AB 361: Vehicles: photographs of bicycle lane parking violations.

Existing law authorizes a public transit operator, as defined, to enforce parking violations in specified transit-only traffic lanes through the use of video imaging and to install automated forward facing parking control devices on public transit vehicles for the purpose of video imaging parking violations occurring in transit-only traffic lanes, as specified. Existing law requires a designated employee of a city, county, city and county, or a contracted law enforcement agency for a special transit district, who is qualified by the city and county or the district to issue parking citations, 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 violation to the registered owner of a vehicle within 15 calendar days, as specified. Existing law makes these video image records confidential, and provides that these records are available only to public agencies to enforce parking violations. Existing law requires an operator who implements an automated enforcement system described above to report to specified committees of the Legislature on the systems effectiveness and impact on traffic outcomes, among other things, as specified.

This bill would, until January 1, 2030, authorize a local agency, as defined, to install automated forward facing parking control devices on city-owned or district-owned parking enforcement vehicles for the purpose of taking photographs of parking violations occurring in bicycle lanes. The bill would require a designated employee of a city, county, city and county, or a contracted law enforcement agency for a special transit district, who is qualified by the city and county or the district to issue parking citations, to review photographs for the purpose of determining whether a parking violation occurred in a bicycle lane and to issue a notice of violation to the registered owner of a vehicle within 15 calendar days, as specified. The bill would require these photographic records to be confidential and make these records available only to public agencies to enforce parking violations. The bill would require any local agency that implements this pilot program to report to specified committees of the Legislature on the systems effectiveness and impact on traffic outcomes, among other things, by December 31, 2028.

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.