Plain English Breakdown
Checked against official source text during the last sync.
Expanding Protection Against Violence on Public Transportation
This law expands criminal penalties and legal protections to cover employees, providers, and contractors who work for public transportation services.
What This Bill Does
- Changes the crime of battery against transit workers to include employees, public transportation providers, and contractors of a public transportation provider.
- Keeps existing jail time limits of up to one year in county jail or fines up to $10,000 for these offenses without injury.
- Sets penalties that may include state prison time from 16 months to three years if the victim is injured during the offense.
- Clarifies that 'unlawful violence' includes battery against drivers, operators, passengers, and transit contractors on buses or other specified vehicles.
- Updates the definition of 'employer' so joint powers authorities and public transit operators can seek restraining orders for their workers.
Who It Names or Affects
- Employees, providers, and contractors who work with public transportation services.
- Drivers, operators, and passengers on buses, taxicabs, streetcars, cable cars, trackless trolleys, or other specified motor vehicles.
- Public transit agencies and joint powers authorities that employ these workers.
Terms To Know
- Battery
- The willful and unlawful use of force or violence against another person.
- Joint Powers Authority
- A legal organization created by two or more public agencies to work together on a specific task, like running transit services.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill states that no state reimbursement is required for local costs caused by this law.
- The official text does not specify the exact date when these new rules will begin to take effect.