BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1336
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 1336 (Eng) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Parking violations: digital image recording
SUMMARY : Authorizes a local public agency to issue citations
based on photo-evidence of parking violations occurring in
street-sweeping parking lanes. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a local public agency to utilize an automated
parking enforcement system that includes installation of
equipment on agency-owned or operated street sweepers for the
purpose of capturing digital images of parking violations
occurring in street sweeping parking lanes.
2)Requires that devices to be angled and focused so as to
capture digital images of parking violations and not
unnecessarily capture identifying images of other drivers,
vehicles, and pedestrians.
3)Limits citations only for violations captured during the
posted hours of operation for a street-sweeper parking lane.
4)Allows a local public agency to contract with a private vendor
for the installation and maintenance of the automated parking
enforcement system in addition to the processing of notices of
parking violations, if the local authority maintains overall
control and supervision of the automated parking enforcement
system. Prohibits any other entity other than a public agency
from operating an automated parking enforcement system.
5)Requires prior to issuing notices of parking violations, a
public agency to issue only warning notices for 30-days.
6)Requires public notification of the program 30 days prior to
implementation.
7)Allows a contestant to seek a court review of the violation,
following an initial review by a local agency and an
administrative hearing.
8)Establishes that a violation of a statute, regulation, or
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ordinance governing vehicle parking under this bill, under a
federal or state statute or regulation, or under an ordinance
enacted by a local authority occurring in a street sweeper
parking traffic lane or during posted street sweeping hours
observed by the designated employee in the recordings is
subject to a civil penalty.
9)Allows a registered owner of the vehicle to review the digital
evidence of the alleged violation on the Internet or during
normal business hours at no cost.
10)Requires that digital image evidence be retained for up to
six months from the date the information was first obtained or
60 days after final disposition of the citation, whichever
date is later, after which time the information shall be
destroyed.
11)Requires that digital image evidence from forward facing
automated enforcement devices that does not contain evidence
of a violation occurring in a street sweeping parking lane to
be destroyed within 15 days after the information is first
obtained.
12)Provides that digital image records are confidential, and
that public agencies can use the records only purposes of this
bill.
13)Requires a designated employee to issue a notice of a parking
violation to the registered owner within 15 days of the
violation.
14)Requires that the notice of parking violation also include
the date, time, and location of the violation.
15)Provides that confidential information obtained from the
Department of Motor Vehicles for purposes of obtaining
registered owners address is to be held confidential and not
used for any other purpose.
16)Declares that street sweepers remove unnecessary pollutants,
contaminants, chemicals, trash and debris from streets and
roads, thereby protecting the public.
17)Declares that such cities as Chicago and Washington D.C.
already utilize automated parking enforcement systems mounted
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on their local public agency owned or operated street
sweepers.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the City and County of San Francisco, until January
1, 2012, to enforce parking violations-only traffic lanes
through the use of video image evidence.
2)Provides that videotaped records are confidential, and that
public agencies shall use the records only for law enforcement
purposes or for purposes of this bill.
3)Describes the cameras authorized to be mounted on San
Francisco city-owned public transit vehicles as "automated
forwarding facing parking control devices" and only qualified
employees review the video recordings for determining possible
parking violations.
4)Requires that the notice of parking violation also include the
date, time, and location of the violation.
5)Restricts citations to be issued only for violations captured
during the posted hours of operation for a transit-only
traffic lane. Requires the devices to be angled and focused
so as to capture video images of parking violations and not
unnecessarily capture identifying images of other drivers,
vehicles, and pedestrians.
6)Requires that proof of mailing to the address of the vehicle's
registered owner be maintained by the local agency and
establishes that additional fees, assessments, or charges
cannot be assessed if the registered owner declares, under
penalty of perjury, that the notice of parking violation was
not received.
7)Requires, prior to issuing notices of parking violations, the
City of San Francisco to issue only warning notices for 30
days. Requires public notification of the program 30 days
prior to implementation.
8)Require that video image evidence from forward facing
automated enforcement devices that does not contain evidence
of a parking violation occurring in a transit-only traffic
lane to be destroyed within 15 days after the information is
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first obtained.
9)Make findings and declarations that generally recognize that
this bill would impinge upon the privacy rights of individuals
depicted in the videotaped records.
10)Requires the City of San Francisco to provide an evaluation
of the pilot program to the Senate and Assembly Transportation
Committees by March 1, 2011.
11)Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2012.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill "will would not
only be beneficial to local government, since pollutants and
trash being cleaned from our streets has proven to be
environmentally effective, but it would provide local cities the
flexibility to more efficiently use scares resources by allowing
personnel that previously enforced street cleaning violations to
be possibly redirected to enforce other higher traffic
priorities throughout the city."
The author points out that there are "substantial environmental
benefits of routinely cleaning local streets and roads." A
recent District of Columbia Department of Public Works study
showed that an average of 10 pounds of oil and grease, three
pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus, and up to two pounds of heavy
metals are typically removed per mile swept of local streets and
roads through street sweeping. "Street sweeping is especially
critical in more urbanized areas with higher areas of paving,
since it is important to capture pollutants before they are made
soluble by rainwater."
In addition to the environmental benefits outlined by the
author, the California Public Parking Association, sponsor of
the bill, suggests that by allowing automated parking
enforcement systems to be placed on street sweepers, this bill
will effectively complement the work of existing parking
enforcement personnel and help allocate scarce resources.
In many cities parking enforcement personnel perform essential
public safety and traffic management responsibilities,
including, but not limited to red zone violations, rush hour
restrictions, limited time parking, parking meter expiration, as
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well as neighborhood issues including parked driveways.
In support, the City of San Diego asserts that automated parking
enforcement would "complement the work and responsibilities of
parking personnel, help focus resources for higher priority
parking violations and other more critical transportation
enforcement demands and minimize costs associated with storm
water treatment policies"
Currently, such cities as Chicago and Washington D.C. utilize
the automated street sweeper system, known as SweeperCam on
local public agency-owned or operated street sweepers. The
system uses photo-light sensing, character recognition and
global positioning system (GPS) technology to spot parking
scofflaws and fix their locations.
The City of Chicago approved an ordinance in 2008 and began
using the system on a limited number of street sweepers. The
City of Washington D.C. has used the automated technology on two
street sweepers on a trial basis. A larger implementation of
the system is expected later this year, once personnel are
trained and system glitches are fixed.
In California, use of similar automated enforcement technology
is authorizes for red light violations by a governmental agency.
Last year, usage of this technology was authorized on a pilot
project basis for the City and County of San Francisco (San
Francisco) to issue citations based on photo-evidence of
transit-only lane parking violations. The authority granted to
San Francisco was contained in AB 101 (Ma), Chapter 377,
Statutes of 2008.
The provisions of this bill are modeled and crafted similarly to
provisions contained in AB 101. It is important to note that
this bill, much like the bill that it is modeled after, places
safeguards to address privacy concerns.
This bill requires that digital image evidence from forward
facing automated enforcement devices that does not contain
evidence of a violation occurring in a street sweeping parking
lane to be destroyed within 15 days after the information is
first obtained.
Similar legislation : AB 101 (Ma), Chapter 377, Statutes of
2008, authorized the City and County of San Francisco to issue
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citations based on photo-evidence of transit-only lane parking
violations.
SB 1136 (Kopp), Chapter 54, Statutes of 1998, repealed the
January 1, 1999 sunset date, and extended indefinitely
provisions which allow the use of automated enforcement systems
at official traffic control signals.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Public Parking Association (sponsor)
City of San Diego
League of California Cities
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Alejandro Esparza / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093