BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 413|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 413
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 4/16/15
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/28/15
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Public transit: prohibited conduct
SOURCE: California Transit Association
DIGEST: This bill adds violations to the list of activities
that are infractions related to transit operators, as well as
includes minors as potential violators of all existing
infractions.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law makes it an infraction for someone, who is not a
minor, to engage in a number of activities in a vehicle or
facility of any transit district, with varying fines and
penalties assigned to each tier of infraction, including:
1)Tier 1 (up to $250 fine and community service)
Eating, drinking, or smoking in areas where the system
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operator has prohibited those activities.
Disturbing another person by loud or unreasonable noise.
Expectorating.
Skateboarding, roller skating, bicycle riding, or roller
blading, except as necessary for utilization of the transit
facility by a bicyclist.
The sale or peddling of goods, merchandise, property, or
services without written consent if the public
transportation system has prohibited those acts.
1)Tier 2 (up to $400 fine and community service or jail time)
Fare evasion.
Misuse of a transfer, pass, ticket, or token with the
intent to evade the payment of a fare.
Unauthorized use of a discount ticket or failure to
present acceptable proof of eligibility to use a discount
ticket.
This bill:
1)Includes minors as potential violators of all delineated
infractions.
2)Specifies that the "loud noise" infraction includes playing
sound equipment on or in a system facility or vehicle, or
failing to comply with the warning of a transit official
concerning disturbing others with loud noise.
3)Adds failing to yield seating reserved for an elderly or
disabled person to the list of Tier 1 infractions.
4)Increases from Tier 1 to Tier 2 the penalty for the sale or
peddling of goods, merchandise, property, or services without
written consent.
Comments
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Purpose. According to the author, this bill improves transit
agencies' enforcement of specified prohibited acts and thereby
improves overall transit service. This bill does this by
clarifying existing law to provide parity for what constitutes
violations, allowing transit agencies to use administrative
penalties to cite and process minors, and by adding a violation
in line with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Why include minors? Existing law allows transit operators to
levy administrative penalties against adults who have committed
certain violations on their systems, but sends minors who commit
these violations through the judicial system. When San
Francisco originally sought the authority to levy administrative
penalties for these violations, it intentionally did not apply
this new process to minors because it thought the threat of a
juvenile record might act as a deterrent to the minors. This
has not been the case, unfortunately, and now transit operators
want to subject minors to an administrative process for
resolving violations in the same manner as adults, removing them
from the criminal process and reducing the overall pressure on
the state's stressed court system. This bill accomplishes this
aim.
Why is peddling goods so bad? This bill increases the potential
penalty for the sale or peddling of goods on transit property
without written consent. This violation is being elevated from
the realm of eating or drinking or spitting on a transit vehicle
to be akin to fare evasion or fraud. It is unclear why
violators of this infraction need to be treated more harshly
than they have in the past.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified5/19/15)
California Transit Association (source)
Free MUNI For Youth Coalition
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
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OPPOSITION: (Verified5/19/15)
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Youth Law Center
Prepared by:Eric Thronson / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
5/21/15 10:33:03
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