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A MOTION relating to the treatment of individuals for transit violations.
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WHEREAS, public transportation plays a vital role in increasing mobility and access for juveniles and other individuals who lack a private means of transportation, who are poor, who live in communities without nearby purveyors of critical goods or services, who must travel for school, work and other opportunities, and other vulnerable individuals, and
WHEREAS, King County has a significant interest in eliminating barriers to juveniles and other individuals transporting themselves to and from school, workplaces, court-ordered obligations, appointments with case managers, mental health or substance abuse treatment, visits to doctors and other activities or appointments that benefit development and well-being, and
WHEREAS, King County has a significant interest in minimizing the number of juveniles processed through the criminal justice system for behavior that does not pose a threat to public safety, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 16948 transformed the county's work on equity and social justice from an initiative to an integrated effort that applies the King County Strategic Plan 2010-2014's "fair and just" principle to all the county does in order to achieve equitable opportunities for all people and communities, and
WHEREAS, individuals throughout King County use the transit system operated by the county's transit division ("Metro"), and
WHEREAS, RCW 35.58.580 provides authority for fare enforcement and establishes failure to pay the required fare as a civil infraction, and
WHEREAS, RCW 35.58.590 allows for the prosecution for theft, trespass, or other charges of an individual in connection with fare evasion on more than one occasion within a twelve-month period and K.C.C. 28.96.010.B.13. makes fare evasion on a Metro bus a misdemeanor, and
WHEREAS, K.C.C. 28.96.410 and 28.96.430 provide for the suspension of the privilege of entering upon and using the Metro transit s...

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