BILL NUMBER: AB 1224 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 666 to the Vehicle Code, relating
to vehicles. An act to amend Section 149.9 of the
Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1224, as amended, Eng. Vehicles: utility trailer.
High-occupancy toll lanes.
Existing law authorizes a regional transportation agency, in
cooperation with the Department of Transportation, to apply to the
California Transportation Commission to develop and operate
high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, including administration and
operation of a value-pricing program and exclusive or preferential
lane facilities for public transit.
Existing law, until January 15, 2013, specifically authorizes a
value-pricing and transit development demonstration program involving
HOT lanes to be conducted, administered, developed, and operated on
State Highway Routes 10 and 110 in Los Angeles County by the Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) under
certain conditions. Existing law also requires a specified report to
be submitted by the department and LACMTA to the Legislature by
December 31, 2012.
This bill would extend the authorization for the demonstration
program until January 15, 2015, and would require the associated
report to be submitted to the Legislature by December 31, 2014.
Existing law also defines various terms for the purposes of the
Vehicle Code.
This bill would define the term "utility trailer" for the purposes
of the Vehicle Code.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 149.9 of the Streets
and Highways Code is amended to read:
149.9. (a) Pursuant to Section 149.7 and the memorandum of
understanding between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (LACMTA), the United States Department of
Transportation, and the department, as adopted on July 24, 2008, and
any subsequent, mutually agreed upon changes to that memorandum, the
LACMTA may operate a value-pricing and transit development
demonstration program involving high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to be
conducted, administered, developed, and operated on State Highway
Routes 10 and 110 in Los Angeles County by the LACMTA.
(b) The LACMTA shall implement the program in cooperation with the
department, and the active participation of the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, pursuant to a cooperative agreement that
addresses all matters related to design, construction, maintenance,
and operation of state highway system facilities in connection with
the value-pricing and transit program. With the consent of the
department, the board of the LACMTA shall establish appropriate
performance measures, such as speed or travel times, for the purpose
of ensuring optimal use of the HOT lanes without adversely affecting
other traffic on the state highway system.
(c) The LACMTA and the department may implement the demonstration
program under the following conditions:
(1) The value-pricing program may be operated on State Highway
Routes 10 and 110 in Los Angeles County on designated high-occupancy
vehicle (HOV) lanes.
(2) (A) Single-occupant vehicles, or those vehicles that do not
meet minimum occupancy requirements, may be authorized to enter and
use the HOV lanes in the identified corridors, under conditions as
determined by the LACMTA.
(B) The LACMTA may not change the vehicle occupancy requirement
for access to the HOV lanes in the identified corridors during the
demonstration period that is authorized under this section.
(3) As part of the demonstration program, each proposed HOT lane
shall have nontolled alternative lanes available for public use in
the same corridor as the proposed HOT lanes.
(4) The LACMTA shall implement a public outreach and
communications plan in order to solicit public input into the
development of the demonstration program.
(5) In implementing the program, the LACMTA shall identify the
affected communities in the respective corridors and work with those
communities to identify impacts and develop mitigation measures.
(6) The amount of the toll shall be established by the LACMTA, and
collected and administered in a manner determined by the LACMTA. The
LACMTA shall conduct a public hearing 30 days prior to setting or
increasing the toll.
(7) The LACMTA shall assess the impacts of the program on
commuters of low income and shall provide mitigation to those
impacted commuters. Mitigation measures may include, but are not
limited to, reduced toll charges and toll credits for transit users.
Eligible commuters for reduced toll charges or toll credits for
transit users shall meet the eligibility requirements for assistance
programs under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) or Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 12000) of Part 3 of, Part 5 (commencing
with Section 17000) of, or Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
18900), Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section 18930), or Chapter 10.3
(commencing with Section 18937) of Part 6 of, Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
(8) Toll paying commuters shall have the option to purchase any
necessary toll paying equipment, prepay tolls, and renew toll
payments by cash or by using a credit card.
(9) The LACMTA may operate the demonstration program until January
15, 2013 2015 , during which time it
may not issue bonds for the demonstration program.
(10) The LACMTA and the department shall report to the Legislature
by December 31, 2012 2014 . The report
shall include, but not be limited to, a summary of the demonstration
program, a survey of its users, the impact on carpoolers, revenues
generated, how transit service or alternative modes of transportation
were impacted, any potential effect on traffic congestion in the HOV
lane and in the neighboring lanes, the number of toll paying
vehicles that utilized the HOT lanes, any potential reductions in the
greenhouse gas emissions that are attributable to congestion
reduction resulting from the HOT lane demonstration project, and a
description of the mitigation measures on the affected communities
and commuters in this demonstration program. The report shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
This paragraph shall be inoperative on December 31, 2018, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(11) Pursuant to Section 149.7, the revenue generated from the
program may be available to the LACMTA for the direct expenses
related to the maintenance, administration, and operation, including
collection and enforcement, of the demonstration program.
Administrative expenses shall not exceed 3 percent of the revenues.
(12) All remaining revenue generated by the demonstration program
shall be used in the corridor from which the revenue was generated
exclusively for preconstruction, construction, and other related
costs of high-occupancy vehicle facilities and the improvement of
transit service in the corridor, including, but not limited to,
support for transit operations pursuant to an expenditure plan
adopted by the LACMTA.
(13) This section shall not prevent the department or any local
agency from constructing facilities that compete with the HOT lane
demonstration project, and the LACMTA shall not be entitled to
compensation for adverse effects on toll revenue due to those
facilities.
SECTION 1. Section 666 is added to the Vehicle
Code, to read:
666. A "utility trailer" is a trailer or semitrailer that does
not exceed a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or a manufacturer's gross
vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds and is either of the
following:
(a) Used solely for the transportation of the user's personal
property, not in commerce.
(b) Designed and used for the transportation of livestock, not in
commerce.