California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 451

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 23, 2015

An act to amend Section 21107.8 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 451, as introduced, Bonilla. Private parking facilities.

Existing law authorizes a city or county, by ordinance or resolution, to find and declare that there are privately owned and maintained offstreet parking facilities within the city or county that are generally held open for use of the public for purposes of vehicular parking and requires, upon enactment of the ordinance or resolution, that specified traffic laws apply, including those related to basic speed law, reckless driving, and speed contests and exhibitions of speed, except as specified.

This bill would authorize a city or county to include in that ordinance or resolution authorization for the operator of privately owned and maintained offstreet parking facility to regulate unauthorized parking in that facility. The bill would, if a city or county has exercised that authority and unauthorized parking is regulated in a privately owned and maintained offstreet parking facility, require the owner or operator of the facility to include in a parking fee invoice instructions that describe the manner in which to contest the parking fee invoice and prohibit the owner or operator from filing with, or transmitting to, the Department of Motor Vehicles a parking fee invoice, as specified. The bill would also require a city or county that authorizes private parking regulation to include, in its ordinance or resolution, specified provisions, including those related to dispute resolution.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 21107.8 of the Vehicle Code is amended
to read:

21107.8.  

(a)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Any city or county may, by ordinance or
resolution, find and declare that there are privately owned and
maintained offstreet parking facilities as described in the ordinance
or resolution within the city or county that are generally held open
for use of the public for purposes of vehicular parking. Upon
enactment by a city or county of the ordinance or resolution,
Sections 22350, 23103, and 23109 and the provisions of Division
16.5 (commencing with Section 38000) shall apply to privately
owned and maintained offstreet parking facilities, except as
provided in subdivision (b).

begin insert

(2) (A) If a city or county enacts an ordinance or resolution
authorized by paragraph (1), a city or county may include in that
ordinance or resolution authorization for the operator of a
privately owned and maintained offstreet parking facility to
regulate unauthorized parking in that facility.

end insert begin insert

(B) (i) If a city or county has exercised its authority pursuant
to subparagraph (A) and unauthorized parking is regulated in a
privately owned and maintained offstreet parking facility, the
owner or operator of that facility shall include in a parking fee
invoice instructions that describe the manner in which to contest
the parking fee invoice.

end insert begin insert

(ii) If a city or county has exercised its authority pursuant to
subparagraph (A) and unauthorized parking is regulated in a
privately owned and maintained offstreet parking facility, the
owner or operator of that facility shall not file with, or transmit
to, the Department of Motor Vehicles a parking fee invoice for the
purpose of having the Department of Motor Vehicles attempt to
collect unpaid parking fees by refusing to issue or renew a license
pursuant to Section 12808.1 or refusing to renew the registration
of a vehicle pursuant to Section 4760.

end insert

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a), no
ordinance or resolution enacted thereunder shall apply to any
offstreet parking facility described therein unless the owner or
operator has caused to be posted in a conspicuous place at each
entrance to that offstreet parking facility a notice not less than 17
by 22 inches in size with lettering not less than one inch in height,
to the effect that the offstreet parking facility is subject to public
begin delete traffic regulations and control. end delete begin insert moving vehicle laws. end insert

(c) No ordinance or resolution shall be enacted under subdivision
(a) without a public hearing thereon and 10 days prior written
notice to the owner and operator of the privately owned and
maintained offstreet parking facility involved.

(d)  Section 22507.8 may be enforced without enactment of an
ordinance or resolution as required under subdivision (a) or the
posting of a notice at each entrance to the offstreet parking facility
as required under subdivision (b).

(e) The department shall not be required to provide patrol or
enforce any provisions of this code on any privately owned and
maintained offstreet parking facility subject to the provisions of
this code under this section except those provisions applicable to
private property other than by action under this section.

begin insert

(f) A city or county that authorizes private parking regulation
pursuant to this section shall, in its ordinance or resolution, include
provisions that include all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) Procedures of dispute resolution in accordance with those
procedures set forth in Section 40215, which shall include all of
the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) A written and publicly available dispute resolution policy
that includes specified time periods for notifications, review, and
appeal.

end insert begin insert

(B) An administrative hearing process that includes all of the
following:

end insert begin insert

(i) Options for a hearing in person or by mail.

end insert begin insert

(ii) Administrative review.

end insert begin insert

(iii) A hearing by a third-party examiner who has been
adequately trained and who provides an independent, objective,
fair and impartial review.

end insert begin insert

(iv) Personal delivery or delivery by first-class mail of an
examiner’s decision.

end insert begin insert

(v) Authority for the examiner to allow payment of the parking
charge in installments for persons showing evidence of inability
to pay the parking charge in full.

end insert begin insert

(2) A prohibition against incentives based on the number of
invoices issued or the number or percent of disputed invoices
adjudicated that uphold parking charges.

end insert begin insert

(3) A cap on a parking invoice fee that is commensurate with
the most nearly equivalent municipal parking fine.

end insert begin insert

(4) Measures to prevent a private parking regulator from
representing itself as a government enforcement agency, including
a prohibition against use of terminology in ordinances or
resolutions, and in parking fee invoices, which are restricted to
governmental law enforcement, and a requirement for a
conspicuous statement on parking fee invoices to the effect that
“This parking charge notice is not issued by the [local
government].”

end insert