BILL NUMBER: AB 951 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 263
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2009
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2009
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lieu
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Jones)
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Sections 5378, 5378.5, 5411, 5411.3, 5412, 5412.2,
5413, 5413.5, and 5414 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
charter-party carriers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 951, Lieu. Charter-party carriers.
The Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act, with certain
exceptions, prohibits a charter-party carrier of passengers from
engaging in transportation services subject to regulation by the
Public Utilities Commission without obtaining a specified certificate
or permit, as appropriate, from the commission. The act imposes a
maximum fine of not more than $1,000 in its general penalty provision
for any violation or failure to comply with the act, an order or
other requirement of the commission, or an operating permit or
certificate, or aiding and abetting such a violation. The act also
imposes maximum fines, and in certain cases, minimum fines for
specific violations of the act, including, for conviction of
operating a charter-party carrier of passengers or a taxicab without
a valid certificate or permit, a maximum mandatory fine of $2,500 for
a first conviction, or $5,000 for a subsequent conviction.
This bill would revise that general penalty to set a minimum fine
of $1,000 and a maximum fine of $5,000. The bill, for conviction of
operating a charter-party carrier of passengers or a taxicab without
a valid certificate, would increase mandatory fines for charter-party
carriers of passengers, subjecting them to a maximum fine of $10,000
for a first conviction and $25,000 for a subsequent conviction. The
bill would also increase a number of other existing fees, fines, and
penalties for specific violations of the act.
The bill would become operative only if AB 636 of the 2009-10
Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative on or before January
1, 2010.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 5378 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5378. (a) The commission may cancel, revoke, or suspend any
operating permit or certificate issued pursuant to this chapter upon
any of the following grounds:
(1) The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, or of
any operating permit or certificate issued thereunder.
(2) The violation of any order, decision, rule, regulation,
direction, demand, or requirement established by the commission
pursuant to this chapter.
(3) The conviction of the charter-party carrier of passengers of
any misdemeanor under this chapter while holding operating authority
issued by the commission or the conviction of the carrier or its
officers of a felony while holding operating authority issued by the
commission, limited to robbery, burglary, larceny, fraud, or
intentional dishonesty for personal gain.
(4) The rendition of a judgment against the charter-party carrier
of passengers for any penalty imposed under this chapter.
(5) The failure of a charter-party carrier of passengers to pay
any fee imposed upon the carrier within the time required by law.
(6) On request of the holder of the permit or certificate.
(7) Failure of a permit or certificate holder to operate and
perform reasonable service. That failure may include repeated
violations of the Vehicle Code or of regulations contained in Title
13 of the California Code of Regulations relative to motor vehicle
safety, by employees of the permitholder or certificate holder, that
support an inference of unsafe operation or willful neglect of the
public safety by the permitholder or certificate holder.
(8) Consistent failure of the charter-party carrier of passengers
to maintain its vehicles in a safe operating condition and in
compliance with the Vehicle Code and with regulations contained in
Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations relative to motor
vehicle safety, as shown by the records of the commission, the
Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of the California
Highway Patrol, or the carrier.
(9) The knowing and willful filing of a false report that
understates revenues and fees.
(b) The commission may levy a civil penalty of up to seven
thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) upon the holder of an
operating permit or certificate issued pursuant to this chapter, for
any of the grounds specified in subdivision (a), as an alternative to
canceling, revoking, or suspending the permit or certificate. The
commission may also levy interest upon the civil penalty, which shall
be calculated as of the date on which the civil penalty is unpaid
and delinquent. The commission shall deposit at least monthly all
civil penalties and interest collected pursuant to this section into
the General Fund.
SEC. 2. Section 5378.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5378.5. (a) Upon receipt of a written recommendation from the
Department of the California Highway Patrol that the certificate or
permit of a charter-party carrier be suspended either (1) for failure
to maintain any vehicle used in transportation for compensation in a
safe operating condition or to comply with the Vehicle Code or with
regulations contained in Title 13 of the California Code of
Regulations relative to motor carrier safety if that failure is
either a consistent failure or presents an imminent danger to public
safety, or (2) for failure to enroll all drivers in the pull notice
system as required by Section 1808.1 of the Vehicle Code, the
commission shall, pending a hearing in the matter pursuant to
subdivision (d), suspend the carrier's certificate or permit. The
written recommendation shall specifically indicate compliance with
subdivision (c).
(b) A carrier whose certificate or permit is suspended pursuant to
subdivision (a) may obtain a reinspection of its terminal and
vehicles by the department, by submitting a written request for
reinstatement to the commission and paying a reinstatement fee of one
thousand dollars ($1,000). The commission shall deposit all
reinstatement fees collected pursuant to this subdivision in the
Public Utilities Commission Transportation Reimbursement Account. The
commission shall then forward a request for reinspection to the
department which shall then perform a reinspection within a
reasonable time. The commission shall reinstate a carrier's
certificate or permit suspended under subdivision (a) promptly upon
receipt of a written recommendation from the department that the
carrier's safety compliance has improved to the satisfaction of the
department, unless the certificate or permit is suspended for another
reason, or has been revoked.
(c) Before transmitting a recommendation pursuant to subdivision
(a) to the commission, the Department of the California Highway
Patrol shall notify the charter-party carrier in writing of all of
the following:
(1) That the department has determined that the carrier's safety
record is unsatisfactory, furnishing a copy of any documentation or
summary of any other evidence supporting the determination.
(2) That the determination may result in suspension or revocation
of the carrier's certificate or permit by the commission.
(3) That the carrier may request a review of the determination by
the department within five days of its receipt of the notice required
under this subdivision. If a review pursuant to this paragraph is
requested by the carrier, the department shall conduct and evaluate
that review prior to transmitting any notification to the commission
pursuant to subdivision (a).
(d) Whenever the commission suspends the certificate or permit of
any charter-party carrier pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission
shall furnish the carrier written notice of the suspension and shall
hold a hearing within a reasonable time, not to exceed 21 days,
after a written request therefor is filed with the commission, with a
copy thereof furnished to the Department of the California Highway
Patrol. At the hearing, the carrier shall show cause why the
suspension should not be continued. At the conclusion of the hearing,
the commission may, in addition to any other penalty provided in
this chapter, terminate the suspension, continue the suspension in
effect, or revoke the certificate or permit. The commission may
revoke the certificate or permit of any carrier suspended pursuant to
subdivision (a) at any time 90 days or more after its suspension if
the commission has not received a written recommendation for
reinstatement from the department and the carrier has not filed a
written request for a hearing with the commission.
(e) If the commission, after a hearing, finds that a charter-party
carrier has continued to operate as such a carrier after its
certificate or permit has been suspended pursuant to subdivision (a),
the commission shall do one of the following:
(1) Revoke the operating certificate or permit of the carrier.
(2) Impose upon the holder of the certificate or permit a civil
penalty of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500)
nor more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for each
day of unlawful operations.
SEC. 3. Section 5411 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5411. Every charter-party carrier of passengers and every
officer, director, agent, or employee of any charter-party carrier of
passengers who violates or who fails to comply with, or who
procures, aids, or abets any violation by any charter-party carrier
of passengers of any provision of this chapter, or who fails to obey,
observe, or comply with any order, decision, rule, regulation,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or of any
operating permit or certificate issued to any charter-party carrier
of passengers, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party
carrier of passengers in its failure to obey, observe, or comply with
any such order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand,
requirement, or operating permit or certificate, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is punishable by fine of not less than one thousand
dollars ($1,000) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or
by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three months, or
both.
SEC. 4. Section 5411.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5411.3. Every charter-party carrier of passengers, and every
officer, director, agent, or employee of a charter-party carrier of
passengers, who displays on any vehicle any identifying symbol other
than one prescribed by the commission pursuant to Section 5385, or
who fails to remove an identifying symbol when required by the
commission, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of
not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by
both.
SEC. 5. Section 5412 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5412. Every corporation or person other than a charter-party
carrier of passengers, who knowingly and willfully, either
individually, or acting as an officer, agent, or employee of a
corporation, copartnership, or any other person other than a
charter-party carrier of passengers, violates any provision of this
chapter or fails to observe, obey, or comply with any order,
decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party carrier
of passengers in its violation of this chapter, or in its failure to
obey, observe, or comply with any such order, decision, rule,
regulation, direction, demand, or requirement, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and is punishable by a fine of not more than two
thousand dollars ($2,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than three months, or both.
SEC. 6. Section 5412.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5412.2. (a) When a person is convicted of the offense of
operating a taxicab without a valid certificate or permit, in
addition to any other penalties provided by law, if the court
determines the operator has the ability to pay, the court shall
impose a mandatory fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) for a first conviction or five thousand dollars
($5,000) for a subsequent conviction.
(b) When a person is convicted of the offense of operating a
charter-party carrier of passengers without a valid certificate or
permit, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, if the
court determines the operator has the ability to pay, the court shall
impose a mandatory fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
for a first conviction or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for
a subsequent conviction.
(c) As used in this section, "taxicab" means a passenger vehicle
designed for carrying not more than eight persons, excluding the
driver, and used to carry passengers for hire. "Taxicab" shall not
include a charter-party carrier of passengers within the meaning of
this chapter.
SEC. 7. Section 5413 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5413. Every charter-party carrier of passengers and every
officer, director, agent, or employee of any charter-party carrier of
passengers who violates or who fails to comply with, or who
procures, aids, or abets, any violation by any charter-party carrier
of passengers of any provision of this chapter, or who fails to obey,
observe, or comply with any order, decision, rule, regulation,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or of any
operating permit or certificate issued to any charter-party carrier
of passengers, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party
carrier of passengers in its failure to obey, observe, or comply with
any such order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand,
requirement, or operating permit, or certificate, is subject to a
penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each
offense.
SEC. 8. Section 5413.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5413.5. (a) Whenever the commission, after hearing, finds that
any person or corporation is operating as a charter-party carrier of
passengers, including a charter-party carrier operating a limousine,
without a valid certificate or permit, or fails to include in any
written or oral advertisement the number of the certificate or permit
required by Section 5386, the commission may impose a fine of not
more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for each
violation. The commission may assess the person or corporation an
amount sufficient to cover the reasonable expense of investigation
incurred by the commission. The commission may assess interest on any
fine or assessment imposed, to commence on the day the payment of
the fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All fines, assessments,
and interest collected shall be deposited at least once each month in
the General Fund.
(b) Whenever the commission, after hearing, finds that any person
or corporation is operating a charter-party carrier of passengers as
a taxicab without a valid certificate or permit in violation of an
ordinance or resolution of a city, county, or city and county, the
commission may impose a fine of not more than five thousand dollars
($5,000) for each violation. The commission may assess the person or
corporation an amount sufficient to cover the reasonable expense of
investigation incurred by the commission. The commission may assess
interest on any fine or assessment imposed, to commence on the day
the payment of the fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All fines,
assessments, and interest collected shall be deposited at least once
each month in the General Fund.
SEC. 9. Section 5414 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5414. Every corporation or person other than a charter-party
carrier of passengers who knowingly and willfully, either
individually, or acting as an officer, agent, or employee of a
corporation, copartnership, or any other person other than a
charter-party carrier of passengers, violates any provision of this
chapter or fails to observe, obey, or comply with any order,
decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party carrier
of passengers in its violation of this chapter, or in its failure to
obey, observe, or comply with any such order, decision, rule,
regulation, direction, demand, or requirement, is subject to a
penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each
offense.
SEC. 10. This act shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 636
of the 2009-10 Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative on
or before January 1, 2010.