,
Monning
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JJA:do 8/16/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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