Video imaging of parking violations.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific dates for reporting requirements or the exact nature of how video records will be used by local agencies.

Using Video Cameras to Catch Parking Violations

AB-1837 extends the use of video cameras by public transit operators to enforce parking and stopping violations until January 1, 2034, requires warnings before fines are issued for new types of violations, mandates reporting to lawmakers, and limits who can access video records.

What This Bill Does

• Extends the time when public transit operators can use video cameras to enforce parking and stopping violations in special lanes and at stops until January 1, 2034.
• Requires public transit operators to give warnings for 60 days before issuing fines for new types of violations caught on camera.
• Mandates that public transit operators report their video enforcement programs to lawmakers by a certain date.
• Limits who can use the video records to local agencies only, and does not allow them for general law enforcement or federal authorities.

Who It Names or Affects

• Public transit operators in California
• Drivers parking in special lanes or at stops

Terms To Know

Transit-only traffic lanes

Special roads where only public transportation vehicles are allowed to park or stop.

Automated enforcement system

A system that uses cameras and computers to automatically detect parking violations without human intervention.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens after January 1, 2034.
• It is unclear how the video records will be used by local agencies beyond enforcing parking rules.

Official Summary Text

AB 1837, as amended, Mark González.
Video imaging of parking violations.
Existing law authorizes a public transit operator in the state, until January 1, 2027, and authorizes the City and County of San Francisco indefinitely, to enforce parking violations in specified transit-only traffic lanes and at transit stops 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 public transit operator, prior to issuing notices of parking violations, to issue warning notices for the first 60 days and to make a public announcement of the program. Existing law requires a designated employee, or a contracted law enforcement agency, to review video image recordings for the purpose of determining whether a parking violation occurred in a transit-only traffic lane
or at a transit stop 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 a public transit operator that implements an automated enforcement system to enforce parking violations in transit-only traffic lanes and at transit stops to submit a report to specified committees of the Legislature by no later than January 1, 2025.
This bill would extend the authorization for the use of video imaging to enforce parking and stopping
violations indefinitely.
violations until January 1, 2034.
The bill would require that a public transit operator issue warnings for 60 days prior to issuing notices of violations when it uses video imaging for enforcement of a violation that it has not previously used video imaging to enforce. The bill would require that a public transit operator that used video imaging to enforce parking violations who
has or
has not had a system in operation at any time prior to January 1, 2027, to report to the
Legislature until January 1, 2031, as specified.
Legislature, as specified. The bill would allow only local agencies to use video image records to enforce parking violations and would prohibit the use or access of these records for
general law enforcement purposes or by federal authorities, as specified.
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.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF