Vehicles: video imaging of parking violations.

Existing law authorizes the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) and, until January 1, 2022, the Alameda-Contra Transit District, 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 city-owned 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, who is qualified by San Francisco, or a contracted law enforcement agency for the Alameda-Contra Costa 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 provides that if the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District implements an automated enforcement system as described above, the district is required to submit a report to specified committees of the Legislature by no later than January 1, 2021. This bill would extend the authorization described above to any public transit operator in the state until January 1, 2027, and to the City and County of San Francisco indefinitely, if the examiner or issuing agency, as specified, of a violation allows for the reduction or waiver of parking penalties for indigent individuals, as defined. The bill would authorize a designated employee or law enforcement agency to decline to issue a ticket, if there is evidence in the video of hardship. The bill would expand the authorization to enforce parking violations to include violations occurring at transit stops. The bill would repeal the obsolete reporting requirement of the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District but would, except as specified, require an operator who implements an automated enforcement system to report to specified committees of the Legislature on the system's effectiveness and impact on traffic outcomes, among other things. 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 regarding the need to make certain video image records confidential. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City and County of San Francisco.