27550-27566

STREETS AND HIGHWAYS CODE
SECTION 27550-27566




27550.  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.


27551.  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.



27552.  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.



27553.  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.



27554.  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).



27555.  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.



27556.  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.




27557.  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.



27558.  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.


27559.  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.


27560.  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.



27561.  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.



27562.  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.




27563.  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.



27564.  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.



27565.  (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.



27566.  (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.