BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1287
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1287 (Chiu)
As Amended April 29, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Transportation |10-4 |Frazier, Bloom, Chu, |Baker, Kim, Linder, |
| | |Daly, Dodd, Eduardo |Melendez |
| | |Garcia, Gomez, | |
| | |Medina, O'Donnell, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-5 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Eggman, |Wagner |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Deletes the sunset on the City and County of San
Francisco's authority to do automated enforcement of parking
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violations in transit-only traffic lanes and expands the authority
to allow automated enforcement of other violations. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Deletes the January 1, 2016, sunset date on San Francisco's
authority to enforce parking violations in transit-only traffic
lanes with cameras attached to the front of transit vehicles.
2)Expands the city's authority to use forward-facing cameras on
transit vehicles to record all parking violations, violations
related to driving in a transit-only lane and crossing a
double-yellow line to enter or exit a transit-only lane, and
violations related to blocking or obstructing an intersection or
a railroad or rail transit crossing.
3)Requires the city to make a public announcement of the expansion
of the program at least 30 days prior to starting to issue
notices of violation for all violations that were not previously
subject to automated enforcement, and to issue only warning
notices for 30 days for those violations.
4)Subjects recorded violations related to driving in a
transit-only lane and crossing a double-yellow line to enter or
exit a transit-only lane, and violations related to blocking or
obstructing an intersection or a railroad or rail transit
crossing, to a civil penalty of no more than $100.
5)Authorizes an individual identified by the registered owner as
the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation
to review the recorded evidence of the alleged violation.
6)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to refuse to
renew the registration of a vehicle if the registered owner or
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lessee has received a notice of delinquent violation and the
owner has not paid the violation penalty and any late payment
fees.
7)Requires the city, on or before January 1, 2019, to provide a
report to Assembly Transportation Committee and the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee evaluating the
effectiveness of automated enforcement of violations related to
blocking or obstructing an intersection in reducing pedestrian
injuries and fatalities.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time special fund costs of around $200,000 to DMV
for programming modifications.
COMMENTS: San Francisco considers its 26-mile network of
transit-only lanes essential to the timeliness of the city's
public transportation system, which is operated by the San
Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Illegal
parking and driving in these lanes can significantly impact the
ability of SFMTA to meet its on-time performance goals. The city
also has established a goal of eliminating all traffic-related
fatalities by 2024 and is planning an ambitious expansion of
transit service over the next decade.
AB 101 (Ma) Chapter 377, Statutes of 2007, authorized SFMTA to
initiate a pilot program, referred to as Muni's Transit-Only Lane
Enforcement (TOLE), to equip transit vehicles with forward-facing
parking control devices to record images of vehicles parked in
transit-only lanes and issue parking citations based on that video
evidence. AB 101 required SFMTA to evaluate the pilot program and
submit a report to the Legislature by March 1, 2011, which it did.
AB 101 also included a sunset date of January 1, 2012. Based on
the results of the initial pilot and the subsequent report to the
Legislature, AB 1041 (Ma), Chapter 325, Statutes of 2011, extended
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the sunset on the program through January 1, 2016, and required
SFMTA to submit another report to the Legislature by March 1,
2015, on the effectiveness of the program and its impacts on
privacy. SFMTA submitted the report as required, which indicated
that the program has had success, particularly in terms of
reducing the number of repeat violators.
Arguments in support: Writing in support, SFMTA, the sponsor of
AB 1287, argues: "The TOLE program is a key component of two
comprehensive initiatives in San Francisco to make transit more
reliable and our streets safer for all users - Muni Forward and
Vision Zero. Under Muni Forward, the SFMTA plans to expand
transit service by 10% over the next 2 years and implement an
additional 22 miles of transit-only lanes within the next 10
years. Under Vision Zero, adopted as citywide policy in 2014, San
Francisco has a goal of eliminating all traffic-related fatalities
by 2024, committing to build better and safer streets, educate the
public on traffic safety, enforce traffic laws, and adopt policy
changes that save lives."
Arguments in opposition: Writing in opposition, the Automobile
Club of Southern California and the American Automobile
Association of Northern California, Nevada and Utah argue: "Under
AB 1287, the violation for 'blocking the box' would no longer be
an infraction (crime), but rather a civil violation subject to a
civil penalty. This is an important distinction since crimes must
be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The burden under this newly
established administrative hearing will be preponderance of the
evidence, a significantly lower standard. In addition, enforcement
by camera/video may not capture the full nature of the
circumstances surrounding the alleged violation. We can envision
circumstances where a live officer would forego enforcement of
this section even though a driver technically violated the section
because a vehicle on the other side of the intersection stopped
unexpectedly, perhaps to back into a parking space or because a
person opened their door to enter/exit their vehicle. A camera
may not capture this on tape, whereas a live officer would be able
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to visualize the entire scene when making their decision whether
to cite the driver or not."
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0000624