District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill B25-0318 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
6	6	OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER BROOKE PINTO
7	7	THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
8	8	1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 106
9	9	WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004
10	10
11	11	June 8, 2023
12	12
13	13	Nyasha Smith, Secretary
14	14	Council of the District of Columbia
15	15	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
16	16	Washington, DC 20004
17	17
18	18	Dear Secretary Smith,
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20	20	Today, I, along with Chairman Mendelson and Councilmember Gray, am introducing the “Metro
21	21	Safety Amendment Act of 2023.” Please find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation.
22	22
23	23	When the Council voted in 2018 to decriminalize fare evasion, the Washington Metropolitan
24	24	Transit Authority (WMATA) beseeched the Council to retain some enforcement mechanism to go
25	25	along with to the civil fine that was proposed as a replacement to existing criminal penalties. The
26	26	Council did not do so. Since then, WMATA has repeatedly expressed concerns about the lack of
27	27	an effective means to deter people from skipping the fare. There is little to incentivize individuals
28	28	who are issued a fine for fare evasion to actually pay the fine; in many cases, individuals who are
29	29	stopped for fare evasion simply refuse to provide their name, making enforcement all but
30	30	impossible.
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32	32	In an effort to address these concerns, this bill proposes a change to put teeth behind the existing
33	33	$50 civil fine for fare evasion. The Metro Safety Amendment Act of 2023 would require
34	34	individuals who are stopped for fare evasion to provide their true name and address to the
35	35	officer who stops them in order for the officer to enforce the civil fine. Individuals who fail
36	36	to do so could be detained and would be subject to a fine of up to $100.
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38	38	Fare evasion is a significant concern for WMATA for a number of reasons. Most urgently, WMATA
39	39	has repeatedly stressed the correlation between fare evasion and other, more serious crimes
40	40	committed in the Metro system. As WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke put it recently, not
41	41	everyone who fare evades commits criminal activity in the system, but “99.9% of people that
42	42	commit criminal acts in our system fare evade.”
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44	44	It’s worth noting that other major city transit
45	45	agencies have similarly stressed the connection between fare evasion and more serious crime.
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48	48	And crime is up significantly in the Metro system: in 2022, Metro Transit Police reported 195
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51	51	Luke Garrett, Metro CEO: DC’s Fare Evasion Law Needs Changing, WTOP News (Apr. 24, 2023), available here.
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53	53	See Report of the Blue-Ribbon Panel on MTA Fare and Toll Evasion (May 2023), at 65 (“Matches are regularly
54	54	made by the NYPD between descriptions of individuals wanted for serious crimes and images of what appears to be
55	55	the same individual caught on camera evading the fare.”), available here. 2
56	56	aggravated assaults, up from 105 in 2018,
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58	58	and this year, as of May, there have already been 104
59	59	aggravated assaults.
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61	61	Recent violent incidents like these and worse clearly have led to an increasing
62	62	sense of unease among Metro riders.
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64	64	Some of the uptick in crime undoubtedly stems from
65	65	pandemic-related social issues, but whatever the cause, it is important to ensure WMATA has the
66	66	tools to address these problems.
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68	68	Aside from public safety concerns, fare evasion poses direct and indirect financial risks for
69	69	WMATA as the transit agency approaches a “fiscal cliff” when federal pandemic aid runs out.
70	70	WMATA has estimated that fare evasion costs it $40 million a year in lost revenue. (Notably, while
71	71	WMATA lacks comprehensive data on fare evasion, it has increased significantly in recent years.
72	72	Metrobus drivers recorded a 9% fare evasion rate in 2018; in 2022 the rate was 34%.
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74	74	) And aside
75	75	from the direct revenue losses, fare evasion has broader potential financial implications. It was the
76	76	second-largest concern raised by a group of 100 Metro riders interviewed by WMATA’s Riders’
77	77	Advisory Council between November 2022 and February 2023.
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79	79	As the Advisory Council noted,
80	80	the frustration people feel when they see frequent fare evasion “makes it easier for riders to justify
81	81	alternatives to public transportation and diminishes riders’ motivation to support increased
82	82	funding” for public transportation.
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86	86	I appreciate that fare evasion is a complex problem that involves significant racial and economic
87	87	equity issues. That is why I support initiatives that aim to make public transit more affordable to
88	88	our most vulnerable residents—initiatives like Metro Lift (the half-price fare program WMATA is
89	89	launching later this month for low-income riders) and Kids Ride Free (which, today, colleagues
90	90	and I sent a letter urging the relevant agencies to work together improve participation in).
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92	92	But as with most policy issues, this one is multi-faceted. Maintaining a robust, safe public transit
93	93	system that residents feel safe riding—and letting their children ride unattended
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95	95	—is itself a vital
96	96	way to support low-income residents. Lost revenues from fare evasion could lead to service cuts,
97	97	which would harm those residents the most. And when residents don’t feel safe using the system,
98	98	they will have to turn to more expensive modes of transit, like driving or ride-hailing. Low-income
99	99	residents are the least able to afford these alternatives.
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101	101	I plan to use the public hearing and debate on this bill to look for ways to make this bill most
102	102	effective and help mitigate any potential harms of enforcement.
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108	108	Metro Transit Police, Five Year Crime Report: 2018 – 2022, available here.
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110	110	Metro Transit Police, Monthly Crime Report: May 2023, available here.
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112	112	Emily Davies and Justin George, After Teen’s Killing, Activists Fear Metro Violence Becoming “Normal”,
113	113	Washington Post (May 30, 2023), available here.
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115	115	WMATA Finance and Capital Committee, Quarterly Fare Evasion Update (Feb. 10, 2022), at 44, available here.
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117	117	WMATA Riders’ Advisory Council, Annual Report to the WMATA Board of Directors (Apr. 27, 2023), available
118	118	here.
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120	120	Id. at 8.
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122	122	One resident recently expressed concern about her sons’ safety taking the Metro from their home in Anacostia to
123	123	the D.C. International School in Northwest. Adam Tuss, Mother Worried About Sons' Safety Using Metro to Get to
124	124	School, NBC 4 (Mar. 29, 2023), available here. 3
125	125	Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Michael Porcello, Committee
126	126	Director for the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, at mporcello@dccouncil.gov.
127	127
128	128	Thank you,
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130	130
131	131
132	132	Brooke Pinto ______________________________ ______________________________ 1
133	133	Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Brooke Pinto 2
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135	135	4
136	136	______________________________ 5
137	137	Councilmember Vincent C. Gray 6
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139	139	A BILL 8
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141	141	______________________________ 10
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144	144	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 13
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146	146	_______________________________ 15
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149	149	To amend the Act to Regulate Public Conduct on Public Passenger Vehicles to require public 18
150	150	transit passengers stopped for certain violations, including fare evasion, to provide 19
151	151	officials with their true name and address for the purpose of issuing a notice of infraction, 20
152	152	and to provide that failure to comply is punishable by a fine of up to $100. 21
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154	154	BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 23
155	155	act may be cited as the “Metro Safety Amendment Act of 2023”. 24
156	156	Sec. 2. The Act to Regulate Public Conduct on Public Passenger Vehicles, effective 25
157	157	September 23, 1975 (D.C. Law 1-18; D.C. Official Code § 35-251 et seq.), is amended as 26
158	158	follows: 27
159	159	(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 35-252) is amended as follows: 28
160	160	(1) The existing text is designated as subsection (a). 29
161	161	(2) A new subsection (b) is added to read as follows: 30
162	162	“(b) A person who is stopped by an individual authorized to issue notices of infractions 31
163	163	under section 5(a)(3) for violating subsection (a) of this section shall, upon request, inform that 32
164	164	authorized individual of his or her true name and address for the purpose of including that 33
165	165	information on a notice of infraction; provided, that no person shall be required to possess or 34 2
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167	167	display any documentary proof of his or her name or address in order to comply with the 35
168	168	requirements of this section.”. 36
169	169	(b) Section 4 (D.C. Official Code § 35-253) is amended by striking the phrase “section 3” 37
170	170	and inserting the phrase “section 3(a)” in its place. 38
171	171	(c) Section 5 (D.C. Official Code § 35-254) is amended as follows: 39
172	172	(1) Subsection (a)(1) is amended by striking the phrase “section 3” and inserting 40
173	173	the phrase “section 3(a)” in its place. 41
174	174	(2) Subsection (b) is amended by adding a new paragraph (1A) to read as follows: 42
175	175	“(1A) A person who refuses to provide his or her name and address, or who 43
176	176	knowingly provides an incorrect name or address, to an authorized individual in violation of 44
177	177	section 3(b) shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $100.”. 45
178	178	Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 46
179	179	The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 47
180	180	impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 48
181	181	approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 49
182	182	Sec. 4. Effective date. 50
183	183	This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 51
184	184	Mayor, action by Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 52
185	185	provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 53
186	186	24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 54
187	187	Columbia Register. 55