BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1648
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1648 (Jeffries and Chesbro)
          As Amended  July 15, 2010
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |74-0 |(May 6, 2010)   |SENATE: |31-0 |(August 25,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2010)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:   TRANS  .

           SUMMARY  :  Sets forth new driver's license requirements for  
          firefighters operating firefighter equipment.  

           The Senate amendments  :   

           1)Reinstate the requirement that fire departments participate in  
            the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Employer  
            Pull Notice (EPN) Program but exempts them from the EPN fees.   
             

           2)Exempt all firefighting equipment from the list of vehicles  
            for which a person must obtain a commercial driver's license  
            (class A or B) to operate, provided the equipment is operated  
            by a person who holds a firefighter endorsement.   

           3) Add to the proposed requirements for a "firefighter  
            endorsement" the following:   
           
             a)   The applicant must have successfully completed specific  
               fire equipment operation training conducted by an  
               instructor with specific experiences and credentials; and,  

              b)   The applicant must submit a medical examination report.   
                

           4)Notwithstanding other provisions of the bill, authorize a fire  
            department to require a driver to hold a commercial driver's  
            license.   

           5)Resolve chaptering-out conflicts with AB 2777 (Committee on  
            Transportation), which corrects statutory references related  
            to the EPN for ambulance drivers.   









                                                                 AB 1648
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          EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Establishes the EPN Program in DMV to provide employers and  
            regulatory agencies with a means of promoting driver safety  
            through an ongoing review of driver records.  

          2)Requires employers of commercial drivers to participate in the  
            EPN Program, which provides employers with information  
            regarding a driver's current public record as recorded by DMV  
            and any subsequent convictions, failures to appear, accidents,  
            driver's license suspensions, driver's license revocations, or  
            other actions taken against the person's driving privilege.  

          3)Sets forth other procedures and requirements for the EPN  
            Program.  

          4)Sets forth testing requirements for DMV's commercial driving  
            skills test, including an actual demonstration of the  
            applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable  
            control in operating a motor vehicle in the type and/or  
            combination for which he or she is seeking a license.  

          5)Prohibits any person from operating firefighting equipment  
            unless that person has a valid driver's license for the  
            appropriate class of equipment.  

          6)Authorizes DMV to issue a restricted driver's license for an  
            appropriate class of firefighting equipment.  

          7)Provides for an Employer Testing Program (ETP).  The ETP is a  
            third-party testing program in which DMV allows employers of  
            commercial drivers to conduct the drive test portion for the  
            DMV's commercial driver's licensing requirements for class A,  
            class B, and non-commercial firefighter restricted license.   
            ETP requires an employer-employee relationship in order to  
            conduct third party testing.  With DMV's authorization, any  
            public or private company may participate in ETP.  
           
          AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill was substantially similar  
          to the version passed by the Senate.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee analysis, minor absorbable costs to DMV.  

           COMMENTS  :  According to DMV, their commercial driver's license  








                                                                  AB 1648
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          ETP is about to undergo significant changes to conform to new  
          federal regulations.  Left unaddressed, this will force fire  
          departments to send new drivers to commercial drive test  
          facilities run by the DMV, just as DMV reports it is reducing  
          the number of drive test facilities.  Specifically, DMV  
          indicates that the number of facilities statewide is expected to  
          shrink from 30 to 8.  

          Fire departments around the state, particularly those in rural  
          areas, are concerned that these changes in DMV's ETP program  
          will make it more expensive and logistically difficult to serve  
          California communities because they will be hampered in  
          obtaining the required commercial driver's licenses for both  
          professional and volunteer firefighting staffs.  They cite as an  
          example of these difficulties the fact that, to complete the  
          skills test, a licensed firefighter with a commercial license  
          must drive the firefighting equipment to a DMV testing site  
          (sometimes hours away) with the new driver who is to be tested.   
          As a result, two employees and a large piece of firefighting  
          equipment are essentially out of service for the day.  Rural  
          volunteer fire departments face particular difficulties because  
          their drivers often have to take time away from work to take the  
          test.  

          According to the author, this bill is a proactive approach  
          toward resolving the dilemma posed by these rapidly approaching  
          problems.  The bill removes the firefighter restricted license  
          program from DMV's commercial driver's license program (as  
          authorized under federal law) and creates new testing  
          requirements.  New firefighter drivers will be trained by their  
          departments and will be required to pass a written DMV test.   
          The required training standards, however, are not impacted by AB  
          1648.  

          The author believes that this bill makes it easier for fire  
          departments to train and test their firefighters without the  
          onerous logistical requirements of the commercial employer  
          training program and without jeopardizing the integrity of the  
          testing.  The author further states that this bill is designed  
          to provide a cost-effective means for meeting the licensure  
          needs of our state's firefighters and represents the product of  
          nearly a year of stakeholder meetings, negotiations, and  
          statewide gatherings with fire officials and with DMV.  
           









                                                                 AB 1648
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          Analysis Prepared by  :    Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 


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