BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 882
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
882 (Hertzberg)
As Amended May 31, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 24-14
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |5-2 |Jones-Sawyer, Lopez, |Melendez, Lackey |
| | |Low, Quirk, Santiago | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Provides that minors shall not be subject to criminal
penalties for evading a transit fare.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Makes it a criminal infraction, punishable by a fine not to
exceed $250 and by specified community service, for a person
to engage in any of the following activities in a transit
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vehicle or facility:
a) Fare evasion, as specified;
b) Misuse of a transfer, pass, ticket, or token with the
intent to evade the payment of a fare;
c) Unauthorized use of a discount ticket or failure to
present, upon request from a transit system representative,
acceptable proof of eligibility to use a discount ticket.
2)Provides for misdemeanor penalties for third or subsequent
offenses for engaging in various forms of fare evasion.
3)Allows transit operators to levy administrative penalties
against persons who have committed certain violations on their
systems, including fare evasion.
4)Allows the transit agency to contract with a private vendor or
government agency for the processing of notices of fare
evasion.
5)States that a notice of fare evasion must contain specified
information including the violation, the administrative
penalty, the date, time, and place where the violation
occurred, and the procedure for contesting the violation.
6)Prohibits a transit agency from setting administrative
penalties at an amount that exceeds the maximum fine set forth
in the Penal Code.
7)Sets forth a process for an initial review, as well as a
subsequent administrative review, of a fare-evasion violation.
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8)Allows a person to appeal an administrative review of a notice
of fare evasion in the superior court, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "SB 882 prevents minors from
being charged with a penal code violation when they fail to pay
the fare on public transit.
"Failure to pay is the number one citation for youth in several
counties. Once a child appears in court, the likelihood that
they will drop out of school and receive another court
appearance greatly increases. It is too easy for a child who
enters the criminal justice system, to never come out.
"SB 882 does not impact the ability of transit authorities to
charge and collect a financial penalty. It does not remove the
ability for authorities to cite a person for smoking, selling
goods, vandalizing or any other violation.
"SB 882 simply ensures that a child is not made a criminal when
they have failed to pay a fare."
Analysis Prepared by:
Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003549
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