SECTIONS 5411-5420 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 5411-5420

5411. Every charter-party carrier of passengers and every officer,
director, agent, or employee of any charter-party carrier of
passengers who violates or who fails to comply with, or who procures,
aids, or abets any violation by any charter-party carrier of
passengers of any provision of this chapter, or who fails to obey,
observe, or comply with any order, decision, rule, regulation,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or of any
operating permit or certificate issued to any charter-party carrier
of passengers, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party
carrier of passengers in its failure to obey, observe, or comply with
any such order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand,
requirement, or operating permit or certificate, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand
dollars ($1,000) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or
by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than three months, or
by both that fine and imprisonment.

5411.3. Every charter-party carrier of passengers, and every
officer, director, agent, or employee of a charter-party carrier of
passengers, who displays on any vehicle any identifying symbol other
than one prescribed by the commission pursuant to Section 5385, or
who fails to remove an identifying symbol when required by the
commission, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of
not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by
both.

5411.5. (a) Whenever a peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code,
arrests a person for operation of a charter-party carrier of
passengers without a valid certificate or permit, the peace officer
may impound and retain possession of the vehicle.
(b) Whenever a peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code,
arrests a person for operating a charter-party carrier of passengers
as a taxicab in violation of an ordinance or resolution of a city,
county, or city and county, the peace officer may impound and retain
possession of the vehicle.
(c) If the vehicle is seized from a person who is not the owner of
the vehicle, the impounding authority shall immediately give notice
to the owner by first-class mail.
(d) The vehicle shall immediately be returned to the owner if the
infraction or violation is not prosecuted or is dismissed, the owner
is found not guilty of the offense, or it is determined that the
vehicle was used in violation of Section 5411 without the knowledge
and consent of the owner. The vehicle shall be returned to the owner
upon payment of any fine ordered by the court. If the vehicle is
seized due to a violation of a person other than the owner of the
vehicle, the vehicle shall be returned to the owner after all
impoundment fees are paid. After the expiration of six weeks from the
final disposition of the criminal case, unless the owner is in the
process of making payments to the court, the impounding authority may
deal with the vehicle as lost or abandoned property under Section
1411 of the Penal Code.
(e) At any time, a person may make a motion in superior court for
the immediate return of the vehicle on the ground that there was no
probable cause to seize it or that there is some other good cause, as
determined by the court, for the return of the vehicle. A proceeding
under this section is a limited civil case.
(f) No peace officer, however, may impound any vehicle owned or
operated by a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation pursuant to
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which serves youth or
senior citizens and provides transportation incidental to its
programs or services or a rented motor vehicle that is being operated
by a hired driver of a charter-party carrier of passengers that is
providing hired driver service.

5411.6. Every charter party carrier of passengers and every
officer, director, agent, or employee of a charter party carrier of
passengers who knowingly and willfully makes a false statement of the
carrier's gross operating revenues in order to underpay the
commission's reimbursement fees is guilty of a misdemeanor.

5412. Every corporation or person other than a charter-party
carrier of passengers, who knowingly and willfully, either
individually, or acting as an officer, agent, or employee of a
corporation, copartnership, or any other person other than a
charter-party carrier of passengers, violates any provision of this
chapter or fails to observe, obey, or comply with any order,
decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party carrier
of passengers in its violation of this chapter, or in its failure to
obey, observe, or comply with any such order, decision, rule,
regulation, direction, demand, or requirement, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and is punishable by a fine of not more than two
thousand dollars ($2,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than three months, or both.

5412.2. (a) When a person is convicted of the offense of operating
a taxicab without a valid certificate or permit, in addition to any
other penalties provided by law, if the court determines the operator
has the ability to pay, the court shall impose a mandatory fine not
exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for a first
conviction or five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a subsequent
conviction.
(b) When a person is convicted of the offense of operating a
charter-party carrier of passengers without a valid certificate or
permit, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, if the
court determines the operator has the ability to pay, the court shall
impose a mandatory fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
for a first conviction or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for
a subsequent conviction.
(c) As used in this section, "taxicab" means a passenger vehicle
designed for carrying not more than eight persons, excluding the
driver, and used to carry passengers for hire. "Taxicab" shall not
include a charter-party carrier of passengers within the meaning of
this chapter.

5412.5. Every officer or person employed by the commission who,
except as authorized by the commission or a court, discloses any fact
or information from an inspection of the accounts, books, papers, or
documents of a charter-party carrier of passengers is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than three months, or by both.

5413. Every charter-party carrier of passengers and every officer,
director, agent, or employee of any charter-party carrier of
passengers who violates or who fails to comply with, or who procures,
aids, or abets, any violation by any charter-party carrier of
passengers of any provision of this chapter, or who fails to obey,
observe, or comply with any order, decision, rule, regulation,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or of any
operating permit or certificate issued to any charter-party carrier
of passengers, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party
carrier of passengers in its failure to obey, observe, or comply with
any such order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand,
requirement, or operating permit, or certificate, is subject to a
penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each
offense.

5413.5. (a) Whenever the commission, after hearing, finds that any
person or corporation is operating as a charter-party carrier of
passengers, including a charter-party carrier operating a limousine,
without a valid certificate or permit, or fails to include in any
written or oral advertisement the number of the certificate or permit
required by Section 5386, the commission may impose a fine of not
more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for each
violation. The commission may assess the person or corporation an
amount sufficient to cover the reasonable expense of investigation
incurred by the commission. The commission may assess interest on any
fine or assessment imposed, to commence on the day the payment of
the fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All fines, assessments,
and interest collected shall be deposited at least once each month in
the General Fund.
(b) Whenever the commission, after hearing, finds that any person
or corporation is operating a charter-party carrier of passengers as
a taxicab without a valid certificate or permit in violation of an
ordinance or resolution of a city, county, or city and county, the
commission may impose a fine of not more than five thousand dollars
($5,000) for each violation. The commission may assess the person or
corporation an amount sufficient to cover the reasonable expense of
investigation incurred by the commission. The commission may assess
interest on any fine or assessment imposed, to commence on the day
the payment of the fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All fines,
assessments, and interest collected shall be deposited at least once
each month in the General Fund.

5414. Every corporation or person other than a charter-party
carrier of passengers who knowingly and willfully, either
individually, or acting as an officer, agent, or employee of a
corporation, copartnership, or any other person other than a
charter-party carrier of passengers, violates any provision of this
chapter or fails to observe, obey, or comply with any order,
decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party carrier
of passengers in its violation of this chapter, or in its failure to
obey, observe, or comply with any such order, decision, rule,
regulation, direction, demand, or requirement, is subject to a
penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each
offense.

5414.5. Every corporation or person who knowingly and willfully
issues, publishes, or affixes, or causes or permits the issuance,
publishing, or affixing, of any oral or written advertisement,
broadcast, or other holding out to the public, or any portion
thereof, that the corporation or person is in operation as a
charter-party carrier of passengers without having a valid
certificate or permit issued under this chapter is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable, if an individual, by a fine of not more than
one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than six months, or by both, or, if a corporation, by a
fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).

5415. Every violation of the provisions of this chapter or of any
order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of
the commission by any corporation or person is a separate and
distinct offense, and in case of a continuing violation each day's
continuance thereof is a separate and distinct offense.

5415.5. When the executive director of the commission determines
that any charter-party carrier of passengers, or any officer,
director, or agent of any charter-party carrier of passengers, has
engaged in, is engaged in, or is about to engage in, any acts or
practices in violation of this chapter, or any order, decision, rule,
regulation, direction, demand, or requirement issued under this
chapter, the executive director may make application to the superior
court for an order enjoining those acts or practices or for an order
directing compliance. The court may grant a permanent or temporary
injunction, restraining order, or other order, including, but not
limited to, an order allowing vehicles used for subsequent operations
subject to the order to be impounded at the carrier's expense and
subject to release only by subsequent court order following a
petition to the court by the defendant or owner of the vehicle, upon
a showing by the executive director that a person or corporation has
engaged in or is about to engage in these acts or practices.

5416. All penalties accruing under this chapter are cumulative, and
a suit for the recovery of one penalty does not bar or affect the
recovery of any other penalty or forfeiture or bar any criminal
prosecution against any person or corporation, or any officer,
director, agent of employee thereof, or any other corporation or
person, or bar the exercise by the commission of its power to punish
for contempt.

5417. (a) In addition to the remedies provided in Sections 688.020
and 688.030 of the Code of Civil Procedure, actions to recover
penalties under this chapter may be brought in the name of the people
of the State of California, in the superior court of the county, or
city and county, in which the cause or some part thereof arose, or in
which the corporation complained of, if any, has its principal place
of business, or in which the person, if any, complained of, resides.
The action, if brought pursuant to this section, shall be commenced
and prosecuted to final judgment by the attorney of the commission.
The commission may enjoin the sale of the assets of a charter-party
carrier of passengers to satisfy unpaid fines and penalties. The
commission may use any of the remedies afforded to a creditor under
the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 3439) of Title 2 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Civil Code).
Respondents who fraudulently transfer assets to avoid paying
commission-imposed fines or penalties are subject to prosecution
pursuant to Sections 154, 531, and 531a of the Penal Code. (b) This
section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and as of
that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date.

5417. (a) Actions to recover penalties under this chapter shall be
brought in the name of the people of the State of California, in the
superior court of the county, or city and county, in which the cause
or some part thereof arose, or in which the corporation complained
of, if any, has its principal place of business, or in which the
person, if any, complained of, resides. The action shall be commenced
and prosecuted to final judgment by the attorney of the commission.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2014.

5418. In any such action, all penalties incurred up to the time of
the commencement of the action may be sued for and recovered. In all
such actions, the procedure and rules of evidence shall be the same
as in ordinary civil actions.

5419. All penalties recovered by the State in any action pursuant
to this chapter, together with the costs thereof, shall be paid into
the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. Any such action
may be compromised or discontinued on application of the commission
upon such terms as the court approves and orders.

5420. Whenever a written notice to appear has been mailed to the
owner of a charter-party carrier of passengers motor vehicle, an
exact and legible duplicate copy of the notice, when filed with the
magistrate in lieu of a verified complaint, is a complaint to which
the defendant may plead guilty.
If, however, the defendant fails to appear, does not deposit bail,
or pleads other than guilty to the offense charged, a complaint
shall be filed which conforms to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
948) of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Penal Code and which shall be deemed
to be an original complaint, and thereafter the proceeding shall be
held as provided by law, except that the defendant may, by an
agreement in writing, subscribed by the defendant and filed with the
court, waive the filing of a verified complaint and elect that the
prosecution may proceed upon a written notice to appear.