BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1151
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 16, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 1151 (Cannella) - As Amended: June 23, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 32-0
SUBJECT : Vehicles: school fine zones
SUMMARY : Imposes an additional $35 fine in addition to all
other fines and penalties for specified violations occurring in
school zones and directs revenue from the fine to the state's
Active Transportation Program (ATP) to fund school zone safety
projects. Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds a fine of $35, in addition to any other fines, fees, and
penalties for most traffic offenses committed by the driver of
a vehicle in a school zone.
2)Generally provides that the additional fine applies only when
appropriate signs are posted and children are present.
3)Requires the additional fine to be deposited in the State
Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund for purposes
of funding school safety projects within the ATP.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes a prima facie speed limit of 25 miles per hour
(mph) when approaching or passing a school building or school
grounds if the school is contiguous to a highway and posted
with a standard "SCHOOL" warning sign. The 25 mph speed limit
applies while children are entering or exiting during school
hours or the noon recess period. The 25 mph speed limit also
applies when approaching or passing any school grounds that
are not separated from the highway by a fence, gate, or other
physical barrier while the grounds are in use by children and
the highway is posted with a standard "SCHOOL" warning sign.
The "SCHOOL" sign may be posted at any distance up to 500 feet
away from school grounds.
2)Authorizes a local authority, upon determining via an
engineering and traffic survey that the speed limit of 25 mph
in a particular school zone is too high to be reasonable or
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safe, to establish a prima facie speed limit of either 20 or
15 mph, as deemed appropriate by the survey.
3)Establishes the base fine for speeding in a school zone as $35
for traveling 1 mph to 15 mph over the speed limit ($238 total
fine with fees and court costs), $70 for traveling 16 mph to
25 mph over the speed limit ($367 total fine with fees and
court costs), and $100 for traveling 26 mph or more over the
speed limit ($490 total fine with fees and court costs).
4)Creates the ATP to encourage increased use of active modes of
transportation, such as biking and walking.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, many school zones lack
sufficient bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, such as
adequate sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle lanes, and traffic
signage, to enable children to travel safely to school. The
author notes that enabling children to walk or ride their bikes
to school helps combat obesity, and that both obesity and
pedestrian injury are statewide problems that are especially
prevalent in the Central Valley, communities of color, and
low-income areas. In addition, drivers who do not observe
traffic laws create dangerous environments for children walking
near schools.
This bill adds an additional $35 fine on top of all existing
fines and penalties for most common traffic violations if
committed in a posted school zone where additional signage
indicates that enhanced penalties apply. The bill directs the
additional fine to the ATP for purposes of funding school zone
safety projects. Because it is not currently mandatory for local
jurisdictions to post "SCHOOL" signs near schools and because
the bill requires such a sign plus an additional sign providing
notice of the increased fine in order for the $35 to be imposed
on drivers, this bill effectively creates a local option.
The ATP, established by the 2013-14 budget, consolidates several
existing federal and state transportation programs, including
Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS), the Bicycle Transportation
Account, and others, to encourage increased use of active modes
of transportation. The ATP can fund infrastructure projects
such as bikeway and walkways; non-infrastructure projects such
as education, enforcement, and planning; and infrastructure
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projects with non-infrastructure components. Program goals
include increasing the proportion of trips accomplished by
biking and walking; increasing the safety and mobility of
non-motorized users, and enhancing public health, including
reduction of childhood obesity through the use of programs that,
for example, enhance safety around schools.
The concept of increasing fines in school zones to improve
safety has been tried before in California. AB 1886 (Jackson),
Chapter 590, Statutes of 2002, authorized Alameda, Santa
Barbara, and Ventura counties, and the cities within those
counties, until January 1, 2007, to establish double-fine zones
near schools. AB 1886 required these revenues to fund school
pedestrian and bicyclist safety programs administered by a city,
school district, or county. A May 2006 report to the
Legislature by the California Highway Patrol found that sign
installation was quite costly; very little money was generated
from the additional fine, and therefore no school
pedestrian-bicyclist safety programs were created; and some
police departments did not have adequate staff to effectively
patrol the schools. The report also noted that due to
insufficient resources of participating schools and police
departments, local agencies collected very little data. The
report concluded that "the findings do not support the
continuation of the program."
Arguments in support:
PolicyLink states that an analysis the organization conducted
statewide of child pedestrian and bicycle injuries found that
nearly two-thirds of these injuries occurred within one mile of
a school where 75% or more of the children were eligible for the
free or reduced priced meal program and that this bill helps
address this serious problem by providing incentive for safe
driving in school zones. PolicyLink further argues that
dedicating the additional fee to the ATP will create a
complementary affect by funding programs that actually increase
community awareness around pedestrian and bicycle safety and
support needed infrastructure upgrades to ensure children's
safety.
Arguments in opposition:
The National Motorists Association states that funding education
of drivers and school children would be a more effective way to
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improve school zone safety than assigning penalties and
collecting fines. Safer Streets L.A. argues that rather than
increasing penalties, which has not been shown to result in a
decrease in collisions, the Legislature should consider enhanced
education and engineering countermeasures to improve roadway
safety for children traveling to and from school.
Previous legislation:
AB 1886 (Jackson), Chapter 590, Statutes of 2002, authorized
Alameda, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and the cities
within those counties, until January 1, 2007, to establish
double-fine zones near schools.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program
(co-sponsor)
Safe Routes to School National Partnership (co-sponsor)
TransForm (co-sponsor)
Alliance for Community Research and Development
American Heart Association and American Stroke Association
California Bicycle Coalition
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Federation of Teachers
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California State Association of Counties
California State PTA
California Walks
Cancer Action Network
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton
Center for Human Services
City and County of San Francisco
City of Goleta
City of San Jose (if amended)
COAST Santa Barbara
Counties of Alameda and Contra Costa
Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission
Golden Valley High School
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Los Angeles Unified School District-Board District 5
Merced County Office of Education
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
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PolicyLink
San Mateo County Transit District
Sheriffs Community Impact
Third and Fourth Streets Planning Communities
Transportation Agency for Monterey County
98 individuals
Opposition
Department of Finance
National Motorists Association
Safer Streets LA
1 individual
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093