City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 28, 2025
Agenda Item: 10.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Director of Transportation, Department of Transportation, Transit Safety & Training
Subject: Introduction and first reading of an ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.36 to establish provisions for the issuance of prohibition orders for the Santa Monica Department of Transportation pursuant to Sections 99171 and 99172 of the Public Utilities Code.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Introduce for first reading an ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.36 to establish provisions for the issuance of prohibition orders, and to create a prohibition order advisory committee to the Santa Monica Department of Transportation, pursuant to recent amendments to State Law adopted by SB 1417.
Executive Summary
Big Blue Bus (BBB), a division of the Santa Monica Department of Transportation (DOT), operates 194 transit buses across 69 square miles of greater Los Angeles providing more than 800,000 rides each month. Transit worker and rider safety on BBB is a top priority for DOT—transit workers expect a safe workplace, and riders expect a safe trip. On August 19, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 1417 into law, which adds DOT to a list of transit districts that can issue prohibition orders to any person cited for committing certain acts against the property, facilities, or vehicles of its transit district, such as the City’s Big Blue Bus. The law went into effect on January 1, 2025.
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Staff recommends Council adoption of an ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.36 to establish the provisions listed in SB 1417 for the issuance of prohibition orders by DOT. The provisions include establishing an advisory committee for the purpose of evaluating the procedures for, and issuance of, prohibition orders and to ensure that personnel charged with issuance and enforcement of prohibition orders receive training as recommended by the advisory committee.
Background
Like many other public transit systems in the state and across the country, DOT regularly receives concerns from Motor Coach Operators (MCOs) and riders regarding individuals who repeatedly cause disturbances and/or commit criminal offenses (including misdemeanors or felonies), but are allowed to continue riding BBB without significant consequence.
To address these concerns, staff have considered several strategies to mitigate disruptive or criminal behaviors by repeat offenders and ensure the safety of MCOs and riders. These strategies include obtaining stay-away orders and workplace violence restraining orders to exclude problematic individuals from the system. While both stayaway and restraining orders are viable options, they are difficult to obtain and provide limited protection for riders.
A more effective option was to implement a prohibition order program, as outlined in Public Utilities Code (PUC) Sections 99171 and 99172. The law permits transit districts to issue prohibition orders against any person cited for specific prohibited acts in the transit system, but the authority is limited to select specified transit districts.
In 2024, Senator Ben Allen authored SB 1417 to amend the PUC to include Santa Monica DOT as one of the transit districts authorized to issue prohibition orders. Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed the bill in August 2024, giving DOT the authority to exclude persons whose actions adversely impact the safety and security of Big Blue Bus workers and riders. The law allows DOT to exclude persons from riding BBB for 3 of 7
specified periods of time, depending on the nature and the frequency of offenses committed.
In March 2024, DOT implemented its new Transit Safety Officer (TSO) Program as an additional measure to mitigate security incidents throughout the BBB transit system.
With the TSO program, unarmed contracted security guards ride onboard buses throughout BBB’s service area and are tasked with assisting customers, de-escalating situations, supporting MCOs and educating the public about BBB’s Code of Conduct to ensure adherence. The TSOs will be an integral part of the prohibition order program, as they will assist with identifying violations that could support prohibition orders, as well as ensuring compliance with the orders once issued.
Discussion
SB 1417 relies in part on provisions in the state Public Utilities Code (PUC) to define disruptive actions or behaviors and the number of offenses for which a passenger may be cited. Generally, SB 1417:
1. Authorizes DOT to issue a prohibition order to any person who, on at least three separate occasions within a period of 90 consecutive days, is cited for a misdemeanor committed in or on a DOT vehicle, bus stop, or station for any act that is a violation as specified in the statute.
2. Authorizes a prohibition order to be issued to a person placed under arrest or convicted for any misdemeanor or felony committed on DOT buses or facilities for acts involving violence or threats of violence upon passengers and transit employees, lewd or lascivious behavior, or possession for sale of a controlled substance.
3. Prohibits a person subject to a prohibition order from entering the property, facilities, or vehicles of DOT for a period of time deemed appropriate.
4. Specifies prohibition processes, notification procedures, and hearing and appeals procedures.
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5. Requires DOT to establish an advisory committee and to ensure that personnel charged with issuance and enforcement of prohibition orders receive training as emphasized and recommended by the advisory committee.
SB 1417 also includes safeguards to ensure that prohibition orders do not target or adversely impact any one group of individuals in a discriminatory manner.
Administrative Rules
PUC 99171 outlines the administrative procedures that must be in place prior to establishing a prohibition order program. The written administrative procedures must be established by the transit district and approved by the governing body or Chief Executive Officer of the transit district. Some of the required elements include:
• Affording the person an opportunity to contest the transit district’s proposed action in accordance with procedures adopted by the transit district for this purpose.
• Providing notice of a prohibition order that includes a description of the conduct underlying the violation or violations giving rise to the prohibition order, the period of the proposed prohibition, and the scope of the prohibition. • The notice shall include a clear and conspicuous statement indicating the procedure for contesting the prohibition order.
• The notice of prohibition order shall be personally served upon the violator. • The procedures must include an administrative hearing process to contest a notice of prohibition order.
• The administrative hearing shall be conducted in accordance with written procedures established by the transit district. The hearing shall provide an independent, objective, fair, and impartial review of the prohibition order.
Establishment of an Advisory Committee
Pursuant to SB 1417, DOT will establish an advisory committee to serve as a volunteer advisory group and review body for the implementation of the prohibition order program.
The committee must consist of at least five members and no greater than seven. At 5 of 7
least one committee member must have experience working with individuals with psychiatric or other disabilities, one must have experience as a youth advocate, and at least one member must have law enforcement experience.
The advisory committee shall be tasked, at minimum, with the following:
1. Providing recommendations, in consultation with the county mental health directors within the Big Blue Bus service area, regarding the type and extent of training that should be undertaken by individuals with responsibility for issuance and enforcement of prohibition orders, with particular emphasis on training designed to assist those individuals in identifying and interacting with persons who are homeless or who have psychiatric or other disabilities.
2. Identifying, in consultation with the county mental health directors within the Big Blue Bus service area, services and programs to which persons who are homeless or who have psychiatric, developmental, or other disabilities may be referred by DOT enforcement personnel prior to or in conjunction with issuance of a prohibition order.
3. Monitoring the issuance of prohibition orders to assist DOT in ensuring compliance with Section 51 of the Civil Code.
4. Providing the governing board of the transit district and the Legislature with an annual report summarizing the number of prohibition orders that were issued by DOT during the preceding year, including, but not limited to, the types and numbers of citations by category, and the number of exclusion orders appealed, the appeals granted, the reasons granted, and other relevant information directly related to those orders.
Public Outreach
The law also requires that DOT provide reasonable notification to Big Blue Bus riders that persons who engage in disorderly conduct may be subject to a prohibition order barring the person from the DOT’s property, facilities, or vehicles for a period of up to one year. “Reasonable notification” may include, but is not limited to, information on the Big Blue Bus and City’s websites, in written materials, at transit stations, and on the type of citations and conduct that may result in issuance of a prohibition order. 6 of 7
DOT’s Community Engagement and Customer Experience division has created a communications plan that includes the above elements. Public communications will be initiated one month prior to the launch of the prohibition order program.
Ordinance
In order to establish the provisions listed in SB 1417 for the issuance of prohibition orders, staff recommends the City Council introduce for first reading the attached Ordinance which will:
1. Incorporate the elements of PUC 99171 and 99172 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.36
2. Authorize the City Manager to approve the implementation of the written administrative procedures of the prohibition order program; and,
3. Approve the establishment of an advisory committee.
Environmental Review
The ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The ordinance would enhance establish the provisions listed in SB 1417 for the issuance of prohibition orders by DOT. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the ordinance would not result in a physical environmental effect on the environment, and as such is exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future.
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Prepared By: Liseth Guizar, Transit Safety and Training Manager, Big Blue Bus Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. DOT Prohibition Order Ordinance Amendment 1-28-2025 A B. SB 1417
C. PowerPoint Presentation