Dick Spotswood: North Bay support for approved AB 819 bill seems misguided

In past decades, news coverage of California’s state capitol in Sacramento has dramatically declined. Previously, major newspapers and regional television stations ran capitol bureaus following politics and legislative developments. The current media economics has seen those bureaus shuttered.

The resulting news gap is a godsend for legislators who cast votes their district’s constituents may find inappropriate.

The passage of Assembly Bill 819, legislation many Marin residents might oppose, is telling. We’ll focus on the votes of the two Democrats who compose Marin-Sonoma’s legislative delegation: State Senate’s President Pro Tem-designate Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Damon Connolly.

AB 819 was introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat from Los Angeles County’s Culver City. Its preamble reads, “Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as an infraction and subsequently as a misdemeanor, for an adult to evade payment of a fare of a public transportation system. Under existing law, a third or subsequent violation of fare evasion … is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of up to $400 or by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than 90 days, or both.”

If passed, “This bill would no longer categorize (fare evasion) as a misdemeanor … and would make a third or subsequent violation punishable only by a fine of up to $400.”

This decriminalization legislation was introduced despite complaints that Bay Area Rapid Transit and LA’s Metro face a substantial uptick in crime, threats against passengers and the propensity of homeless folks to make trains their nighttime abode.

Passengers fear for their safety. A sense of disorder along with working remotely led BART to lose a staggering 58% of its pre-pandemic patronage. The result is a financial nightmare that could result in a regional transit tax being submitted to Bay Area voters, likely in 2024.

Marin residents might not regularly ride BART, but they may pay higher taxes to bail out flaying transit properties.

Fare evasion is a problem, not just due to the loss of revenue estimated at $15 to $25 million annually. It influences the quality of passengers’ rides since those who cause crime and turn the trains into rolling homeless camps have most likely done so after jumping a turnstile. BART directors opposed the bill as did reform Democrat Sen. Steve Glazer, whose Contra Costa County BART-riding constituents will suffer if Gov. Newsom signs the bill.

Retaining fare evasion as a crime gives law enforcement a necessary tool. If the fare jumper is caught, a police officer or security “ambassador” can first warn the chronic offender that they will be arrested and face jail. Ideally, the miscreant will voluntarily leave the station and not return. If that fails, next time a jail stint is appropriate.

The idea that anyone receiving just a citation will then pay the fine and desist is a pipedream. There needs to be teeth behind enforcement if it’s not futile. Fare evasion, crime and disorder on trains is anti-transit. Unless buses and trains feel safe, ridership will plunge.

The rationale behind AB 819 was a study that found on the LA Metro, “Black passengers made up about 19% of the system’s ridership but received more than 50% of fare evasion citations.”

The message should be a nondiscriminatory, respectful, “Pay the fare and you won’t be hassled. Don’t pay, and you’re in trouble.”

Marinites may be surprised to learn that both Connolly and McGuire voted yes on AB 819. I suspect that (other than progressives) most Marin residents, regardless of party, will find AB 819 to be counterproductive. In the go-along, get-along Sacramento culture, pressure to confirm from the supermajority Democrats caucuses to back AB 819 is intense. If voters are unaware of what’s happening, then why not just go along?