Meeting_Body
AD HOC CONGESTION, HIGHWAYS AND ROADS COMMITTEE
JANUARY 17, 2018
Subject
SUBJECT: METRO EXPRESSLANES CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY
PATROL CITATION DISTRIBUTION
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE report on the distribution of Metro ExpressLanes California Highway Patrol (CHP) issued citations.
Issue
ISSUE
At the October 2017 Board meeting, Motion 37.1 by Director Hahn was approved requesting a report back in January 2018 of a breakdown of Metro ExpressLanes citations, identification of the entities that receive the collected fees, and the viability of redirecting the citation revenue to the Metro ExpressLanes Program.
Background
BACKGROUND
The Metro ExpressLanes system identifies all vehicles without transponders through license plate images and with assistance from the DMV, issues a notice of toll evasion inclusive of the toll and a $25 fine to the vehicle’s owner. All funds generated in this manner are directly provided to the Metro ExpressLanes program.
For all other enforcement activities such as placement of the transponder on the wrong setting to avoid payment, the ExpressLanes program provides funding to the CHP. The CHP may issue a citation for ExpressLanes enforcement or any other non-ExpressLanes enforcement activity. Below is a chart of the citations issued during FY17 illustrating that approximately 42% of the citations issued last year are transponder-related.
DISCUSSION
At the present time, none of the revenue generated by CHP issued citations is returned to Metro. Tolling citation revenues follow the same overall distribution as any other traffic citation revenue as originally established in 1953. Per state law, none of the tolling agencies in the State receives revenue from CHP citations issued, rather, as stated above, the tolling agencies, like Metro, receive 100% of the revenue generated by the notice of toll evasion issued by the tolling system.
Attachment B outlines the various programs and agencies that receive the funds associated with CHP citations issued due to transponder-related infractions. As the chart illustrates, the funds are distributed to the State, County and cities. The Base fine of $35 is split between Los Angeles County and the jurisdiction in which the citation was issued with the county receiving between 8 to 16 percent and the City receiving between 84 to 92 percent. As depicted in Attachment C, other fines, penalties and fees are distributed among a myriad of agencies.
Metro staff is not involved in the disposition of these citations as they are handled through the Los Angeles County Court system. Staff made contact with various Los Angeles County departments and have been unable to identify the amount of funding generated by these citations. As a result, in order to complete this assignment, staff identified the number of transponder-related tickets from the inception of the program through September 2017 from the data submitted by CHP. Based on the number of citations issued by the CHP, the base amount of revenue generated over approximately five years is $1,032,780 which is about $207,000 per year. This figure assumes that all citations issued are paid which is not the case since in some cases, the courts dismiss the citations and no revenue is recovered.
The Streets and Highways code that delineates the formula for these citations applies to all similar programs in the State. Any changes would require outreach to and the concurrence of the jurisdictions and other ExpressLanes operators within the State.
Under these circumstances and given the fact that the revenue generated with the Base portion of the citations would have to be redirected from Los Angeles County and jurisdictions in which the ExpressLanes are located, staff does not recommend pursuing legislation to change the formula.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could choose to pursue legislation to redirect the citation revenue; however, this option is not recommended given the potential cost and benefit of such action since it would re-direct funds that go toward Los Angeles County and local jurisdictions’ efforts as well as support critical programs within the State from which the region also benefits.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to explore technology enhancements to improve enforcement on the ExpressLanes.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 37.1 Hahn
Attachment B - Transponder Related Fees, Penalties and Fines’ Distribution
Attachment C - DOJ Distribution of Criminal/Traffic Fines, Penalties and Fees
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Shahrzad Amiri, Executive Officer, (213) 922-3061
Michael Turner, DEO, Government Relations (213) 922-2122
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Stephanie Wiggins, Deputy CEO, (213) 922-1023
