LA Broken Parking Meter Still Means A Ticket (VIDEO)

There is no rest for the parking spot-searching weary. The Los Angeles City Council decided Wednesday to uphold a ban on parking at broken meters.

That’s despite a new state law, which will go into effect Jan. 1, that allows drivers to park for free at broken meters for the allotted time. That bill was unanimously approved in the Senate and Assembly and was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown over the summer, NBC reported.

But the state law allows cities to override the rule, which is what the LA City Council did with a 12-1 vote, with Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Jan Perry the lone dissenter, the LA Times reported.

City transportation officials said tickets issued to cars parked at broken meters--which have been against the law for two years in LA--bring in about $5 million a year in revenue for the city, CBS reported. Councilmembers also feared that ending the city policy would encourage vandalism of meters.

The cost of a ticket for parking at a broken meter, KTLA reported, is $63.