HF 1322

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/06/2023 11:01am

A bill for an act
relating to public transit; authorizing Metropolitan Council to issue administrative
citations for transit fare evasion; requiring Metropolitan Council to implement
transit safety measures; imposing civil penalties; making technical and clarifying
changes; requiring a report; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 473.407,
by adding a subdivision; 609.855, subdivision 7; proposing coding for new law
in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 473.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [473.4065] TRANSIT SAFETY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Code of conduct. new text end

new text begin The council must adopt a rider code of conduct for
transit passengers. The council must post a copy of the code of conduct in a prominent
location at each light rail transit station and each park-and-ride station.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Paid fare zones. new text end

new text begin The council must establish and clearly designate paid fare
zones at each light rail transit station where the council utilizes self-service barrier-free fare
collection.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Light rail transit facility monitoring. new text end

new text begin (a) The council must implement public
safety monitoring and response activities at light rail transit facilities that include:
new text end

new text begin (1) placement of security cameras and sufficient associated lighting that provide live
coverage for (i) the entire area at each light rail transit station and (ii) each light rail transit
vehicle;
new text end

new text begin (2) installation of a public address system at each light rail transit station that is capable
of providing information and warnings to passengers; and
new text end

new text begin (3) real-time active monitoring of passenger activity and potential violations throughout
the light rail transit system.
new text end

new text begin (b) The monitoring activities must include timely maintenance or replacement of
malfunctioning cameras or public address systems.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2023, and
applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 473.407, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Staffing complement. new text end

new text begin The council must not reduce the staff complement of
peace officers under this section to below the average staffing level for the most recent three
calendar years.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following
final enactment and applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey,
Scott, and Washington.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [473.4075] TRANSIT ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE
CITATION PROGRAM.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms and the
terms defined in section 609.855, subdivision 7, have the meanings given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Program" means the transit enforcement and administrative citation program
established in this section.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Transit agent" means a uniformed transit safety official under this section, a
community service officer, or a peace officer as defined in section 626.84, subdivision 1.
For purposes of section 609.855, a transit agent is an authorized transit representative.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Uniformed transit safety official" means authorized transit representatives who are
not peace officers or community service officers.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Program established. new text end

new text begin (a) The council may implement the transit enforcement
and administrative citation program as provided in this section. If the council decides to
implement the program, the council must consult with interested stakeholders on the design
of the program and must establish policies and procedures to implement the provisions of
this section. The policies and procedures must govern:
new text end

new text begin (1) uniformed transit safety officials;
new text end

new text begin (2) the process of issuing an administrative citation;
new text end

new text begin (3) the process for contesting an administrative citation; and
new text end

new text begin (4) the uniform to be worn by all uniformed transit safety officials. The uniform must
be designed so that the individual wearing the uniform is readily identifiable as a uniformed
transit safety official.
new text end

new text begin (b) The council may provide training for uniformed transit safety officials on the
following topics:
new text end

new text begin (1) early warning techniques, crisis intervention, conflict de-escalation, and conflict
resolution;
new text end

new text begin (2) identification of persons likely in need of social services;
new text end

new text begin (3) locally available social service providers, including services for homelessness, mental
health, and addiction; and
new text end

new text begin (4) policies and procedures for administrative citations.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Uniformed transit safety official duties. new text end

new text begin (a) The duties of a uniformed transit
safety official are prescribed by this section. The council must not assign any additional
duties to uniformed transit safety officials. A uniformed transit safety official:
new text end

new text begin (1) must perform fare payment compliance inspections;
new text end

new text begin (2) must issue administrative citations for fare violations;
new text end

new text begin (3) must monitor and respond to passenger activity, including:
new text end

new text begin (i) educating passengers and explaining expectations related to the council's rider code
of conduct; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) assisting passengers in obtaining social services, including through information and
referrals;
new text end

new text begin (4) must provide information and assistance to passengers in navigating the transit
system;
new text end

new text begin (5) must obtain assistance from peace officers upon identifying passenger activity that
threatens public safety; and
new text end

new text begin (6) may obtain assistance from peace officers, community service officers, or other
appropriate resources upon identifying passenger activity that violates the code of conduct.
new text end

new text begin (b) A uniformed transit safety official must wear the uniform established by the council
at all times when on duty.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Administrative citations; authority; issuance. new text end

new text begin (a) Upon implementation of
the program, a transit agent has the exclusive authority to issue an administrative citation
to a person who violates section 609.855, subdivision 1, clause (1). Transit fare compliance
must be enforced by a transit agent.
new text end

new text begin (b) An administrative citation must include notification that the person has the right to
contest the citation, basic procedures for contesting the citation, and information on the
timeline and consequences for failure to either contest the citation or pay the fine.
new text end

new text begin (c) The council must not mandate or suggest a quota for the issuance of administrative
citations under this section.
new text end

new text begin (d) Issuance of an administrative citation prevents imposition of a citation under section
609.855, subdivision 1, clause (1), or any criminal citation arising from the same conduct.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Administrative citations; disposition. new text end

new text begin (a) A person who violates section
609.855, subdivision 1, clause (1), and is issued an administrative citation under this section
must, within 90 days of issuance, pay the fine as specified or contest the citation. A person
who fails to either pay the fine or contest the citation within 90 days is considered to have
waived the contested citation process and is subject to collections.
new text end

new text begin (b) The council may adopt an alternative resolution procedure under which a person
may resolve an administrative citation in lieu of paying a fine by complying with terms
established by the council for community service, prepayment of future transit fares, or
both. The alternative resolution procedure must be available only to a person who has
violated section 609.855, subdivision 1, clause (1), for the first time, unless the person
demonstrates financial hardship under criteria established by the council.
new text end

new text begin (c) The council must provide a civil process for a person to contest the administrative
citation before a neutral third party. The council may employ a council employee not
associated with its transit operations to hear and rule on challenges to administrative citations.
new text end

new text begin (d) The council must attempt to collect fine debts imposed under this section. If the
council is unable to collect the debt, the council must contract with credit bureaus, public
and private collection agencies, the Department of Revenue, or other public or private
entities providing collection services as necessary for collection of fine debts under this
section. As determined by the council, collection costs are added to the debts referred to a
public or private collection entity for collection. Collection costs include the fees of the
collection entity and may include, if separately provided, skip tracing fees, credit bureau
reporting charges, and fees assessed by any public entity for obtaining information necessary
for debt collection. If the collection entity collects an amount less than the total due, the
payment is applied proportionally to collection costs and the underlying debt.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Administrative citations; penalties. new text end

new text begin (a) A person who is issued an
administrative citation under this section must pay a fine of no less than $35. The council
may establish an escalating fine structure for persons who fail to pay administrative fines
or repeatedly violate section 609.855, subdivision 1, clause (1).
new text end

new text begin (b) A person who is issued an administrative citation or written warning under this
section for a third or subsequent offense within 12 months of a previous administrative
citation or written warning is prohibited from accessing transit service provided by the
council for 60 days from the date of issuance.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Use of funds. new text end

new text begin Fines collected under this section must be maintained in a separate
account that is only used to cover the costs of (1) the program established by this section
and (2) facility monitoring under section 473.4065, subdivision 3. The council must
separately identify revenue and expenditures from the account in its budget and financial
statements.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2023, and
applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, and
Washington.
new text end

Sec. 4.

new text begin [473.4077] LEGISLATIVE REPORT; TRANSIT SAFETY; TRANSIT
ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION PROGRAM.
new text end

new text begin (a) Annually by February 15, the council must submit a report on transit safety measures
required by section 473.4065 and the transit enforcement and administrative citation program
established in section 473.4075 to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over transportation policy and finance. At a minimum, the
report must:
new text end

new text begin (1) provide an overview of transit safety issues and actions taken by the council to
improve safety, including improvements made to equipment and infrastructure;
new text end

new text begin (2) provide an overview of the transit enforcement and administrative citation program
established in section 473.4075 and the program's structure and implementation;
new text end

new text begin (3) provide an overview of the activities of transit safety agents, including specifically
describing the activities of uniformed transit safety officials;
new text end

new text begin (4) provide a description of all policies adopted pursuant to section 473.4075, the need
for each policy, and a copy of each policy;
new text end

new text begin (5) if the council adopted an alternative resolution procedure pursuant to section 473.4075,
subdivision 5, provide:
new text end

new text begin (i) a description of that procedure;
new text end

new text begin (ii) the criteria used to determine financial hardship; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) for each of the previous three calendar years, how frequently the procedure was
used, the number of community service hours performed, and the total amount paid as
prepayment of transit fares;
new text end

new text begin (6) for each of the previous three calendar years:
new text end

new text begin (i) identify the number of fare compliance inspections that were completed, including
the total number and the number as a percentage of total rides;
new text end

new text begin (ii) state the number of warnings and citations issued by the Metropolitan Transit Police
Department and transit agents, including a breakdown of which type of officer or official
issued the citation, the statutory authority for issuing the warning or citation, the reason
given for each warning or citation issued, and the total number of times each reason was
given;
new text end

new text begin (iii) state the number of administrative citations that were appealed pursuant to section
473.4075, the number of those citations that were dismissed on appeal, and a breakdown
of the reasons for dismissal;
new text end

new text begin (iv) include data and statistics on crime rates occurring on public transit vehicles and
surrounding transit stops and stations;
new text end

new text begin (v) state the number of peace officers employed by the Metropolitan Transit Police
Department;
new text end

new text begin (vi) state the average number of peace officers employed by the Metropolitan Transit
Police Department; and
new text end

new text begin (vii) state the number of uniformed transit safety officials and community service officers
who served as transit agents;
new text end

new text begin (7) analyze impacts of the administrative citation program on fare compliance and
customer experience for riders, including rates of fare violations; and
new text end

new text begin (8) make recommendations on the following:
new text end

new text begin (i) changes to the administrative citation program; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) how to improve safety on public transit and transit stops and stations.
new text end

new text begin (b) The definitions in section 473.4075 apply to this section.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2023, and
applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 609.855, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Definitions.

(a) The definitions in this subdivision apply in this section.

(b) "Public transit" or "transit" has the meaning given in section 174.22, subdivision 7.

(c) "Public transit vehicle" or "transit vehicle" means any vehicle used for the purpose
of providing public transit, whether or not the vehicle is owned or operated by a public
entity.

(d) "Public transit facilities" or "transit facilities" means any vehicles, equipment,
property, structures, stations, improvements, plants, parking or other facilities, or rights that
are owned, leased, held, or used for the purpose of providing public transit, whether or not
the facility is owned or operated by a public entity.

(e) "Fare medium" means a ticket, smart card, pass, coupon, token, transfer, or other
medium sold or distributed by a public transit provider, or its authorized agents, for use in
gaining entry to or use of the public transit facilities or vehicles of the provider.

(f) "Proof of fare payment" means a fare medium valid for the place or time at, or the
manner in, which it is used. If using a reduced-fare medium, proof of fare payment also
includes proper identification demonstrating a person's eligibility for the reduced fare. If
using a fare medium issued solely for the use of a particular individual, proof of fare payment
also includes an identification document bearing a photographic likeness of the individual
and demonstrating that the individual is the person to whom the fare medium is issued.

(g) "Authorized transit representative" means the person authorized by the transit provider
to operate the transit vehicle, a peace officer, or any other person designated by the transit
provider as an authorized transit deleted text begin provider deleted text end new text begin representative new text end under this section.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end