Amended in Assembly August 4, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 29, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 14, 2016

Amended in Senate May 10, 2016

Amended in Senate April 6, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1051


Introduced by Senator Hancock

February 16, 2016


An act to amend Sections 40240 and 40241 of, and to add Section 40240.5 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1051, as amended, Hancock. Vehicles: parking enforcement: video image evidence.

Existing law authorizes the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) to enforce parking violations in specified transit-only traffic lanes through the use of video imaging, and authorizes San Francisco to install automated forward facing parking control devices on city-owned public transit vehicles for the purpose of video imaging parking violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes. Existing law requires a designated employee, who is qualified by San Francisco, to review video image recordings for the purpose of determining whether a parking violation occurred in a transit-only traffic lane, and to issue a notice of parking violation to a registered owner of a vehicle within 15 calendar days of the date of the violation. Existing laws makes these video image records confidential, and provides that these records are available only to public agencies to enforce parking violations. Existing law establishes the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District.

This bill would extend the provisions to the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, thereby authorizing the district to enforce parking violations in specified transit-only traffic lanes through the use of video imaging evidence and to install automated forward facing parking control devices on district-owned public transit vehicles. The bill would repeal the authority for the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District to implement an automated enforcement system to enforcebegin insert parkingend insert violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes on January 1, 2022.

This bill would require, under designated circumstances, the district and the City and County of San Francisco to submit to the transportation, privacy, and judiciary committees of the Legislature evaluations of the automated enforcement system’s effectiveness, impact on privacy, cost to implement, and generation of revenue, no later than January 1, 2021.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City and County of San Francisco and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 40240 of the Vehicle Code is amended
2to read:

3

40240.  

(a) Subject to subdivision (g), the City and County of
4San Francisco and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District may
5install automated forward facing parking control devices on
6city-owned or district-owned public transit vehicles, as defined by
7Section 99211 of the Public Utilities Code, for the purpose of video
8imaging of parking violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes.
9Citations shall be issued only for violations captured during the
10posted hours of operation for a transit-only traffic lane. The devices
11shall be angled and focused so as to capture video images of
P3    1parking violations and not unnecessarily capture identifying images
2of other drivers, vehicles, and pedestrians. The devices shall record
3the date and time of the violation at the same time as the video
4images are captured.

5(b) Prior to issuing notices of parking violations pursuant to
6subdivision (a) of Section 40241, the City and County of San
7Francisco and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall
8commence a program to issue only warning notices for 30 days.
9The City and County of San Francisco and the Alameda-Contra
10Costa Transit District shall also make a public announcement of
11the program at least 30 days prior to commencement of issuing
12notices of parking violations.

13(c) A designated employee of the City and County of San
14Francisco, or a contracted law enforcement agency for the
15Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, who is qualified by the
16city and county or the district to issue parking citations, shall
17review video image recordings for the purpose of determining
18whether a parking violation occurred in a transit-only traffic lane.
19A violation of a statute, regulation, or ordinance governing vehicle
20parking under this code, under a federal or state statute or
21regulation, or under an ordinance enacted by the City and County
22of San Francisco or the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
23occurring in a transit-only traffic lane observed by the designated
24employee in the recordings is subject to a civil penalty.

25(d) The registered owner shall be permitted to review the video
26image evidence of the alleged violation during normal business
27hours at no cost.

28(e) (1) Except as it may be included in court records described
29in Section 68152 of the Government Code, or as provided in
30 paragraph (2), the video image evidence may be retained for up
31to six months from the date the information was first obtained, or
3260 days after final disposition of the citation, whichever date is
33later, after which time the information shall be destroyed.

34(2) Notwithstanding Section 26202.6 of the Government Code,
35video image evidence from forward facing automated enforcement
36devices that does not contain evidence of a parking violation
37occurring in a transit-only traffic lane shall be destroyed within
3815 days after the information was first obtained.

39(f) Notwithstanding Section 6253 of the Government Code, or
40any other law, the video image records are confidential. Public
P4    1agencies shall use and allow access to these records only for the
2purposes authorized by this article.

3(g) The authority for the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
4to implement an automated enforcement system to enforcebegin insert parkingend insert
5 violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes exists only until
6January 1, 2022.

7(h) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this
8article:

9(1) “Local agency” means the City and County of San Francisco
10and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District.

11(2) “Transit-only traffic lane” means any designated transit-only
12lane on which use is restricted to mass transit vehicles, or other
13designated vehicles including taxis and vanpools, during posted
14times.

15

SEC. 2.  

Section 40240.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

16

40240.5.  

(a) If the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
17implements an automated enforcement system to enforcebegin insert parkingend insert
18 violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes pursuant to this
19article, the district shall provide to the transportation, privacy, and
20judiciary committees of the Legislature an evaluation report of the
21enforcement system’s effectiveness, impact on privacy, cost to
22implement, and generation of revenue, no later than January 1,
232021.

24(b) (1) A report submitted pursuant to this section shall be
25submitted notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government
26Code.

27(2) A report submitted pursuant to this section shall be submitted
28in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

29

SEC. 3.  

Section 40241 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

30

40241.  

(a) A designated employee of the local agency,
31including a contracted law enforcement agency for the
32Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, shall issue a notice ofbegin delete aend delete
33 parking violation to the registered owner of a vehicle within 15
34calendar days of the date of the violation. The notice ofbegin insert parkingend insert
35 violation shall set forth the violation of a statute, regulation, or
36ordinance governing vehicle parking under this code, under a
37federal or state statute or regulation, or under an ordinance enacted
38by the City and County of San Francisco or the Alameda-Contra
39Costa Transit District occurring in a transit-only traffic lane, a
40statement indicating that payment is required within 21 calendar
P5    1days from the date of citation issuance, and the procedure for the
2registered owner, lessee, or rentee to deposit the parking penalty
3or contest the citation pursuant to Section 40215. The notice ofbegin delete aend delete
4 parking violation shall also set forth the date, time, and location
5of the violation, the vehicle license number, registration expiration
6date, if visible, the color of the vehicle, and, if possible, the make
7of the vehicle. The notice of parking violation, or copy of the
8notice, shall be considered a record kept in the ordinary course of
9business of the City and County of San Francisco or the
10Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District and shall be prima facie
11evidence of the facts contained in the notice. The City and County
12 of San Francisco or the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
13shall send information regarding the process for requesting review
14of the video image evidence along with the notice of parking
15violation.

16(b) The notice of parking violation shall be served by depositing
17the notice in the United States mail to the registered owner’s last
18known address listed with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
19Proof of mailing demonstrating that the notice of parking violation
20was mailed to that address shall be maintained by the local agency.
21If the registered owner, by appearance or by mail, makes payment
22to the processing agency or contests the violation within either 21
23calendar days from the date of mailing of the citation, or 14
24calendar days after the mailing of the notice of delinquent parking
25violation, the parking penalty shall consist solely of the amount
26of the original penalty.

27(c) If, within 21 days after the notice of parking violation is
28issued, the local agency determines that, in the interest of justice,
29the notice of parking violation should be canceled, the local agency
30shall cancel the notice of parking violation pursuant to subdivision
31(a) of Section 40215. The reason for the cancellation shall be set
32forth in writing.

33(d) Following an initial review by the local agency, and an
34administrative hearing, pursuant to Section 40215, a contestant
35may seek court review by filing an appeal pursuant to Section
3640230.

37(e) The City and County of San Francisco or the contracted law
38enforcement agency for the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
39 may contract with a private vendor for the processing of notices
40of parking violations and notices of delinquent violations. The
P6    1City and County of San Francisco and the Alameda-Contra Costa
2Transit District shall maintain overall control and supervision of
3the program.

4

SEC. 4.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
5is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
6within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
7Constitution because of the unique circumstances relating to
8enforcing parking violations in the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
9District.

10

SEC. 5.  

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of
11this act, which amends Section 40240 of the Vehicle Code, imposes
12a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public
13bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the
14meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
15Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes
16the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this
17limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

18In order to protect the individual privacy rights of those
19individuals depicted in video camera footage relating to parking
20violations, it is necessary that this act limit the public’s right of
21access to the images captured by an automated parking control
22device installed on Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District-owned
23public transit vehicles.



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