BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          413 (Wieckowski)


          As Amended  September 3, 2015


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  40-0


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Transportation  |16-0 |Frazier, Achadjian,    |                     |
          |                |     |Baker, Bloom, Campos,  |                     |
          |                |     |Chu, Daly, Dodd,       |                     |
          |                |     |Eduardo Garcia, Gomez, |                     |
          |                |     |Kim, Linder, Medina,   |                     |
          |                |     |Melendez, Nazarian,    |                     |
          |                |     |O'Donnell              |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Public Safety   |7-0  |Quirk, Melendez,       |                     |
          |                |     |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey,  |                     |
          |                |     |Lopez, Low, Santiago   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bloom, |                     |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,       |                     |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,   |                     |








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          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo     |                     |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden, Jones, |                     |
          |                |     |Quirk, Rendon, Wagner, |                     |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood            |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
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          SUMMARY:  Makes changes to statutes governing prohibited conduct  
          on public transit properties.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Clarifies that playing sound equipment on or in a transit  
            facility or vehicle or failing to comply with the warning of a  
            transit official regarding disturbing others with loud noise  
            is punishable as an infraction.


          2)Makes failing to yield seating reserved for elderly or  
            disabled persons on public transit property punishable as an  
            infraction provided that the governing board of the public  
            transportation agency enacts an ordinance following a public  
            hearing on the issue.


          3)Allows transit operators to levy administrative penalties  
            against minors who have committed certain violations on their  
            systems.


          4)Clarifies what constitutes rail transit property.


          5)Makes related, clarifying amendments.


          6)Adds provisions from AB 869 (Cooper), AB 6 X2 (Cooper), and SB  
            5 X2 (Leno) of the current legislative session, to avoid  








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            chaptering out conflicts.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, potential non-reimbursable costs to public transit  
          operators for enforcement, offset to some extent by fine  
          revenues.


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, transit agencies need to  
          have the ability to improve enforcement on rail and bus systems  
          so that they can improve service and provide a better passenger  
          experience for all transit users.  To accomplish this, the  
          author has introduced this bill on behalf of the sponsor, the  
          California Transit Association, to provide for an administrative  
          process for minors to resolve citations (as an alternative to  
          going to court), to clarify various statutes with respect to  
          noise violations, to clarify what constitutes rail authority  
          property for the purposes of enforcement, and to provides  
          transit officers with the ability to enforce certain provisions  
          of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  


          Administrative Penalties for Minors:  In 2006, SB 1749 (Migden),  
          Chapter 258, Statutes of 2006, authorized certain transit  
          operators to enforce administrative penalties for transit  
          violations.  While SB 1749 provided this administrative process  
          for adults, it specifically precluded minors from using it with  
          the intention that forcing minors to go to court would serve as  
          a deterrent to engaging in prohibited conduct.  As it stands,  
          minors are instead required to enter the court system with  
          respect to transit citations.  This has overburdened the court  
          system and the author believes that supplanting the requirement  
          that minors go to court with resolving transit citations  
          administratively, would provide minors with a means to more  
          easily, quickly, and cost effectively resolve transit citations.


          This proposed amendment has drawn mixed reaction from youth  








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          advocates.  The San Francisco Youth Commission supports the  
          provision for youth to use an administrative process to resolve  
          transit citations and their support letter notes that allowing  
          local transit agencies to use an administrative process to  
          address transit citations for minors makes it easier for youth  
          to resolve citations quickly and easily online thereby avoiding  
          the need to go to court where excessive penalties and  
          administrative fees are often assessed.  They correctly point  
          out when criminal penalties are assessed; fees often end up  
          costing triple the base fine.  


          The Youth Law Center (YLC), on the other hand, contends that  
          replacing the option of going to court with an administrative  
          process would make it impossible for youth to "negotiate"  
          alternative penalties, such as community service in lieu of  
          fines.  They also contend that online payment systems used by  
          transit entities are not a realistic option for indigent youth  
          who often lack computers, internet access, and credit cards.   
          Transit agencies have confirmed, however, that their  
          administrative processes do allow for all forms of payment  
          (cash, credit cards, and checks) as well as the ability to  
          substitute community service for fines.  


          Noise Violations:  According to the author, different standards  
          are applied with respect to what constitutes a noise violation  
          on transit property.  For example, the Penal Code states that  
          officers may cite an individual for "disturbing another person  
          with loud or unreasonable noise" while the Public Utilities Code  
          states that individuals may be cited for "playing sound  
          equipment on or in a system facility."  To address  
          inconsistencies and provide regular enforcement, this bill  
          matches the wording with respect to noise violations and adds  
          the clarification that failing to comply with the warning of a  
          transit official related to a noise disturbance also constitutes  
          a violation.  By adding this clarifying language, the author  
          hopes to make noise disturbance enforcement more uniform and  
          consistent.








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          The YLC contends that in an attempt to clarify the codes, this  
          bill has made the provision overly broad, implying that simply  
          playing sound equipment could be a citable offense.  While it is  
          unlikely that a transit officer would issue a citation if  
          someone were simply listening to music on their iPod.


          Rail Authority Property:  This bill seeks to clarify what  
          constitutes a rail authority property.  According to the  
          sponsor, transit officers often need to take enforcement action  
          to address activities occurring on adjunct facilities such as  
          tracks, culverts beneath tracks, viaducts, and facilities that  
          are leased rather than owned.  This bill elucidates that transit  
          facilities include all properties owned or leased by the transit  
          operator, including stations and rail cars or buses and  
          associated facilities.  By clarifying what constitutes a rail  
          authority property, this bill will allow transit operators to  
          better address prohibited conduct.    


          Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance:  This bill  
          addresses the act of failing to give up designated priority  
          seating to elderly or disabled person, making failure to comply  
          a violation that can be cited as an infraction.  Specifically,  
          the sponsor notes that in accordance with ADA requirements,  
          signs are posted in facilities specifying that individuals must  
          give up designated priority seating for elderly and disabled  
          persons, upon request.  Transit entities, however, are not  
          authorized to cite passengers who refuse to comply, making it  
          impossible for the transit agency to enforce ADA requirements. 




          Committee comments:  Given that California has a stated goal of  
          reducing emissions and improving air quality, it stands to  
          reason that achieving this goal involves getting people out of  








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          their cars and onto public transit.  Getting people to take  
          transit, in lieu of driving, will be difficult, at best, if  
          transit operators are not able to provide a safe, secure, and  
          pleasant transit experience for their users.  This bill gives  
          transit operators the tools they need to keep their facilities  
          safe and enjoyable to use, which, in turn, will increase  
          ridership and help California achieve its clean air goals.   


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093  FN:  
          0002030