Existing law imposes various requirements on transit operators. Existing law prohibits a person from doing any of specified acts with respect to the property, facilities, or vehicles of a transit district, including, among other things, interfering with the operator or operation of a transit vehicle, or impeding the safe boarding or alighting of passengers.

This bill would require the Office of Emergency Services and the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with public transit operators and county emergency management officials, to develop best practices for allowing pets on public transit vehicles serving areas subject to an evacuation order. If an evacuation order that covers all or a portion of a public transit operator’s service area is issued, the bill would require the operator to authorize passengers to board public transit vehicles with their pets in the area covered by the evacuation order, consistent with those best practices. By creating new duties for public transit operators, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.