BILL NUMBER: SB 773 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 440
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 9, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 26, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wiggins
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to amend Section 35401.7 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 773, Wiggins. Vehicles: limitations of access.
Existing law exempts from established limitations of access
governing the operation of vehicles on highways, licensed carriers of
livestock when engaged in travel necessary and incidental to the
shipment of livestock on specified portions of State Highway Route
101 (Highway 101). In order for the exemption to apply, the carriers
must meet certain specified conditions. The Department of the
California Highway Patrol is required to continue the previously
issued comprehensive study of the effect of the exemption on public
safety, within the provided parameters. Existing law is repealed on
January 1, 2012.
This bill would require, as a condition the carriers must meet to
qualify for the exemption, that the distance from the kingpin to the
rearmost axle of the semitrailer does not exceed 43 feet instead of
the current 40 feet. The carriers would also be required to fulfill
the condition that the length of the semitrailer does not exceed a
total of 48 feet.
The bill would require that if the Department of Transportation
determines prior to January 1, 2012, that the only adjustment to
Highway 101 possible to accommodate the livestock trucks allowed to
travel on those portions of Highway 101 is the removal of any tree
that has a diameter of 42 inches or greater, measured outside the
bark, at 12 inches above ground on the side adjacent to the highest
ground level, the Director of Transportation would be required to
notify the Secretary of State, and the exemption and study
requirements would be repealed upon receipt of the specified notice
by the Secretary of State.
The bill would also require that if the Department of
Transportation determines prior to January 1, 2012, that safety
improvements to the portion of Highway 101 described herein have
resulted in the reclassification of the entire segment as a terminal
access route, the Director of Transportation would be required to
notify the Secretary of State, and the exemption and study
requirements would be repealed upon receipt of the specified notice
by the Secretary of State.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 35401.7 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
35401.7. (a) The limitations of access specified in subdivision
(d) of Section 35401.5 do not apply to licensed carriers of livestock
when those carriers are directly en route to or from a point of
loading or unloading of livestock on those portions of State Highway
Route 101 located in the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, and
Mendocino from its junction with State Highway Route 1 near Leggett
north to the Oregon border, if the travel is necessary and incidental
to the shipment of the livestock.
(b) The exemption allowed under this section does not apply unless
all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The length of the truck tractor, in combination with the
semitrailer used to transport the livestock, does not exceed a total
of 70 feet.
(2) The distance from the kingpin to the rearmost axle of the
semitrailer does not exceed 43 feet.
(3) The length of the semitrailer does not exceed a total of 48
feet.
(c) The exemption allowed under this section does not apply to
travel conducted on the day prior to, or on the day of, any federally
recognized holiday.
(d) The Department of the California Highway Patrol, in
consultation with the Department of Transportation and in accordance
with recommendations from the Department of the California Highway
Patrol's study issued on March 20, 2006, of the effect of the
statutory exemption, shall continue the comprehensive study of the
effect that the exemption provided by this section has on the public
safety during the extended effective period of the exemption, and
make recommendations on future exemptions, including the creation of
a permitting system for cattle truck and trailer combinations meeting
applicable provisions of the federal Surface Transportation
Assistance Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-424), and appropriate safety
improvements. Notwithstanding Section 7550.5 of the Government Code,
the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall report the
findings of this additional study and recommendations to the Governor
and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2011.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2012, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends
that date.
(f) (1) If prior to January 1, 2012, the Director of
Transportation determines that the only adjustment to State Highway
Route 101 possible to accommodate the truck sizes allowed to travel
on portions of State Highway Route 101, pursuant to subdivisions (a)
and (b) is the removal of any tree that has a diameter of 42 inches
or greater, measured outside the bark, at 12 inches above ground on
the side adjacent to the highest ground level, the director shall
notify the Secretary of State of that determination.
(2) If prior to January 1, 2012, the Director of Transportation
determines that safety improvements to the portion of State Highway
Route 101 described in subdivision (a) have resulted in the
reclassification of the entire segment as a terminal access route
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 35401.5, the director shall
notify the Secretary of State of that determination.
(3) The notice required under paragraph (1) or (2) shall state
that it is being made pursuant to this section.
(4) This section is repealed on the date the Secretary of State
receives either of the notices described in this subdivision.