BILL NUMBER: AB 1361 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino
(Principal coauthor: Senator Liu)
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 35655.6 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1361, as amended, Portantino. Vehicles: commercial vehicle ban:
State Route 2.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to
declare and fix a weight limit for a highway under its jurisdiction
that is less than the maximum weight limits otherwise authorized
under the Vehicle Code, upon determining that the highway will not
sustain those maximum weights and, after conducting a public hearing
on the issue, determining the maximum weight that the highway will
sustain. The department is prohibited from establishing a maximum
weight limit that is less than 16,000 pounds. A violation of the
Vehicle Code is a crime.
This bill would prohibit, with specified exemptions, the operation
of a commercial vehicle with 3 or more axles, or a gross vehicle
weight or a combined gross weight of 5 tons
9,000 pounds or more on the segment of State Route 2 that is
located between Interstate Route 210 (I-210) in the City of La Canada
Flintridge and County Route N4 (Big Pine Highway) in the County of
Los Angeles. The bill would provide that, upon conviction, a
violation of the above prohibition is subject to a fine of $1,000.
Because the bill would create a new crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program. Revenue generated by the fines
would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used to improve the
safety of that portion of State Route 2. The bill would
require the department to erect suitable signs to give adequate
notice of the prohibition.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
(3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 35655.6 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
35655.6. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person
shall not drive a commercial vehicle with three or more axles, or a
gross vehicle weight or a combined gross weight of five tons
9,000 pounds or more, on the segment of State
Route 2 (SR-2) that is located between Interstate Route 210 (I-210)
in the City of La Canada Flintridge and County Route N4 (Big Pine
Highway) in the County of Los Angeles.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any of the following
vehicles:
(1) An authorized emergency vehicle.
(2) A vehicle operated by a publicly or privately owned public
utility.
(3) A vehicle operated by the Department of Transportation.
(4) A transit bus servicing facilities accessible only from that
portion of State Route 2 specified in subdivision (a).
(5) A tow truck providing assistance to a vehicle that is
accessible only from that portion of State Route 2 specified in
subdivision (a).
(6) A commercial vehicle making deliveries to or from, or
servicing, property that is either of the following:
(A) Located within the city limits of the City of La Canada
Flintridge.
(B) Is accessible only from the portion of State Route 2 specified
in subdivision (a).
(7) A commercial vehicle involved in a motion picture or
television production conducting motion picture and television
production activities along or adjacent to any portion of State Route
2 specified in subdivision (a).
(c) A person who violates this section shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a fine pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 42030 or
one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is greater. Fines
collected pursuant to this subdivision shall, upon appropriation by
the Legislature, be used to improve the safety of the portion of
State Route 2 specified in subdivision (a).
(d) The Department of Transportation shall erect suitable signs at
each end of the portion of State Route 2 specified in subdivision
(a) and any other points that the department deems necessary to give
adequate notice of the prohibition pursuant to this section.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of
Transportation make it a priority to fund projects that improve the
safety of the portion of State Route 2 specified in subdivision (a).
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
Because the steep and winding grade along the portion of State
Route 2 between Interstate Route 210 in the City of La Canada
Flintridge and County Route N4 (Big Pine Highway) in the County of
Los Angeles has contributed to numerous accidents involving large
commercial vehicles since 1951 with the most recent accident causing
the Department of Transportation to issue a 90-day moratorium on
commercial vehicles on that portion of State Route 2 to allow for a
long-term legislative solution, it is necessary for this measure to
take effect immediately to preserve the public peace, health, or
safety.