BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1943 Hearing Date: 6/14/2016
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|Author: |Linder |
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|Version: |6/8/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Sarah Carvill |
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SUBJECT: Vehicles: parking: public grounds
DIGEST: This bill provides Riverside County Transportation
Commission (RCTC) with the authority to enforce parking
regulations on property it owns, and to contract with private
vendors for parking enforcement services.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes county transportation commissions to coordinate
public transportation services within counties, reduce traffic
congestion, avoid redundant public transportation services,
and provide adequate transit options for all residents.
2)Authorizes certain public entities to impose parking
regulations on property they own. These entities include
cities and counties, public schools, parks, municipal
airports, hospitals, harbor districts, rapid transit
districts, public transportation agencies, transit development
boards, and county transportation commissions.
3)Gives public transportation agencies the ability to enforce
the parking laws and regulations on property they own in the
manner of other public entities, such as cities and counties.
AB 1943 (Linder) Page 2 of ?
4)Establishes procedures regarding the enforcement of parking
violations and for the removal of vehicles.
This bill:
1)Expands the definition of a public transportation agency to
include certain county transportation commissions.
2)Authorizes the RCTC to enter into contracts with private
vendors for the enforcement of parking regulations, including
vehicle removal.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill corrects a
technicality in the law that prevents county transportation
commissions from being able to enforce parking restrictions at
the facilities they own. The author claims that this will
streamline the management of transit facilities and provide
more consistent parking regulations than possible under
current law.
2)Background. Existing code provides an exhaustive catalogue of
public entities that are authorized to regulate parking on
property they own. AB 953 (Roth, Chapter 192, Statutes of
2014) added county transportation commissions to this list.
However, the provision conveying enforcement authority is
directed to "public transportation agencies," which are
defined in terms of the services they provide. Since county
transportation commissions do not directly provide or operate
transportation services, they do not fall under a "public
transportation agency" as defined in this section. Thus these
entities may lack the authority to enforce parking rules that
they are explicitly authorized to establish.
3)A limited fix for a limited problem. While the authority gap
described above would appear to be a serious issue for county
transportation commissions across the state, nearly all of
these entities are adequately covered by existing law. One
AB 1943 (Linder) Page 3 of ?
common way that this occurs is when a commission is also
authorized to serve as an additional type of entity, such as a
congestion management authority, a consolidated agency, or a
toll authority, and derives the necessary enforcement powers
from this designation. In other cases, parking facilities are
operated by the transit provider, not the commission, so
authority to enforce parking regulations at the commission
level is unnecessary.
Consequently, RCTC is currently the only county transportation
commission that owns and operates parking facilities without
adequate authority to enforce parking rules. This bill
therefore expands the existing definition of "public
transportation agency" so that it includes county
transportation commissions created pursuant to the code
section that establishes them in Los Angeles, Orange,
Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. Due to the limited
scope of the problem and the fact that county transportation
commissions are not all established in the same code section,
this specific approach to closing the enforcement gap appears
to be the most straightforward solution.
4)Other changes. This bill also makes several non-substantive
changes to existing law and provides RCTC with the authority
to contract with private vendors for parking enforcement,
including towing.
Related Legislation:
SB 953 (Roth, Chapter 192, Statutes of 2014) - added county
transportation commissions to the list of public entities that
are authorized to regulate parking on property they own.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 79-0
Trans: 16-0
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
AB 1943 (Linder) Page 4 of ?
June 8, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
Riverside County Transportation Commission
OPPOSITION:
None received
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