BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1151
Author: Cannella (R), et al.
Amended: 6/23/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/22/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/5/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
SENATE FLOOR : 32-0, 5/12/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Mitchell, Morrell, Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres,
Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Evans, Gaines, Knight, Monning,
Nielsen, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/14/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Vehicles: school zone fines
SOURCE : Safe Routes to School National Partnership
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DIGEST : This bill imposes an additional $35 fine for
specified violations occurring in school zones and directs
revenue from the fine to the state's Active Transportation
Program (ATP).
Assembly Amendments remove "during school sponsored events" from
this bill's provisions thereby making the additional penalties
applicable only when children are entering or exiting during
school hours or the noon recess.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes a speed limit of 25 mph
when approaching or passing a school building or school grounds.
This speed limit applies while children are entering or exiting
during school hours or the noon recess period; in cases of
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 where the highway is posted with a standard
"SCHOOL" warning sign. This sign may be posted at any distance
up to 500 feet away from school grounds.
Existing law governs speed limits and imposes fines for speeding
violations. Existing law 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 safe, to establish a prima facie speed limit of
either 20 or 15 mph, as deemed appropriate by the survey.
Existing law also authorizes doubling of fines for speed limit
violations in highway construction or maintenance zones, under
certain circumstances.
The Judicial Council annually adopts a uniform traffic penalty
schedule for all non-parking infractions outlined in the Vehicle
Code. Existing law 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).
This bill:
1.Imposes a $35 fine, in addition to the amount otherwise
prescribed and in addition to any other penalty assessments or
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fees, for most major offenses committed by the driver of a
vehicle under either of the following conditions:
A. When passing a school building or school grounds when
children are entering or exiting during school hours, or
the noon recess period; the building or grounds are
contiguous to a highway; and the highway is posted with
both a standard "SCHOOL" warning sign and an accompanying
sign notifying motorists that increased penalties apply for
traffic violations that are committed within that school
zone.
B. When passing school grounds that are in use by children;
the school grounds are not separated from the highway by a
fence, gate, or other physical barrier; and the highway is
posted with both a standard "SCHOOL" warning sign and an
accompanying sign notifying motorists that increased
penalties apply for traffic violations that are committed
within that school zone.
1.Requires the additional fines authorized by this bill to be
deposited in the State Transportation Fund for purposes of
funding school zone safety projects within the ATP.
Background
ATP . The ATP, established by the 2013-14 Budget agreement,
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 budget agreement funds
the ATP with $129.5 million ($34.2 million in state funds and
$95.3 million in federal funds). Of these funds, the Caltrans'
California Traffic Control Devices Committee (CTCDC) will
distribute 40% to metropolitan planning organizations, 10% to
rural and small urban areas, and 50% on a statewide competitive
basis. For each of these portions, 25% must be targeted for
disadvantaged communities. The administration's original ATP
proposal aimed to streamline the application and review process
by establishing a single program within which all eligible
projects would compete. The Budget agreement, however,
established a minimum funding level of $72 million total for
SRTS for fiscal years 2013-14 through 2015-16. While this bill
does not specifically cite SRTS, it directs funds to "school
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zone safety projects" within the ATP.
The CTCDC is an advisory body which reviews rules and
regulations relating to traffic control devices and makes
recommendations to the Caltrans Director, who ultimately adopts
and publishes rules and regulations. The committee is made up
of representatives from Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol
(CHP), and local governments, and also consults with technical
advisors. At its February 2014 meeting, the CTCDC considered a
proposal submitted by Caltrans to refine the definition of "when
children are present." Caltrans noted that "Some local judges
are supporting citations issued during the entire school day -
even when the children are in the classroom and nowhere near the
roadway. In other jurisdictions, the local police or CHP only
enforce the 25-mph speed limit during morning arrival and
afternoon departure time." This item was postponed to the
CTCDC's May 14, 2014 meeting in order to give the CTCDC time to
discuss the issue with pedestrian advocacy groups.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor one-time costs to the Administrative Office of the
Courts to program the new Vehicle Code violation adding a $35
penalty to specified offenses committed in a school zone
(Trial Court Trust Fund).
Minor costs to the Department of Transportation related to the
administration of additional funds deposited for use in the
ATP (State Highway Account).
Unknown revenue gains related to the imposition of additional
fines (State Highway Account, for use on school safety
projects in the ATP).
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/14)
Safe Routes to School National Partnership (source)
Alameda County
Alliance for Community Research and Development
American Heart Association
California Bicycle Coalition
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California Equity Leaders Network
California Federation of Teachers
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California State Association of Counties
California State PTA
California Walks
Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton
Center for Human Services- Ceres Partnership for Healthy
Children
City and County of San Francisco
City of Goleta
COAST Santa Barbara
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission
Golden Valley High School
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Walks
Merced County Office of Education
PolicyLink
San Mateo County Transit District
Sheriffs Community Impact
Third and Fourth Streets Planning Communities
TransForm
Transportation Agency for Monterey County
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/14/14)
Department of Finance
National Motorists Association
Safer Streets LA
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states that 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. The author states that this bill will create a
heightened awareness of the value of children by increasing
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fines in school zones.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The National Motorists Association
states that funding education of drivers and school children
would be a more effective way to improve school zone safety than
assigning penalties and collecting fines. Safer Streets L.A.,
states that rather than increasing penalties, which has been 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. The author states that this bill promotes
safer driving in school zones by both creating an additional
fine to enhance driver awareness and by directing the funds from
that fine to the ATP to help fund school zone safety projects.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/14/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hern�ndez, Vacancy
JA:e 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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