BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1942|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1942
          Author:   Fletcher (R)
          Amended:  8/2/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 6/29/10
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Huff, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe, Pavley,  
            Simitian, Wolk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Ashburn

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  69-1, 5/17/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Windshield:  video event recorder

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the placement of video  
          event recorders in vehicles. 

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing state law prohibits a person from  
          driving any motor vehicle with any object or material  
          placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the  
          windshield, the rear window, or side windows adjacent to  
          the driver.  Existing law makes exceptions for the  
          following:

           Rearview mirrors;

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           Sun visors that are not mounted on the windshield glass;

           Electronic toll communication devices affixed to the  
            center uppermost portion of the interior of the  
            windshield within an area that is not greater than 5  
            inches square (e.g., FasTrak transponders);

           Transparent material applied to the top most portion of  
            the windshield (i.e., tinting);

           Stickers and global positioning systems that are  
            displayed on the windshield in the seven-inch square in  
            the lower corner farthest removed from the driver or in  
            the five-inch square in the lower corner nearest the  
            driver (e.g., parking and oil change decals).

          Existing law requires vehicle manufacturers to disclose in  
          the owner's manual that a vehicle is equipped with one or  
          more recording devices commonly referred to as "event data  
          recorders."  Existing law defines "recording devices" as  
          those that:

           Record how fast and in which direction the motor vehicle  
            is traveling;

           Record a history or where the motor vehicle travels;

           Record steering performance;

           Record brake performance, including but not limited to,  
            whether brakes were applied before an accident;

           Record the driver's seat belt status; and

           Have the ability to transmit information concerning an  
            accident in which the motor vehicle has been involved to  
            a central communications system at the moment the  
            accident occurs.

          Existing law prohibits downloading or retrieving data  
          recorded on a recording devise by a person other than the  
          registered owner of the motor vehicle, except under  
          specific conditions. 


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          Existing law prohibits the audio recording of persons  
          without the expressed consent of all parties involved.

          This bill:

          1  Authorizes the placement of video event recorders on  
             specified areas of a vehicle windshield.  

          2. Defines "video event recorder" to mean a video recorder  
             that continuously records in a digital loop, recording  
             audio, video, and G-force levels, but saves video only  
             when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or when  
             operated by the driver to monitor driver performance. 

          3. Requires a vehicle equipped with a video event recorder  
             have a notice posted in a visible location which states  
             that a passenger's conversation may be recorded.

          4. Requires video event recorders store no more than 30  
             seconds before or after a triggering event.

          5. Provides that the registered owner or lessee of the  
             vehicle may disable the video event recorder, and that  
             the data recorded to the device is the property of the  
             registered owner or lessee.

          6. Provides when a person is driving for hire as an  
             employee in a vehicle with a video event recorder, the  
             employer is required to provide unedited copies of the  
             recordings upon request.  The copies shall be provided  
             for free and within five days of the request.

           Same as GPS requirements  . This bill stipulates that the  
          event recorder must be placed in a seven-inch square in the  
          lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the  
          driver or in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the  
          windshield nearest of the driver and outside of an airbag  
          deployment zone.  These stipulations mirror identically the  
          requirements currently in place for a portable GPS. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/3/10)

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          California State Sheriffs' Association
          DriveCam
          Lloyd Pest Control
          MV Transit

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/3/10)

          American Civil Liberties Union

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author introduced this bill to  
          reduce motor vehicle deaths by allowing the use of video  
          event recorders that can lead to safe driving habits and  
          reduced accidents.  Video event recorders for vehicles  
          capture high definition videos, both of the front of the  
          vehicle and the rear, using a dual camera device and record  
          when an event occurs, including accidents or aggressive  
          driving behavior.  The videos are stored on internal memory  
          together with other information such as G-force values, GPS  
          coordinates, date, time, and more.  Studies of both teens  
          and commercial drivers found that the use of video event  
          recorders, paired with behavioral coaching, improved driver  
          safety and reduced accidents.  Video event recorders  
          typically are operated on a loop and only save recordings  
          in events such as quick stops or accidents.  The records  
          are used to analyze a driver's actions during the events to  
          coach positive driving behavior.

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The American Civil Liberties  
          Union writes:  "Windshield mounted video event recorders  
          involves video taping the individual who is driving as well  
          as the area in front of the vehicle.  The fundamental right  
          to privacy was added by voter initiative to Article I,  
          Section 1 of the California Constitution.  While we  
          understand the need for driver safety, we do not believe  
          that there has been sufficient evidence to demonstrate the  
          need to allow the installation of cameras continuously  
          trained on employees and other drivers."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,  
            Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,  
            Buchanan, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  

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            La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,  
            Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,  
            Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,  
            Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Nava,  
            Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez,  
            Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth,  
            Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico,  
            Tran, Villines, John A. Perez
          NOES:  Ammiano
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bass, Tom Berryhill, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Furutani, Monning, Silva, Torlakson, Yamada,  
            Vacancy


          JJA:mwk  8/10/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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