(a) If an evacuation order is issued that covers all or a portion of a public transit operator’s service area, the public transit operator shall authorize passengers to board public transit vehicles with their pets in the area covered by the evacuation order, consistent with best practices developed pursuant to subdivision (b).

(b) The Office of Emergency Services and the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with public transit operators and county emergency management officials, shall develop best practices for allowing pets on public transit vehicles serving areas subject to an evacuation order. The best practices shall not prohibit a public transit operator from enacting policies that ensure the safety of transit riders.

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(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Evacuation order” means an order from the Governor, or a county emergency management official, county sheriff, chief of police, or fire marshal, under which persons subject to the order are encouraged to relocate outside of the geographic area covered by the order due to an imminent danger resulting from an earthquake, fire, flood, riot, or other natural or manmade disaster.

(2) “Pet” means a cat or a dog as those terms are defined in § 1799.109 of the Health and Safety Code.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 702, Sec. 1. (SB 397) Effective January 1, 2020.)