Item 27 - Councilmember Requested Item Related to a Speed Safety System Pilot Program

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Councilmember Requested Item Page 2 of 3 AB 645 designates all photographic or administrative records, not including data about the number of violations issued or the speeds at which they were issued for, made by a system as confidential, and only authorizes public agencies to use and allow access to these records for the purpose of enforcing these violations and assessing the overall impact of the use of speed safety systems. AB 645 requires a participating city to develop uniform guidelines for, among other things, the processing and storage of confidential information. The City of Los Angeles' adopted Speed Safety System Use Policy states: "Access to Processed or Appended Data, including Restricted Appended Data, by local and federal law enforcement or other government agencies is not allowed except in the unusual case of a court order, subpoena, or other legal requirement. Such legal requirements do not supersede the retention guidelines noted above. LADOT (Los Angeles Department of Transportation) and its Contractors will not share specific citation events with local external law enforcement agencies and will only provide data as required by law. In the event that the Contractor improperly shares, discloses, or otherwise distributes data, LADOT reserves the right to immediately terminate the contract." AB 645 specifies that any violation of a speed law recorded by a speed safety system authorized by these provisions is subject only to the provided civil penalties. The bill provides for the issuance of a notice of violation, an initial review, an administrative hearing, and an appeals process, as specified, for a violation under this program. The bill requires any program created pursuant to these provisions to offer a diversion program for indigent speed safety system violation recipients, as specified. The bill requires a city or city and county participating in the pilot program to submit a report to evaluate the speed safety system to determine the systems impact on street safety where the system is utilized. California cities not included in AB 645 are not permitted to use speed safety systems. Following the tragic deaths of four Pepperdine students in October 2023, the Malibu City Council urgently pursued the ability to install automated speed enforcement cameras along a scenic but dangerous 21-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. On September 27, 2024, SB 1297 (Allen) was signed into law. SB 1297 authorizes the City of Malibu to establish a Speed Safety Pilot Program, similar to what was authorized in AB 645, to utilize up to 5 speed safety systems on Pacific Coast Highway for speed enforcement. On April 29, 2025, the Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution to send to Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Senator Jesse Arreguin to request that the State Legislature amend AB 645 to allow the City of Berkeley to establish a Speed Safety Pilot Program. The City of Santa Ana has seen traffic collisions resulting in serious injuries or fatalities for pedestrians and bicyclists remain unacceptably high for a number of years. Santa Ana ranks 4th out of the 15 highest population cities in California in injury/fatality traffic collisions for bicyclists and 5th for pedestrians, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety, 2023. CITY ATTORNEY CITY MANAGER CITY CLERK Sonia R. Carvalho Alvaro Nunez Jennifer L. Hall 20 CIVIC CENTER PLAZA - P.O. BOX 1988, M-31 - SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA 92702 TELEPHONE (714) 647-6900 - FAX (714) 647-6954 - www.santa-ana.org