Section 40245 - [Effective Until 1/1/2030] General provisions(a) A local agency may install automated forward facing parking control devices on city-owned or district-owned parking enforcement vehicles for the purpose of taking photographs of parking violations occurring in bicycle lanes, as described in Section 21207. The devices shall be angled and focused so as to only capture photographs of parking violations and not capture identifying images of other drivers, vehicles, and pedestrians. The devices shall record the date and time of the violation at the same time as the photographs are captured. A local agency may only install forward facing cameras pursuant to this section if the examiner or issuing agency, as described in Section 40215, includes options to reduce or waive the payment of a parking penalty if the examiner or issuing agency determines that the person is an indigent person as defined in Section 40220.(b) Prior to issuing notices of parking violations pursuant to Section 21211, a local agency shall commence a program to issue only warning notices for 60 days and shall also make a public announcement of the program and provide the public with information about the enforcement program, existing parking regulations, and the payment options available for low-income persons at least 60 days prior to commencement of issuing notices of parking violations.(c) A designated employee of a city, county, city and county, or a contracted law enforcement agency for a special transit district, who is qualified by a city, county, city and county, or district to issue parking citations, shall review photographs for the purpose of determining whether a parking violation occurred in a bicycle lane. A violation of a statute, regulation, or ordinance governing vehicle parking under this code, under a federal or state statute or regulation, or under an ordinance enacted by a city, county, city and county, or special transit district occurring in a bicycle lane observed by the designated employee in the recordings is subject to a civil penalty.(d) The registered owner shall be permitted to review the photographic evidence of the alleged violation during normal business hours at no cost.(e)(1) Except as it may be included in court records described in Section 68152 of the Government Code, or as provided in paragraph (2), the photographic evidence may be retained for up to 30 days after final disposition of the citation. The photographic evidence shall not be retained for more than six months from the date the information was first obtained, after which time the information shall be destroyed.(2) Notwithstanding Section 26202.6 of the Government Code, photographic evidence from forward facing automated enforcement devices that does not contain evidence of a parking violation occurring in a bicycle lane shall be destroyed within 15 days after the information was first obtained. Photographic data and records collected pursuant to this section shall not be used or processed by an automated license plate recognition system, as defined in Section 1798.90.5 of the Civil Code, unless the local agency meets the requirements of this subdivision, the requirements of subdivision (f), and the requirements of subdivision (e) of Section 40247.(f) Notwithstanding Article 1 (commencing with Section 7922.500) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 7922.525) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10 of Title 1 of the Government Code, or any other law, the photographic records are confidential. Public agencies shall use and allow access to these records only for the purposes authorized by this article.(g) For purposes of this article, "local agency" means a public transit operator as defined in Section 99210 of the Public Utilities Code or a local city, county, or city and county parking enforcement authority.Added by Stats 2023 ch 432 (AB 361),s 1, eff. 1/1/2024.