BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1151
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 6, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   SB 1151 (Cannella) - As Amended:  June 23, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              
          TransportationVote:14-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Imposes $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.

          2)Generally provides that the additional fine applies only when  
            children are present and signs are posted warning of the  
            additional fine.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          The additional fine would only be in effect where local  
          jurisdictions elect to install signs in school zones warning of  
          the additional fine. Therefore, the amount of additional fine  
          revenue that would be generated is unknown, but would likely be  
          minor (see Comment #2 below), and thus Caltrans' costs to  
          administer additional grants using this revenue would also be  
          minor and absorbable.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . This bill adds a $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  








                                                                  SB 1151
                                                                  Page  2

            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 Act, consolidated  
            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 projects with  
            non-infrastructure components.

            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.  SB 1151 seeks to  
            provide additional funding through the ATP for school safety  
            infrastructure funding.

          2)Prior 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. 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. Moreover,  
            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."

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081