(Added by Ord. No. 164,483, Eff. 3/30/89.)
(a) General Provisions.
(1) Purpose. To support the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Commuter Program in its effort to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion by requiring that employers who must prepare SCAQMD mandated Trip Reductions Plans for worksites located within the City of Los Angeles implement specific ridesharing incentive measures detailed in this section as part of their Trip Reduction Plans.
(2) Scope. This section shall apply to all employers within the city limits, including the City of Los Angeles (City) and its proprietary departments, that are also regulated by SCAQMD Regulation XV (Regulation XV). Compliance with this ordinance shall be in addition to any acts required of employers by Regulation XV. Nothing in this section is intended nor shall it be so construed as to limit or otherwise preclude employers from offering or providing additional ridesharing options to their employees.
(b) Subsidies.
(1) Each employer in the City that offers free or subsidized parking to any employee and is covered by Regulation XV shall offer a $15 (fifteen) per month transit subsidy to each of its employees for their use in commuting to and from the employer’s worksite, as that term is defined in Rule 1502(k) of Regulation XV. However, an employer who provides free or subsidized vanpool or carpool parking only, shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
(2) This $15 subsidy may be provided in the following ways:
(A) An employer may purchase transit passes and tickets, including RTD passes and tickets, City Commuter Express passes and tickets, AMTRAK passes and tickets, and passes and tickets on any other transit lines which serve employees’ homes and places of work and then resell them to their employees at a $15 per month discount;
(B) An employer may offer bus tokens or tickets in the amount of $15 to each of its employees. These tokens or tickets would be first purchased by the employer, then given to the employee free of charge to a maximum of $15 per employee per month.
(c) Monitoring. The documentation of compliance with this section shall be filed with the SCAQMD in conjunction with the Trip Reduction Plan submitted by employers to SCAQMD as required by Rule 1501 of Regulation XV. At the same time, a copy of said documentation shall also be filed with the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
(d) Sanctions. Any employer violating the requirements of this section is subject to an administrative penalty of $100 per day for each separate violation. Every day during any portion of which such a violation occurs is a separate offense.
Any monies collected as administrative penalties shall be placed in the Employee Transit Subsidy Account and used only for the administration of the requirements of this section.
(e) Appeal. Within 10 days after a Notice of Violation has been issued, an employer may appeal a violation to the Board.
(1) The Board shall set a hearing date within a reasonable time.
(2) Hearings need not be conducted according to formal or technical rules of evidence.
(3) Each party shall have the right to:
(A) Call and examine witnesses;
(B) Introduce exhibits;
(C) Rebut evidence against them;
(D) Represent themself or be represented by anyone of their choice.
(4) Any member of the Board who did not hear the evidence or read the record or proceedings shall not vote on the decision.
(5) The decision shall be in writing and shall contain findings of fact, a determination of the issues presented, and the penalty, if any. A copy of the decision shall be delivered to the appellant by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(f) Timetable. This section shall have a timetable of implementation identical to and in accordance with Rule 1503(a) of Regulation XV.