Public transit: prohibited conduct.

Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as an infraction, for a person to commit certain acts on or in a facility or vehicle of a public transportation system, including disturbing another person by loud or unreasonable noise on the facilities, vehicles, or property of the public transportation system, in specified circumstances. This bill would revise the unreasonable noise provision so that it would apply to a person failing to comply with the warning of a transit official related to disturbing another person by loud and unreasonable noise, and also to a person playing unreasonably loud sound equipment on or in a public transportation system facility or vehicle. The bill would also make it an infraction for a person on or in a facility or vehicle of a public transportation system to fail to yield seating reserved for an elderly or disabled person if the public transportation agency enacts an ordinance to that effect, after a public hearing. The bill would also expand the definition of a facility or vehicle of a public transportation system for these purposes to include a facility or vehicle of a rail authority, whether owned or leased, as specified. By expanding the definitions of existing crimes and creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law also authorizes a public transportation agency to adopt an ordinance to impose and enforce civil administrative penalties for certain passenger misconduct, other than by minors, on or in a transit facility or vehicle in lieu of the criminal penalties otherwise applicable, with specified administrative procedures for the imposition and enforcement of the administrative penalties, including an initial review and opportunity for a subsequent administrative hearing. This misconduct includes playing sound equipment on or in a system facility or vehicle. Existing law requires the ordinance to include the statutory provisions governing the administrative penalties. This bill would apply these administrative penalties to a person failing to comply with the warning of a transit official related to disturbing another person by loud and unreasonable noise, to a person playing unreasonably loud sound equipment on or in a system facility or vehicle, and to a person failing to yield seating reserved for an elderly or disabled person. The bill would authorize the administrative penalties to be applied to minors and would delete the requirement for the ordinance to include the statutory provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 99580 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB 869 and by AB 6 and SB 5 of the Second Extraordinary Session, that would become operative only if this bill and one or more of those bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.