Amendment #118 to H4506
Proof of Payment
Mr. Moran of Lawrence moves to amend the bill by adding the following new section:
section XXXX:
Section 101 of chapter 159 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsections (b) through (e), inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following 6 subsections:-
(b) Passengers who fail to pay or prepay the required fare or who evade the payment of the required fare on any vehicle or ferry owned by or operated for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, may be subject to warning or a noncriminal citation, and may be requested to provide identification to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police or any person designated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to issue noncriminal citations. Upon request by a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police officer, or any person designated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to issue noncriminal citations, a passenger shall make themselves known by personal identification, or any other means, for the purpose of issuing a noncriminal citation.
(c) A person who is issued a noncriminal citation shall be assessed a fine of not less than $10 or greater than $250 as established by regulations of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. If the person fails to pay the fine or appeal the citation by the due date on the noncriminal citation, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall provide such person with notice of nonpayment of a fine indicating that the person’s license or right to operate a motor vehicle may not be renewed until the fine is paid. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall provide reasonable opportunity for a hearing and may waive or reduce a fine imposed, or offer an alternative way to resolve the fine imposed under this section, within its discretion.
Each citation shall state that the person receiving the citation must pay or appeal the fine by the payment due date stated on the citation. The citation notice shall describe the means for payment or appeal and shall state that a hearing may be obtained upon the written request of the violator in accordance with the instructions and timeframe provided for in the citation. The citation notice shall state that failure to respond in accordance with instructions contained on the citation may result in the non-renewal of the license to operate a motor vehicle.
(d) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall, as necessary to implement this section, issue regulations concerning: the nature and issuance of noncriminal warnings and citations; the collection of fines; fine amounts; penalties for failure to pay fines; options for alternatives to resolve fines other than immediate payment in-full; the administration of appeal processes and hearings.
(e) Upon the report to the registrar of 2 or more unresolved citations under this section, the registrar shall not renew that person’s license or right to operate a motor vehicle under chapter 90 until the registrar receives a report from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority indicating that all outstanding citations have been resolved. Fines imposed under this section shall be paid to the general fund of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
(f) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the office of performance management and innovation established pursuant to section 6 of chapter 6C shall publish a report annually, first beginning 2 years after the effective date of this amendment. The report shall include, without limitation, data on warnings and citations issued pursuant to this section during the preceding 12 months. Said office shall transmit the annual report to the clerks of the house of representatives, and the senate, the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the chairs of the joint committee on transportation. The office of performance management shall issue rules relative to the data that is to be contained in this report.
(g) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no person shall be subject to arrest for fare evasion on the transit system operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Section 5 of chapter 161A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
(s) To the extent the authority collects personal data for fare collection, the authority shall maintain the confidentiality of all such information including, but not limited to, transit system transactions, photographs or other recorded images, and credit and account data relative to riders who use its fare collection system. Such information shall not be a public record under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 or section 10 of chapter 66 and shall be used for fare collection purposes only. Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, fare collection data, if available, may be provided to a representative of the authority’s police force, in situations involving imminent and immediate threat to the safety, health, and well-being of an individual or the public, in accordance with policies and procedures developed by the authority. Such policies and procedures shall include, but not be limited to the procedure for determining those emergency situations that would warrant making such data available, and the duration the data will be made available.