BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 998|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 998
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 8/11/16
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/19/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 35-0, 5/9/16
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De León,
Fuller, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg,
Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Pan,
Pavley, Roth, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Beall, Gaines, Nielsen, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Vehicles: public transit bus lanes
SOURCE: Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
DIGEST: This bill prohibits an individual from operating,
stopping, parking, or leaving a motor vehicle in a transit-only
lane of a highway.
Assembly Amendments provide an exception for instances in which
drivers need to cross a bus lane to make a turn, and ensure that
public transit agencies post signs stating hours of operation
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Page 2
and when the lanes are for "bus only" use.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits an individual from stopping, parking, or leaving a
vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other
traffic or in compliance with directions from a peace officer
or official traffic control device, in specified situations.
These situations include, but are not limited to, within an
intersection, on a crosswalk, in front of a driveway, in a
tunnel, on a bridge, and in passenger loading zones, including
bus stops.
2)Provides that these offenses are infractions, subject to a
fine of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second
offense occurring within one year of a prior offense, and $250
for a third or subsequent offense occurring within one year of
two or more prior offenses.
This bill:
1)Prohibits an individual from operating a motor vehicle on a
portion of highway that has been designated for the exclusive
use of public transit buses, except in compliance with
directions from a peace officer or official traffic control
device.
2)Prohibits an individual from stopping, parking, or leaving a
vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other
traffic or in compliance with directions from a peace officer
or official traffic control device, on a portion of highway
that has been designated for the exclusive use of public
transit buses.
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Page 3
3)Provides that these restrictions do not apply to a driver who
enters a bus lane in order to make a turn.
4)Requires the bus agency, with the agreement of the agency with
jurisdiction over the highway, to post signs indicating that
the lane is exclusively for bus use and the hours that this
restriction applies.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author states that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a
high-capacity, lower cost public transit service intended to
effectively accommodate longer distance passenger trips in
transit corridors in urban areas. By operating in dedicated
bus-only lanes, public transit agencies are able to decrease
travel times and make bus service more reliable and
competitive with automobiles. This bill will help ensure the
success and efficiency of existing BRT lanes and encourage
more public transit agencies to plan for BRT lanes in the
future.
2)Bus stops v. bus lanes. Existing law prohibits a motorist
from stopping, parking, or leaving a vehicle in a bus stop,
punishable as an infraction and subject to a $100 fine (higher
for subsequent offenses). This bill expands those
prohibitions to BRT lanes, as well as prohibiting driving in a
BRT lane. These new offenses would also be infractions,
subject to the same fines.
3)Fines. Due to additional surcharges, penalties, and
assessments, a $100 base fine for an infraction - such as the
offenses created by this bill - results in a total of $541. A
similar bill, SB 1051 (Hancock, 2016), authorizes the
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, in addition to the City
and County of San Francisco, to enforce parking violations in
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Page 4
transit-only traffic lanes and bus stops using video cameras.
Current law specifies that these violations, in contrast to
the violations created by this bill, are civil penalties, not
infractions, subject to a fine of not less than $250 nor more
than $1,000. Civil penalties differ from infractions in that
civil penalties are not subject to add-on fees.
4)Can't these motorists be cited now? Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority, co-sponsor of this bill, states that
because transit agencies are not statutorily created special
districts, they do not have the authority under state law to
cite vehicles that are parked, stopped, left standing, or
driven in a designated bus-only lane. In addition, while
existing law prohibits parking, stopping, or leaving a vehicle
in a bus stop, it does not address BRT lanes. By specifically
designating prohibitions in BRT lanes, this bill authorizes
transit agencies to issue citations for impeding BRT service
operations.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there would
be minor nonreimbursable costs for enforcement, offset to some
extent by fine revenues.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/16)
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (co-source)
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (co-source)
California Transit Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/16)
None received
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Page 5
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/18/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández
Prepared by:Erin Riches / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/19/16 19:29:28
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