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Assembly committee advances bill to broaden restraining-order tools and penalties for assaults on transit workers
Summary
AB 394 would broaden enhanced battery penalties and confirm that transit employers can seek systemwide temporary restraining orders to keep repeat violent offenders off public transit; labor and transit agencies supported the change.
Assemblymember presented AB 394 to expand protections for frontline transit staff and riders by clarifying enhanced penalties for assaults and by explicitly authorizing transit agencies and their labor representatives to seek temporary restraining orders (TROs) that can be applied systemwide across vehicles, stations and facilities.
Labor leaders and transit operators testified about repeated violent incidents and the operational disruption they cause. "It has gotten worse. They fear when they go to work," said Louie Costa of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. County Connection's general manager, Bill Churchill, described seeking TROs in several cases where repeat offenders threatened operators and riders and said court action produced tangible safety benefits.
Supporters also include major transit districts, the California Transit Association and Teamsters. The Western Center on Law and Poverty registered opposition on civil-liberties grounds but said it was in conversation with the author about amendments that leave discretion with judges to tailor TROs (systemwide or location-limited) based on the facts. The committee passed AB 394 as amended to appropriations.
