BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                       AB 718


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          718 (Chu)


          As Amended  May 18, 2015


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                 |Noes                 |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
          |Transportation  |12-1  |Frazier, Bloom, Chu, |Baker                |
          |                |      |Dodd, Eduardo        |                     |
          |                |      |Garcia, Gomez, Kim,  |                     |
          |                |      |Linder, Medina,      |                     |
          |                |      |Melendez, Nazarian,  |                     |
          |                |      |Santiago             |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
          |Local           |7-1   |Maienschein,         |Waldron              |
          |Government      |      |Gonzalez, Chiu,      |                     |
          |                |      |Cooley, Gordon,      |                     |
          |                |      |Holden, Linder       |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
          |                |      |                     |                     |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Prohibits cities and counties, including charter cities  
          and counties, from prohibiting, otherwise subjecting to civil or  
          criminal penalties, or impounding a vehicle by reason of the act  
          of sleeping or resting in a lawfully parked motor vehicle. 








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          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Provides, under the California Constitution, that a city may  
            make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary,  
            and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with  
            general laws.
          2)Authorizes a legislative body to pass ordinances not in conflict  
            with the California Constitution and laws of the state or the  
            United States.


          3)Prohibits local governments from regulating the movement or  
            parking of vehicles unless specifically authorized by state law.  
             With respect to parking, under current law local governments  
            may, by ordinance or resolution, do the following: 


             a)   Prohibit or restrict the stopping, standing, or parking of  
               vehicles on a local road or on a state highway in their  
               jurisdiction with the approval of the Department of  
               Transportation.
             b)   Prohibit or restrict the stopping, standing, or parking of  
               vehicles that are six feet or more in height within 100 feet  
               of any intersection, street, or highway during all or certain  
               hours of the day.


             c)   Designate certain streets for the exclusive parking  
               privileges of residents and merchants adjacent to the streets  
               for their use or the use of their guests and issue parking  
               permits that exempt them from the restriction or prohibition  
               of the ordinance or resolution.


             d)   Authorize preferential parking permits for members of  
               organizations, professions, or other designated groups,  








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               including but not limited to, school personnel, to park on  
               specified streets if the local authority determines that the  
               use of the permits will not adversely affect parking  
               conditions for residents and merchants in the area.


          4)Makes it an infraction to violate any provision of the Vehicle  
            Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle  
            Code.  
          FISCAL EFFECT:  None


          COMMENTS:  This bill restricts local governments from prohibiting,  
          otherwise subjecting to civil or criminal penalties, or removing  
          or impounding a vehicle by reason of the act of sleeping or  
          resting in a lawfully parked vehicle.  According to the author and  
          sponsor, this bill is a response to an increasing number of local  
          jurisdictions that have enacted ordinances that punish people for  
          sleeping in a vehicle.  They are concerned that these ordinances  
          are thinly veiled attempts to criminalize homelessness that do not  
          serve any legitimate public purpose.   


          According to the sponsor, Housing California, "For many women and  
          children experiencing homelessness, sleeping or living in a  
          vehicle affords them a sense of safety that they cannot fully  
          experience sleeping outdoors.  In the absence of adequate shelter  
          beds across the state, a car is the most practical solution for  
          many women and children.  Many people who reside in their vehicles  
          have some form of part-time employment that enables them to meet  
          basic needs.  A vehicle is not simple shelter for them, but the  
          transit source that connects them to their only source of income.   
          Likewise, a vehicle can also represent the difference between  
          whether a homeless child gets to school or a disabled individual  
          keeps in touch with a medical provider."


          Cities and counties have broad authority to regulate parking  
          within their communities.  They can, among other things, establish  








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          time limits, install meters, prohibit parking entirely or at  
          certain times of day on a particular street, and provide  
          preferential parking privileges in certain areas to residents  
          only.  If a vehicle is parked in accordance with whatever  
          regulations a local government has applied to that particular  
          parking space, it is not clear what purpose is served by  
          additionally regulating what is happening inside the vehicle, so  
          long as the activity is otherwise legal.  Sleeping is not  
          inherently more objectionable than eating, reading, listening to  
          music, talking on the phone, or any other number of activities  
          that someone might undertake in a parked car.  While some cities  
          have attempted to justify these bans on public safety grounds, it  
          is hard to imagine how a sleeping person poses a threat to public  
          safety.


          These types of ordinances not only appear to unfairly target the  
          homeless, but they can also pose a threat to public safety.  If a  
          driver is fatigued, it is in the interest of public safety that he  
          or she park and rest rather than continuing to drive.  In cities  
          that ban sleeping in cars, this would be prohibited. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                               
          Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093  FN: 0000446