BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó





                             SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
                         Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
                             2015-2016  Regular Session


          AB 1287 (Chiu)
          Version: June 18, 2015
          Hearing Date: July 14, 2015
          Fiscal: No
          Urgency: No
          TH


                                        SUBJECT
                                           
                            Vehicles: Parking Violations

                                      DESCRIPTION  

          Existing law, until January 1, 2016, authorizes the City and  
          County of San Francisco (San Francisco) to install automated  
          forward-facing parking control devices on city-owned public  
          transit vehicles for the purpose of video imaging parking  
          violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes.

          This bill would repeal the sunset date for San Francisco's  
          authority to install these parking control devices, thereby  
          extending the operation of that authority indefinitely.

                                      BACKGROUND  

          While some counties may have installed automated traffic  
          enforcement systems at an earlier date, legislative  
          authorization for automated enforcement procedures relating to  
          traffic violations began in 1994 with SB 1802 (Rosenthal, Ch.  
          1216, Stats. 1994).  That bill authorized the use of "automated  
          rail crossing enforcement systems" to enforce prohibitions on  
          drivers from passing around or under rail crossings while the  
          gates are closed.  (Veh. Code Sec. 22451.)  Those systems  
          functioned by photographing the front license plate and the  
          driver of vehicles who proceeded around closed rail crossing  
          gates in violation of the Vehicle Code provisions.  The drivers  
          of photographed vehicles, in turn, received citations for their  
          violations.









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          In 1995, the Legislature authorized a three-year trial red light  
          camera enforcement system program.  (SB 833, Kopp, Ch. 922,  
          Stats. 1995.)  Using similar technology, that program used  
          sensors connected to cameras to take photographs of the front  
          license plate and driver upon entering an intersection on a red  
          light.  That program was permanently extended in 1998 by SB 1136  
          (Kopp, Ch. 54, Stats. 1998).
           
          In 2007, the Legislature authorized a four-year pilot project  
          where the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) was  
          authorized to install video cameras on city-owned public transit  
          vehicles for the purpose of video imaging parking violations  
          occurring in transit-only traffic lanes.  (AB 101, Ma, Ch. 377,  
          Stats. 2007.)  Three years later, the Legislature authorized a  
          five-year statewide pilot project to allow local public agencies  
          to use automated parking enforcement systems for street  
          sweeping-related violations.  (AB 2567, Bradford, Ch. 471,  
          Stats. 2010.)  In 2011, the legislature extended San Francisco's  
          automated transit-only lane enforcement program for an  
          additional year, and required the City and County to provide a  
          report to the Transportation and Judiciary Committees of the  
          Legislature no later than March 1, 2015, describing the  
          effectiveness of the pilot program and its impact on privacy.   
          (AB 1041, Ma, Ch. 325, Stats. 2011.)

          This bill would repeal the January 1, 2016, sunset on San  
          Francisco's automated transit-only lane enforcement program,  
          thus extending the operation of that program indefinitely.  This  
          bill would also repeal obsolete provisions relating to the  
          lapsed reporting requirement.

                                CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
           
           Existing law  authorizes the use of an automated enforcement  
          system for enforcement of red light violations by a governmental  
          agency, subject to specific requirements and limitations.  (Veh.  
          Code Sec. 21455.5.)  Existing law provides that a violation of  
          any regulation governing the standing or parking of a vehicle  
          under the Vehicle Code, federal statute or regulation, or local  
          ordinance, is subject to a civil penalty.  (Veh. Code Sec.  
          40200.)  
            
          Existing law  provides that notice of a delinquent parking  
          violation must contain various information, including a notice  
          that unless the parking penalty is paid or contested within 21  







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          calendar days from the issuance of a citation, or 14 calendar  
          days from the mailing of a delinquent parking violation, as  
          specified, the renewal of the vehicle registration is contingent  
          upon compliance with the notice.  (Veh. Code Sec. 40207.)
           
           Existing law  authorizes the City and County of San Francisco  
          (San Francisco) to install automated forward facing parking  
          control devices on city-owned public transit vehicles for the  
          purpose of video imaging parking violations occurring in  
          transit-only traffic lanes.  Existing law defines a  
          "transit-only traffic lane" to mean any designated transit-only  
          lane on which use is restricted to mass transit vehicles, or  
          other designated vehicles including taxis and vanpools, during  
          posted times.  (Veh. Code Sec. 40240(a), (h).)

           Existing law  states that citations shall only be issued for  
          violations captured during the posted hours of operation for a  
          transit-only traffic lane.  Existing law requires designated  
          employees to review video image recordings for the purpose of  
          determining whether a parking violation occurred in a  
          transit-only traffic lane, and permits alleged violators to  
          review the video image evidence of the alleged violation during  
          normal business hours at no cost.  (Veh. Code Sec. 40240(a),  
          (c), (d).)

           Existing law  requires automated forward facing parking control  
          devices to be angled and focused so as to capture video images  
          of parking violations and not unnecessarily capture identifying  
          images of other drivers, vehicles, and pedestrians.  Existing  
          law requires the devices to record the date and time of the  
          violation at the same time video images are captured, and  
          provides that video image records are confidential and shall not  
          be used or accessed for any purposes not related to the  
          enforcement of parking violations occurring in transit-only  
          traffic lanes.  (Veh. Code Sec. 40240(a), (f).)

           Existing law  authorizes the retention of video image evidence  
          obtained from an automated forward facing parking control device  
          for up to six months from the date the information was obtained,  
          or 60 days after final disposition of the citation, whichever  
          date is later, and provides that after such time the information  
          shall be destroyed.  Existing law requires video image evidence  
          from forward facing automated enforcement devices that does not  
          contain evidence of a parking violation occurring in a  
          transit-only traffic lane to be destroyed within 15 days after  







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          the information was first obtained.  (Veh. Code Sec. 40240(e).)

           Existing law  repeals the authority for San Francisco to install  
          automated forward facing parking control devices on city-owned  
          public transit vehicles for the purpose of video imaging parking  
          violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes on January 1,  
          2016, and requires San Francisco to provide to the  
          transportation and judiciary committees of the Legislature an  
          evaluation of the pilot program's effectiveness and impact on  
          privacy no later than March 1, 2015.  (Veh. Code Secs. 40242,  
          40243.)

           This bill  would strike the above sunset, thus indefinitely  
          extending San Francisco's authority to install automated forward  
          facing parking control devices on city-owned public transit  
          vehicles for the purpose of video imaging parking violations  
          occurring in transit-only traffic lanes.

                                        COMMENT
           
           1.Stated need for the bill
           
          According to the author:

            AB 1287 (Chiu) will reauthorize San Francisco's Transit-Only  
            Lane Enforcement (TOLE) program by removing the sunset on the  
            6-year pilot program that allows San Francisco to issue  
            parking citations to vehicles illegally parked in designated  
            Transit Only Lanes.

            In 2008, pursuant to [AB 101 (Ma, Ch. 377, Stats. 2007)], the  
            San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)  
            initiated a pilot TOLE program to use forward-facing cameras  
            on board buses to protect the City's transit-only lanes and  
            ensure transit priority.  The pilot program was reauthorized  
            in 2011 by [AB 1041 (Ma, Ch. 325, Stats. 2011)].  The goal of  
            the program is to improve transit safety and reliability by  
            discouraging vehicles from obstructing transit-only lanes.   
            With this program, vehicles illegally parked or stopped within  
            a dedicated transit lane have their license plate captured by  
            a video camera on a passing bus and the registered owner  
            receives a citation in the mail.  This enforcement prevents  
            buses from having to stop or unsafely maneuver around parked  
            cars.








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            The TOLE program initially began with cameras on 30 buses; it  
            has been expanded over the last six years with TOLE-compatible  
            video cameras installed on all Muni buses (over 800 vehicles).  
             The TOLE equipped vehicles help improve transit service and  
            safety by discouraging illegal parking along San Francisco's  
            26 miles of transit-only lanes on routes carrying more than  
            160,000 passengers per day.  SFMTA plans to expand transit  
            service by 10 percent over the next two years and implement an  
            additional 22 miles of transit-only lanes within the next 10  
            years.  The TOLE program is a key tool to ensure these lanes  
            work to achieve their intended purpose of supporting safe and  
            reliable transit service.

            The TOLE program also supports the San Francisco-wide Vision  
            Zero program, which aims to eliminate all traffic related  
            fatalities by 2024.  The City and County of San Francisco  
            adopted Vision Zero as a policy in 2014, committing to build  
            better and safer streets, educate the public on traffic  
            safety, enforce traffic laws, and adopt policy changes that  
            save lives.  The goal is to create a culture that prioritizes  
            traffic safety and to ensure that mistakes on the city's  
            roadways do not result in serious injuries or death.  The  
            result of this collaborative, citywide effort will be safer,  
            more livable streets protecting the one million people who  
            move about the city every day.
          
            Privacy Protection: The TOLE images and recordings are  
            dedicated to the TOLE program and can only be used for the  
            issuance of TOLE citations.  The images and footage are not  
            used for general surveillance.  Video for the TOLE program is  
            recorded onto a special, dedicated hard drive for professional  
            parking control officers to review for violations.  After  
            footage is reviewed, hard drives are installed back onto Muni  
            buses where they are overwritten with new data.  Each hard  
            drive holds approximately 72 hours of video footage.  There  
            have been no recorded privacy complaints related to the TOLE  
            program since its initiation in 2008.

           2.Results of Pilot Program
             
          This bill would conclude a pilot program authorizing the City  
          and County of San Francisco to use video cameras on public  
          transit vehicles to enforce parking violations in transit-only  
          traffic lanes, and allow this automated enforcement program to  
          continue indefinitely.  Prior reports submitted by the San  







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          Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) evaluating the  
          efficacy of this automated enforcement program revealed "no  
          statistically significant change in run-time" of transit  
          vehicles for routes included within the plot program, leading  
          this Committee to question whether the risks attendant with  
          automating traffic enforcement outweighed potential benefits to  
          traffic throughput and roadway user safety.  However, the latest  
          report from SFMTA indicates that this pilot program (denominated  
          as the "TOLE program") has measurably improved transit vehicle  
          travel time and reliability.  According to SFMTA:

            This program is a strong success and has improved safety and  
            reliability for Muni customers and other roadway users.  A  
            review of travel time information indicates that the TOLE  
            program has helped to reduce Muni delays and has improved  
            running time reliability.  Results on Sutter Street, for  
            example, show travel time variability improvements of up to 15  
            percent . . . Travel time reliability has improved on several  
            transit corridors as a result of the TOLE pilot, including  
            Sutter and Geary.  Additionally, the impacts of construction  
            have been reduced for other corridors including Post and  
            Mission Streets.

          SFMTA reports that the TOLE program is also having a beneficial  
          impact on modifying motorist behavior in designated transit-only  
          corridors.  The agency states that the automated enforcement  
          program "is a deterrent to obstructing San Francisco's  
          transit-only lanes.  Over the last five years of the program,  
          the proportion of tickets issued to high frequency offenders  
          (vehicles receiving three or more TOLE citations for parking  
          illegally in a transit-only lane) has declined from 17 [percent]  
          in 2011 to 1 [percent] in 2014."

          Additionally, the Legislature has previously expressed concern  
          over the use of automated traffic enforcement programs not as  
          means to promote roadway safety but as a mechanism for revenue  
          generation.  However, it appears that San Francisco's automated  
          enforcement program for transit-only lanes actually operates at  
          a sustained loss.  According to SFMTA,

            The purpose of the TOLE program is to protect transit priority  
            and ensure safety. Over time, we expect revenues to continue  
            to decline as motorists continue to learn not to obstruct  
            transit-only lanes.  As a result, the program costs and  
            revenues are relatively low.  The two main cost drivers of the  







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            program are staff time to review TOLE videos and to maintain  
            the TOLE equipment on the vehicles.  Between 2010 and 2014,  
            the combined cost of the enforcement and video maintenance  
            averaged approximately $334,000 per year.  During the same  
            time period, the TOLE program fines generated on average  
            $256,000 per year in paid fine revenue.  These results  
            emphasize the program goal - to protect transit priority in  
            San Francisco, not generate revenue.

          If transit-only parking violations continue to decline in  
          targeted corridors, it is likely that San Francisco's automated  
          enforcement program will continue to operate at a loss.   
          However, as noted in Comment 1, San Francisco intends to almost  
          double the length of transit-only corridors in the city over the  
          next ten years.  It is unclear whether this increase will have a  
          positive impact on the TOLE program's ability to generate  
          revenue.

           3.Right to Privacy
           
          The California Constitution provides that all people have  
          inalienable rights, including the right to pursue and obtain  
          privacy.  (Cal. Const., art. I, Sec. 1.)  This "right of privacy  
          is vitally important.  It derives, in this state, not only from  
          the protections against unreasonable searches and seizures  
          guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and article I, section 13,  
          but also from article I, section 1, of our State Constitution.   
          Homage to personhood is the foundation for individual rights  
          protected by our state and national Constitutions."  (In re  
          William G. (1985) 40 Cal.3d 550, 563.)  This Committee has  
          previously expressed concern about the privacy implications of  
          equipping large numbers of transit vehicles with forward-facing  
          video cameras that record not only other vehicles, but  
          individuals on sidewalks and commercial and residential property  
          adjacent to the roadway.  When this pilot program was  
          reauthorized in 2011, the Legislature directed San Francisco to  
          evaluate the privacy impacts of this program as part of a larger  
          report on the automated traffic enforcement program.  Responding  
          to that direction, SFMTA's report on the program states:

            The TOLE images and recordings are dedicated to the TOLE  
            program and can only be used for the TOLE program.  The images  
            and footage are not used for general surveillance.  Video for  
            the TOLE program is recorded onto a special, dedicated hard  
            drive for professional parking control officers to review for  







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            violations.  After reviewing footage, hard drives are  
            installed back onto Muni buses where they are overwritten with  
            new data.  Each hard drive can hold approximately 72 hours of  
            video footage.  There have been no recorded privacy complaints  
            related to the TOLE program since the program began.

          The lack of privacy-related complaints concerning this program  
          may be attributable to specific requirements built in to the  
          statute authorizing San Francisco's automation of transit-only  
          lane parking enforcement.  Pursuant to this statute, San  
          Francisco's automated forward facing parking control devices  
          must be angled and focused so as to capture video images of  
          parking violations and not unnecessarily capture identifying  
          images of other drivers, vehicles, and pedestrians.  Existing  
          law specifies that these video records are confidential and may  
          not be used or accessed for any purposes not related to the  
          enforcement of parking violations occurring in transit-only  
          traffic lanes.  Video recordings collected by the automated  
          enforcement system must be destroyed no later than six months  
          after the date of collection, or 60 days after the final  
          disposition of a citation issued on the basis of a recorded  
          image, whichever is later.  Video recordings not containing  
          evidence of a parking violation in a transit-only traffic lane  
          must destroyed within 15 days after collection.

          Together, these statutory restrictions and the experience gained  
          through the pilot program suggest that this automated  
          enforcement program is not having a negative impact on  
          Californian's fundamental right to privacy.  However, as with  
          future revenue performance described in Comment 2, it is unclear  
          whether the proposed expansion of transit-only corridors to  
          other areas of the city over the next ten years will have a  
          negative impact on privacy interests, particularly if this  
          expansion reaches into residential districts or other areas  
          where individuals have a heightened expectation of privacy.


           Support  :  California Public Parking Association

           Opposition  :  None Known

                                        HISTORY
           
           Source  :  San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency








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           Related Pending Legislation  :  None Known

           Prior Legislation  :

          AB 1041 (Ma, Ch. 325, Stats. 2011) See Background.

          AB 2567 (Bradford, Ch. 471, Stats. 2010) See Background.

          AB 101 (Ma, Ch. 377, Stats. 2007) See Background.

          SB 1136 (Kopp, Ch. 54, Stats. 1998) See Background.

          SB 833 (Kopp, Ch. 922, Stats. 1995) See Background.

          SB 1802 (Rosenthal, Ch. 1216, Stats. 1994) See Background.

           Prior Vote  :

          Senate Transportation and Housing Committee (Ayes 10, Noes 0)
          Assembly Floor (Ayes 49, Noes 29)
          Assembly Floor (Ayes 29, Noes 36)
          Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 12, Noes 5)
          Assembly Transportation Committee (Ayes 10, Noes 4)

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