BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 869
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 869
(Cooper) - As Introduced February 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Public transportation agencies: fare evasion and
prohibited conduct
SUMMARY: Authorizes a public transit district with a civil
adjudication procedure for minor transit-related offenses
committed by adults to instead pursue criminal penalties if a
person fails to pay the administrative penalty or successfully
complete the civil administrative process. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Prohibits a person who receives a notice of fare evasion or
passenger conduct violation from a transit agency from being
charged with an infraction or misdemeanor if the person pays
the administrative penalty when due or successfully completes
the civil administrative process.
2)Authorizes a person who fails to pay the administrative
penalty when due or successfully complete the civil
administrative process to be charged with an infraction or
misdemeanor.
3)Requires a notice of fare evasion or passenger conduct
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violation to include a printed statement that the person may
be charged with an infraction or misdemeanor if the
administrative penalty is not paid when due or dismissed
pursuant to the procedure for contesting the notice.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Makes it a criminal infraction for a person to engage in any
of the following activities in a public transit vehicle or
facility:
a) Fare evasion.
b) Misuse of a transfer, pass, ticket, or token with the
intent to evade the payment of a fare.
c) Disturbing another person by loud or unreasonable noise.
d) Smoking, eating, or drinking where those activities are
prohibited by the transit provider.
e) Expectorating.
f) Willfully disturbing others by engaging in boisterous or
unruly behavior.
g) Carrying an explosive or acid, flammable liquid, or
toxic or hazardous material.
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h) Urinating or defecating except in a lavatory.
i) Willfully blocking the free movement of another person
unless permitted by First Amendment rights.
j) Skateboarding, roller skating, bicycle riding,
rollerblading, or operating a motorized scooter, except as
necessary for utilization of the transit facility by a
bicyclist.
aa) Unauthorized use of a discount ticket or failure to
present acceptable proof of eligibility to use a discount
ticket.
bb) Selling goods or services if those activities are
prohibited by the transit provider.
cc) Willfully tampering with, removing, displacing,
injuring, or destroying part of a transit vehicle or
facility.
2)Authorizes transit agencies to adopt civil adjudication
procedures and impose and enforce administrative penalties for
any of the above-listed offenses that are committed by adults.
3)Allows transit agencies to set their own administrative
penalty amounts but prohibits the amounts from exceeding the
maximum statutory criminal penalties for the same offenses.
4)Prohibits a person who receives a notice of fare evasion or
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passenger conduct violation from a transit agency from also
being cited for a criminal infraction for the same offense.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Penal Code Section 640 makes it a criminal infraction
for a person to engage in a variety of specified activities in a
transit vehicle or facility. 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 generally 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 for the first and second offense.
The judges in each county, however, set the bail schedule
annually. In Los Angeles 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.
Rather than citing alleged violators under Penal Code Section
640, public transit agencies have the option to adopt and impose
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an administrative process for adjudicating offenses committed by
adults that is 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. Transit agencies may set their own fines, which by
law cannot exceed the maximum base fine established for the
offense under Penal Code Section 640. Under an administrative
process, transit agencies have the flexibility to establish
diversion programs to address repeat offenders.
Under current law, a transit agency can cite an alleged violator
either under its administrative process, if it has established
one, or under Penal Code 640. This bill would allow transit
agencies to first cite an alleged violator under an
administrative process but then switch to the criminal process
under Penal Code Section 640 if the alleged violator fails to
pay the fine or otherwise complete the administrative process.
This bill requires the original notice of fare evasion or
passenger conduct violation to include a printed statement that
the person may be charged with an infraction or misdemeanor if
he or she fails to pay the fine when due or complete the
administrative process. An individual could not be cited under
an administrative process and Penal Code Section 640 at the same
time, but rather this bill would give the option of escalating
to a Penal Code Section 640 citation if the administrative
process fails to resolve the matter.
An administrative process for dealing with minor transit
offenses can be beneficial to both individuals who receive
citations and to the local courts. For cited individuals, the
cost is far lower because an administrative fine does not
include all of the additional fees and assessments that are
added on to the base fine in a criminal proceeding. In
addition, an administrative process may include diversion
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programs or other options for chronic violators who are unable
to pay their fines. Removing these minor matters from the local
court system saves money and frees up time and resources to
address more serious offenses.
The sponsor of the bill, the Sacramento Regional Transit
District (RT) would like to adopt an administrative process to
address fare evasion and other minor offenses but feels that the
existing statute needs this change in order to make the process
work effectively. RT believes that there is likely to be
greater compliance with the administrative process if
individuals who receive citations are aware that their case
could end up as a more costly criminal matter if they fail to
pay the administrative fine or otherwise complete the
administrative process. Greater compliance with an
administrative process will greatly benefit the Sacramento
County Superior Court, which is currently overburdened with fare
evasion citations and other minor transit-related citations.
Proposed Amendments: In order to ensure that an individual
cannot be subject to both administrative and criminal fines for
the same offense and promote due process, the author may wish to
amend the bill to:
1)Clarify that the administrative process must be closed (i.e.
the transit agency can make no further attempts at collecting
the fine) once an individual has been cited under Penal Code
Section 640.
2)Clarify that the transit agency must provide proper notice to
an individual that he or she is no longer subject to the
administrative process and is now being cited for an
infraction or a misdemeanor pursuant to Penal Code Section
640.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Sacramento Regional Transit District
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093