Article 3. Powers And Functions of California Streets And Highways Code >> Division 16. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 18. >> Article 3.

The district may study, construct, acquire, improve, maintain, and operate any and all modes of transportation within or partly outside the district, including, but not limited to, water transportation; may join with any cities, counties, districts, or state agencies, or any combinations thereof, to study and to provide any such mode of transportation as may be deemed by the board to be reasonable and appropriate to provide or to assist in providing transportation within or partly outside the district; and may pay for or finance, in whole or in part, any such study and any such mode of transportation.

The district may not, prior to December 30, 1975, expend any of its funds to implement the addition of a second deck to the Golden Gate Bridge or any other proposed plan for transit services, other than for its interim system of buses and ferries. It is the intention of the Legislature that the district's interim system of buses and ferries shall be the system outlined in the district's grant application to the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, dated May 21, 1971, entitled, "Application of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transporation District for a Mass Transportation Capital Grant under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended." The district, however, may expend the necessary funds for planning purposes, and for the acquisition of rights-of-way necessary, regardless of what type of transit system is proposed in the Golden Gate Corridor Transportation Facilities Plan submitted to the Legislature in April, 1971, and in the Golden Gate Corridor Transportation Facilities Plan--Phase II submitted to the Legislature in September, 1975.

If the district constructs any rail transit lines, such lines, and the rolling stock and other facilities therefor, shall be coordinated with the system of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. If the district constructs any tunnel within the Geary Corridor in the City and County of San Francisco, such tunnel and its underground stations shall be constructed so that the conversion of such facilities to physically accommodate the equipment used by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District can be accomplished at a minimum cost.

With respect to its ferryboat operations, the district shall not operate any charter or sightseeing services. However, the district may contract with any common carrier to provide such services and to employ the district's boats, employees, facilities, or equipment for such purposes.

Prior to the expenditure of any funds for the bus transit and water transportation system of the district, the board shall determine:
  (a) The amount which the counties, and the transit districts therein, served by the system shall contribute to the operation of the system for benefits derived from intracounty operation connected with, or related to, the system. The method of computing and receiving such amount shall be the method provided for in the district's Resolution No. 7030, adopted May 8, 1970.
  (b) That the board of supervisors of these counties, and the transit districts therein, have made a commitment to contribute the amount specified in subdivision (a).

It is the intention of the Legislature that the district pursue all avenues to obtain federal financing for both its interim transit system and any long-range transportation facilities approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Furthermore, the district shall take no action which may preclude it from obtaining federal grants-in-aid if such grants are reasonably anticipated. Furthermore, the district shall encourage minority enterprise to the maximum extent practicable.

Except for the necessity to finance its interim system of buses and ferries, as described in Section 27551, or the necessity to finance capital improvements or modifications relating to seismic safety of the bridge, the district shall not issue general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, or any other form of long-term indebtedness.

The district may purchase transit equipment, such as cars, trolley buses and motorbuses, or rolling equipment, and may execute agreements, leases, and equipment trust certificates in the forms customarily used by private corporations engaged in the transit business appropriate to effect the purchase and leasing of transit equipment, and may dispose of the equipment trust certificates on terms and conditions that the board may deem appropriate. Payment for the equipment, or rentals therefor, may be made in installments. The deferred installments may be evidenced by equipment trust certificates payable from any source of funds specified in the certificates that are or will be legally available to the district. Title to the equipment shall not vest in the district until the equipment trust certificates are paid.

The agreement to purchase or lease may direct the vendor or lessor to sell and assign or lease the rolling equipment to a bank or trust company duly authorized to transact business in the state as trustee for the benefit and security of the equipment trust certificates, may direct the trustee to deliver the rolling equipment to one or more designated officers of the district, and may authorize the district to simultaneously therewith execute and deliver an installment purchase agreement or a lease of the equipment to the district.

The agreements and leases shall be duly acknowledged before a person authorized by law to take acknowledgments of deeds and in the form required for acknowledgment of deeds. The agreements, leases, and equipment trust certificates shall be authorized by resolution of the district and shall contain the covenants, conditions, restrictions, and provisions which may be deemed necessary or appropriate to insure the payment of the equipment trust certificates from legally available source of funds specified in the certificates.

The covenants, conditions, restrictions, and provisions of the agreements, leases, and equipment trust certificates shall not conflict with any of the provisions of any trust agreement securing the payment of bonds, notes, or certificates of the district.

An executed copy of each agreement and lease shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, who may receive one dollar ($1) for each copy filed with the Secretary of State. The filing constitutes notice to any subsequent judgment creditor or any subsequent purchaser. Each vehicle so purchased or leased shall have the name of the owner or lessor plainly marked on both sides of the vehicle followed by the appropriate words "Owner and Lessor" or "Owner and Vendor," as the case may be.

Whenever the district offers for sale to the public coupons or commuter ticket books redeemable for the toll on the Golden Gate Bridge, the district shall make the coupons or commuter ticket books available at locations convenient to the public, which shall not be limited to toll bridge facilities, and by mail.

Any person who, without the consent of the board of directors of the district, uses any district mark, name, word, or phrase, or combination, simulation, or colorable imitation thereof, which has or which may in the future be adopted by the district, including, but not limited to, the name "Golden Gate Bridge," for the purpose of manufacturing, advertising, or selling equipment or merchandise, or for the purpose of advertising and selling services, or to promote any activity in which the district may engage, which use has a tendency to cause confusion, mistake, or deception with the district as to the origin of goods or services, or has a tendency to falsely represent or suggest an association or connection with the district or any district activity, shall be subject to a civil action by the district, for an injunction, and (1) defendant's profits, (2) any damages sustained by the district, and (3) the costs of the action. In the court's assessment of profits, the district shall be required to prove the defendant's sales only, and the defendant shall prove all elements of costs or deduction claimed. In the court's assessment of damages, the court may enter judgment according to the circumstances of the case, for any sum above the amount found as actual damages, not exceeding three times that amount. If the court shall find that the amount of the recovery based on profits is either inadequate or excessive, the court may, in its discretion, enter judgment for such sum as the court shall find to be just, according to the circumstances of the case, and may award reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party. Nothing in this section shall interfere with the vested rights of any person in any name, word, mark, symbol, or device.

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
  (a) Automatic vehicle identification systems when used for toll collection can speed up the flow of traffic at toll facilities and reduce collection costs.
  (b) More than one system and technology is available.
  (c) Currently, the department and the district operate toll bridges and other entities may soon operate toll roads or bridges.
  (d) There are no permanent automatic vehicle identification systems for toll collection in the state at this time and none of the facility operators have selected a system or technology for future implementation.
  (e) It is in the best interest of vehicle owners and operators that the automatic vehicle identification systems and technology used by all toll facility operators are compatible with one another.
  (f) Compatible automatic vehicle identification systems can be selected for statewide use without requiring the purchase and installation from a single vendor or producer.

(a) The department, in cooperation with the district and all known entities planning to implement a toll facility in this state, shall develop and adopt functional specifications and standards for an automatic vehicle identification system, in compliance with all of the following objectives:
  (1) In order to be detected, the driver shall not be required to reduce speed below the applicable speed for the type of facility being used.
  (2) The vehicle owner shall not be required to purchase or install more than one device to use on all toll facilities, but may be required to have a separate account or financial arrangement for the use of these facilities.
  (3) The facility operators shall have the ability to select from different manufacturers and vendors. The specifications and standards shall encourage multiple bidders, and shall not have the effect of limiting the facility operators to choosing a system that is able to be supplied by only one manufacturer or vendor.
  (b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any automatic vehicle identification system purchased or installed after January 1, 1991, shall comply with the specifications and standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).
  (c) Subdivision (b) does not apply to an interim automatic vehicle identification system for which a contract is entered into between an entity planning to implement a toll facility and the supplier of the interim system prior to January 1, 1994, if both of the following requirements are met:
  (1) The department has made a written determination that the installation and operation of the interim system will expedite the completion of the toll facility and its opening to public use.
  (2) The entity planning to implement the toll facility has entered into an agreement with the department to install, within five years after any portion of the toll facility is opened for public use, an automatic vehicle identification system meeting the specifications and standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).
  (d) The automated vehicle identification system developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be capable of identifying various types of vehicles, including, but not limited to, commercial vehicles.
  (e) On and after the date specified in the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act for implementation of interoperability of electronic toll collection on federal-aid highways, operators of toll facilities on federal-aid highways may fully implement technologies or business practices that provide for the interoperability of electronic toll collection programs consistent with federal law. Operators of toll facilities on federal-aid highways engaged in an interoperability program may provide only the following information regarding a vehicle's use of the toll facility, and shall otherwise comply with all federal and state privacy protection laws, including, but not limited to, Section 31490:
  (1) License plate number.
  (2) Transponder identification number.
  (3) Date and time of transaction.
  (4) Identity of the agency operating the toll facility.

(a) In its role as administrator of the automatic vehicle identification system described in Section 27565, the Bay Area Toll Authority shall provide vehicle owners who seek to obtain an account the option of opening and maintaining an account with United States currency or check. That option shall also allow a customer to obtain an account without providing his or her name or address.
  (b) The Bay Area Toll Authority shall inform the public about the option to obtain a cash-based account for the automatic vehicle identification system on its Internet Web site and in promotional materials.
  (c) The Bay Area Toll Authority may provide a person with the option of making a payment with United States currency to replenish his or her vehicle identification system account at the toll plaza administration building associated with each of the state-owned toll bridges located within the geographic jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
  (d) The Bay Area Toll Authority shall make a good faith effort to encourage commercial retailers that sell transponders for the automatic vehicle identification system to enable a person to replenish his or her account at the retail location with a variety of payment methods, including, but not limited to, United States currency.

(a) No toll shall be imposed on the passage of a pedestrian or bicycle over any bridge that is under the jurisdiction of the district, on which the travel of pedestrians and bicycles is otherwise authorized.
  (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.