Public transportation agencies: administrative penalties.

Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as an infraction or misdemeanor, as applicable, for a person to commit certain acts on or in a facility or vehicle of a public transportation system. Existing law authorizes a public transportation agency to adopt and enforce an ordinance to impose and enforce civil administrative penalties for fare evasion and other passenger misconduct on or in a transit facility or vehicle in lieu of the criminal penalties otherwise applicable. In setting the amounts of administrative penalties for fare evasion and other passenger misconduct violations, existing law prohibits a public transportation agency from establishing penalty amounts that exceed the maximum penalty amount established for the criminal penalties. Existing law requires these administrative penalties to be deposited in the general fund of the county in which the citation is administered. This bill would instead require the administrative penalties to be deposited with the public transportation agency that issued the citation. In setting the amount of administrative penalties for fare evasion and other passenger misconduct violations, the bill would instead prohibit a public transportation agency from establishing penalty amounts that exceed $125 upon a first or 2nd violation and $200 upon a 3rd or subsequent violation. Existing law provides, following a determination by a hearing officer that a person has committed a fare evasion or passenger conduct violation, that the hearing officer may allow payment of the fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty in installments or deferred payment if the person provides satisfactory evidence of an inability to pay the fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty in full. Existing law also provides that if authorized by the issuing agency, the hearing officer may permit the performance of community service in lieu of payment of the fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty. This bill would make offering the performance of community service in lieu of payment of the fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty mandatory to persons under 18 years of age and persons who provide satisfactory evidence of an inability to pay the fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty in full. The bill would provide that the issuing agency is not required to permit the performance of community service in lieu of payment for a fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty if the person has had more than 3 fare evasion or passenger conduct penalties for which the person was permitted to perform community service and did not complete that community service, provided that the person was offered a community service placement and was given adequate time to comply with the community service requirement. The bill would make offering payment of the fare evasion or passenger conduct penalty or penalties in installments or deferred payment mandatory if the total amount of fines is $200 or more and the person provides satisfactory evidence of an inability to pay the penalty or penalties in full.