Marin County Grand Jury
• 2024-2025
• Agency Response
Response to:
Cyberattacks: A Growing Threat to Marin Government
Mrafa the City with a July 16, 2024 The Honorable Mark Talamantes, Presiding Judge, Marin County Superior Court*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
The increasing number of e-bike accidents involving youths under the age of 16 presents a public health and safety danger in Marin. Response: Agree The City agrees that e-bike incidents involving youth are a significant threat to health and safety in Marin.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By December 31, 2024, the Board of Supervisors, and each municipality in Marin should take all steps necessary to adopt an ordinance with regard to class 2 e-bikes with, at minimum, the following provisions: (a) Only people aged 16 or older may operate class 2 e-bikes. (b) Operators of class 2 e-bikes must wear helmets. (c) All passengers on class 2 e-bikes must wear helmets. Staff recommend more research and analysis before adopting an e-bike-specific ordinance; however, the City agrees that provisions a through c should, at a minimum, be included. Staff recommend that a countywide task force be established, as stated in the Civil Grand Jury's
F2
The operation of class 2 e-bikes by persons under the age of 16 poses a significant risk to the safety of e-bike operators, other bike riders, passengers, and pedestrians on sidewalks, streets, multi-use paths, and trails in Marin. Response: Agree The City agrees that improper or unlawful operation of class 2 e-bikes by youth poses a significant safety risk.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
By December 31, 2024, the County of Marin and each municipality in Marin should take all steps necessary to establish a joint task force or committee to investigate and consider coordination among the county and municipalities about adopting a county- wide uniform set of regulations regarding e-bike use within the County of Marin. The City agrees with this recommendation and will work with partners in other jurisdictions to establish a taskforce by December 31, 2024. The City of San Rafael's response is limited to the part of the recommendation to begin the process of collaborating with the County and other municipalities in Marin. Members of the San Rafael Police Department have reached out to allied law enforcement agencies in neighboring communities to begin a coordinated effort in the furtherance of establishing the joint task force to address this issue. City of San Rafael Response to Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations 4 . . . AH RAFA City of San Rafael Response to Grand Jury Report Findings and Recommendations "With Power Comes Responsibility - Youths Under Age 16 Operating Class 2 E-Bikes: A Safety Risk" April 26, 2024
F3
The emerging and increasing safety issues related to class 2 e-bike use by operators under the age of 16 has not been addressed by Marin County or the municipalities in a uniform manner. Response: Agree The City agrees that greater coordination among Marin agencies about e-bike policies and enforcement can help deter their unsafe operation. The City is working with other agencies in Marin on a countywide task force to develop findings and recommendations to address this issue.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Any task force or committee as described in Recommendation 2, above, should consider inviting representatives from Marin County schools, law enforcement, public health officials, and bicycle advocates to provide their input. The City agrees with this recommendation and will implement it by December 31, 2024. Prior to the publishing of the Marin Civil Grand Jury report, members of the San Rafael Police Department acknowledged the growing issue of e-bike safety within the community. In response, members of the San Rafael Police Department reached out to our community partners, including San Rafael City Schools, Marin bicyclist advocacy groups, e-bike retailers, and concerned residents to obtain their input and participation in addressing the issues of e-bike safety in San Rafael. The City is committed to bringing this inclusive and coordinated approach to the joint task force.
F4
For all practical purposes, the State of California has abdicated its responsibility to regulate the use of class 2 e-bikes, leaving it up to the County of Marin and the Marin municipalities to create their own regulations. Response: Agree The City is committed to working with law enforcement agencies and community members in Marin through participation in a countywide task force develop consistent regulations for e-bike use.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
By December 31, 2024, the Board of Supervisors should explore options for additional funding for student and public education in Marin County about e-bike safety. This recommendation is directed to and pertains to matters solely under the control of the County of Marin Board of Supervisors. Therefore, this recommendation does not require action or a response by the City of San Rafael. City of San Rafael Response to Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
F5
The funding to continue the e-bike specific safety and training program (E-bike Smart Marin) provided by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition is not sustainable without new sources of funding. Response: Partially Disagree City of San Rafael Response to Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations me a so be MRAF City of San Rafael Response to Grand Jury Report Findings and Recommendations "With Power Comes Responsibility - Youths Under Age 16 Operating Class 2 E-Bikes: A Safety Risk" April 26, 2024 It is not within the City of San Rafael's realm of responsibility to agree or disagree with this finding. The Marin County Bicycle Coalition is a private nonprofit organization; the City has no administrative or programmatic control over the organization.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Marin County public schools are not currently able to implement additional bicycle safety training programs for students, beyond what has been offered by Safe Routes to Schools for many years. Response: Partially Disagree It is not within the City of San Rafael's realm of responsibility to agree or disagree with this finding. This finding pertains to matters relating to Marin County public schools which operate under the control of their respective legislative bodies. RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY RECOMMENDATIONS
No recommendations for this finding
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.