Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1151

Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago

February 27, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section 22659 end delete begin insert Sections 40204 and 40215 end insert of the Vehicle Code, relating to begin delete vehicles. end delete begin insert parking violations. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1151, as amended, Santiago. begin delete Vehicles: removal. end delete begin insert Parking violations: penalties. end insert

begin insert

Existing law establishes a process by which a person who has received a notice of a parking violation or a notice of a delinquent parking violation may contest the notice. Existing law provides for an administrative hearing, conducted by an examiner, as specified, as part of that process. If after the hearing the examiner determines that the person committed the violation, existing law authorizes the examiner to allow the person to pay the penalty for the violation in installments, and authorizes the agency that issued the notice to allow deferred payment of the penalty or payment of the penalty in installments if the person provides satisfactory evidence of an inability to pay the penalty in full.

end insert begin insert

This bill would authorize the examiner or the issuing agency to allow payment of the penalty in installments, or allow the issuing agency to allow deferred payment of the penalty, at any stage of the process described above. This bill would also authorize the issuing agency to allow payment of the penalty in installments if the person does not contest the violation.

end insert begin delete

Existing law authorizes and specifies the circumstances under which an officer of the California Highway Patrol or a specified person authorized by a state agency may cause the removal of a vehicle from property owned or leased by the state and in the possession of the agency, or from the property of a district agricultural association. Existing law authorizes those persons to cause that removal to the nearest public garage after giving notice to the city police or county sheriff, as appropriate. Existing law also requires those persons to give notice to the registered and legal owners of the vehicle, or the Department of Justice, and the owner of a garage in which the vehicle is stored, as specified.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

end delete

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 40204 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

40204.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert If the parking penalty is received by the person
authorized to receive the deposit of the parking penalty and there
is no contest as to that parking violation, the proceedings under
this article shall terminate.

begin insert

(b) The issuing agency may, consistent with the written
guidelines established by the agency, allow payment of the parking
penalty in installments if the violator provides evidence satisfactory
to the issuing agency of an inability to pay the parking penalty in
full.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 40215 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to read: end insert

40215.  

(a) For a period of 21 calendar days from the issuance
of a notice of parking violation or 14 calendar days from the
mailing of a notice of delinquent parking violation, exclusive of
any days from the day the processing agency receives a request
for a copy or facsimile of the original notice of parking violation
pursuant to Section 40206.5 and the day the processing agency
complies with the request, a person may request an initial review
of the notice by the issuing agency. The request may be made by
telephone, in writing, or in person. There shall be no charge for
this review. If, following the initial review, the issuing agency is
satisfied that the violation did not occur, that the registered owner
was not responsible for the violation, or that extenuating
circumstances make dismissal of the citation appropriate in the
interest of justice, the issuing agency shall cancel the notice of
parking violation or notice of delinquent parking violation. The
issuing agency shall advise the processing agency, if any, of the
cancellation. The issuing agency or the processing agency shall
mail the results of the initial review to the person contesting the
notice, and, if following that review, cancellation of the notice
does not occur, include a reason for that denial, notification of the
ability to request an administrative hearing, and notice of the
procedure adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) for waiving
prepayment of the parking penalty based upon an inability to pay.

(b) If the person is dissatisfied with the results of the initial
review, the person may request an administrative hearing of the
violation no later than 21 calendar days following the mailing of
the results of the issuing agency’s initial review. The request may
be made by telephone, in writing, or in person. The person
requesting an administrative hearing shall deposit the amount of
the parking penalty with the processing agency. The issuing agency
shall adopt a written procedure to allow a person to request an
administrative hearing without payment of the parking penalty
upon satisfactory proof of an inability to pay the amount due. After
January 1, 1996, an administrative hearing shall be held within 90
calendar days following the receipt of a request for an
administrative hearing, excluding time tolled pursuant to this
article. The person requesting the hearing may request one
continuance, not to exceed 21 calendar days.

(c) The administrative hearing process shall include the
following:

(1) The person requesting a hearing shall have the choice of a
hearing by mail or in person. An in-person hearing shall be
conducted within the jurisdiction of the issuing agency. If an
issuing agency contracts with an administrative provider, hearings
shall be held within the jurisdiction of the issuing agency or within
the county of the issuing agency.

(2) If the person requesting a hearing is a minor, that person
shall be permitted to appear at a hearing or admit responsibility
for the parking violation without the necessity of the appointment
of a guardian. The processing agency may proceed against the
minor in the same manner as against an adult.

(3) The administrative hearing shall be conducted in accordance
with written procedures established by the issuing agency and
approved by the governing body or chief executive officer of the
issuing agency. The hearing shall provide an independent,
objective, fair, and impartial review of contested parking violations.

(4) (A) The issuing agency’s governing body or chief executive
officer shall appoint or contract with qualified examiners or
administrative hearing providers that employ qualified examiners
to conduct the administrative hearings. Examiners shall
demonstrate those qualifications, training, and objectivity necessary
to conduct a fair and impartial review. An examiner shall not be
employed, managed, or controlled by a person whose primary
duties are parking enforcement or parking citation, processing,
collection, or issuance. The examiner shall be separate and
independent from the citation collection or processing function.
An examiner’s continued employment, performance evaluation,
compensation, and benefits shall not, directly or indirectly, be
linked to the amount of fines collected by the examiner.

(B) Examiners shall have a minimum of 20 hours of training.
The examiner is responsible for the costs of the training. The
issuing agency may reimburse the examiner for those costs.
Training may be provided through (i) an accredited college or
university, (ii) a program conducted by the Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training, (iii) American Arbitration
Association or a similar established organization, or (iv) through
any program approved by the governing board of the issuing
agency, including a program developed and provided by, or for,
the agency. Training programs may include topics relevant to the
administrative hearing, including, but not limited to, applicable
laws and regulations, parking enforcement procedures, due process,
evaluation of evidence, hearing procedures, and effective oral and
written communication. Upon the approval of the governing board
of the issuing agency, up to 12 hours of relevant experience may
be substituted for up to 12 hours of training. In addition, up to
eight hours of the training requirements described in this
subparagraph may be credited to an individual, at the discretion
of the governing board of the issuing agency, based upon training
programs or courses described in (i) to (iv), inclusive, that the
individual attended within the last five years.

(5) The officer or person who issues a notice of parking violation
shall not be required to participate in an administrative hearing.
The issuing agency shall not be required to produce any evidence
other than the notice of parking violation or copy thereof and
information received from the Department of Motor Vehicles
identifying the registered owner of the vehicle. The documentation
in proper form shall be prima facie evidence of the violation.

(6) The examiner’s decision following the administrative hearing
may be personally delivered to the person by the examiner or sent
by first-class mail, and, if the notice is not cancelled, include a
written reason for that denial.

(7)  begin delete Following a determination by the examiner that a person
has committed the violation, the end delete begin insert The end insert examiner begin insert or the issuing
agency end insert may, begin insert at any stage of the initial review or the administrative
hearing process, and end insert consistent with the written guidelines
established by the issuing agency, allow payment of the parking
penalty in installments, or begin delete an end delete begin insert the end insert issuing agency may allow for
deferred begin delete payment or allow for payments in installments, end delete begin insert payment, end insert
if the person provides evidence satisfactory to the examiner or the
issuing agency, as the case may be, of an inability to pay the
parking penalty in full. If authorized by the governing board of
the issuing agency, the examiner may permit the performance of
community service in lieu of payment of a parking penalty.

(d) The provisions of this section relating to the administrative
appeal process do not apply to an issuing agency that is a law
enforcement agency if the issuing agency does not also act as the
processing agency.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 22659 of the Vehicle Code is amended
to read:

22659.  

(a) A peace officer of the Department of the California
Highway Patrol or a person duly authorized by the state agency
in possession of property owned by the state, or rented or leased
from others by the state and any peace officer of the Department
of the California Highway Patrol providing policing services to
property of a district agricultural association may, subsequent to
giving notice to the city police or county sheriff, whichever is
appropriate, cause the removal of a vehicle from the property to
the nearest public garage, under any of the following
circumstances:

(1) The vehicle is illegally parked in a location where signs are
posted giving notice of violation and removal.

(2) An officer arrests any person driving or in control of the
vehicle for an alleged offense and the officer is by this code or
other law required to take the person arrested before a magistrate
without unnecessary delay.

(3) The vehicle is found upon the property and report has
previously been made that the vehicle has been stolen or complaint
has been filed and a warrant thereon issued charging that the
vehicle has been embezzled.

(4) The person or persons in charge of the vehicle upon the
property are by reason of physical injuries or illness incapacitated
to that extent as to be unable to provide for its custody or removal.

(b) The person causing removal of the vehicle shall comply
with the requirements of Sections 22852 and 22853 relating to
notice.

end delete