BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 2572 - Bradford Hearing Date: June 15,
2010 A
As Amended: May 5, 2010 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law authorizes the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) to regulate charter-party carriers of
passengers, defined to mean persons engaged in the
transportation of persons by motor vehicle for compensation on a
prearranged basis over any public highway in California.
This bill expands the definition of charter-party carriers
subject to CPUC regulation to include any person or entity
engaged in the provision of a hired driver service when a rented
motor vehicle is operated by the hired driver and exempts these
hired driver charter-party carriers from specified requirements
applicable to entities that own charter-party carrier vehicles.
Current law requires each initial and renewal applicant for a
charter-party carrier certificate or permit to pay specified
fees.
This bill increases the cost of new permits and Class B and C
certificates from $500 to $1,000 and decreases the cost of all
renewal permits and certificates from $500 to $1,000.
Current law authorizes the CPUC to cancel, revoke, or suspend a
permit or certificate issued to a charter-party carrier for
failure of a permit or certificate holder or its employees to
follow specified laws and CPUC orders and regulations, pay
required fees, maintain its vehicle in a safe operating
condition, and other specified reasons.
This bill would authorize the CPUC to cancel, revoke, or suspend
any permit or certificate issued to a charter-party carrier if
the permit or certificate holder failed to follow any order,
decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, ordinance, or
other requirement established by the governing board of an
airport, including solicitation practices.
This bill would make inapplicable as a reason to cancel, revoke,
or suspend a permit or certificate held by a charter-party
carrier the requirement to maintain its vehicle in a safe
operating condition in the case of a hired driver carrier.
Current law authorizes a peace officer to impound a
charter-party carrier vehicle being operated in violation of the
law only within 100 feet of a public airport or within two miles
of the international border between the United States and
Mexico.
This bill deletes that geographic limitation on the authority to
impound a vehicle used by a charter-party carrier.
Current law requires that a vehicle impounded by a local peace
officer for violation of a local ordinance or resolution be
returned to the owner of the vehicle without cost if the
infraction or violation is not prosecuted or dismissed, the
owner is not found guilty of the offense or it is determined
that the owner was not aware of, nor did not consent to, the use
of the vehicle for the violation.
This bill requires the return of an impounded vehicle to the
owner after all impoundment fees are paid when the vehicle is
seized due to a violation of a person other than the owner of
the vehicle.
This bill states the intent of the Legislature to achieve all of
the following:
Ensure that the CPUC has access to real-time information
on drivers for licensed charter-party carriers by utilizing
the Department of Motor Vehicle's Employer Pull Notice
Program.
Have the CPUC implement procedures for an approved drug
and alcohol testing provider to submit timely information
on the status of licensed charter-party carriers with which
they have contracted for testing of drivers.
Have the CPUC create an online renewal process for
charter-party carriers of passengers and a renewal process
that is administratively efficient.
BACKGROUND
The Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act provides for CPUC
regulation of charter-party carriers, defined as persons engaged
in the transportation of persons by motor vehicle for
compensation on a prearranged basis over any public highway in
the state, including, for example, limousines, airport shuttles,
and chartered buses. The purposes of the Act include preserving
full public benefit and use of public highways, ensuring
adequate and dependable transportation by carriers operating
upon the highways, and promoting carrier and public safety
through enforcement of safety regulations.
The Act requires charter-party carriers to obtain operating
authority from the CPUC through permits and certificates,
requires the CPUC to investigate complaints and cancel, revoke,
or suspend permits and certificates for specified violations,
and regulates other terms of operation. The CPUC issues six
different types of permits and certificates authorizing various
kinds of services. Approximately 6,200 carriers currently hold
one or more operating authorities. The law prescribes specific
requirements for vehicle maintenance and safety standards,
driver screening and training, controlled substance and alcohol
testing, workers' compensation insurance, and fitness and
financial responsibility.
COMMENTS
1) Hired Driver Service . According to the author and the
Greater California Livery Association, the bill's sponsor,
this bill closes a loophole in current law by giving CPUC
authority to regulate a new transportation business model
in which a rented motor vehicle is operated by a hired
driver. Under that business model being employed by Avis
Rent A Car and a separate company called WeDriveU, Avis
refers a rental customer to WeDriveU to engage a driver to
operate the Avis vehicle at the customer's direction. This
bill expands the definition of charter-party carriers so
that WeDriveU and similar operators would be covered by the
Act. Because these operators compete with traditional
charter-party carriers, this bill ensures a level playing
field and protects the public by making provisions of the
Act applicable. The bill also makes provisions of the Act
that relate to carriers owning a vehicle inapplicable to
charter-party carriers such as WeDriveU.
2) Permits and Certificates . This bill increases initial
application fees for charter-party carrier permits and
Class B and C certificates from $500 to $1,000 and
decreases the cost of all renewal permits and certificates
from $500 to $100. These changes result in fees that more
closely correlate to when the CPUC incurs costs - more
costs at the time of an initial application than at
renewal. The bill also states legislative intent that the
CPUC create a renewal process that is available online and
administratively efficient. An improved renewal process
will reduce administrative burdens on carriers and the CPUC
and result in fewer carriers being subject to fines and
penalties if they continue to operate after their authority
expires because the renewal was not processed in a timely
manner.
3) Impoundment . This bill expands the geographic area in
which the vehicles of unlicensed carriers may be impounded
from airports and near the U.S.-Mexico border to anywhere
in the state and would make the vehicle owner responsible
for the associated impoundment fees in order to retrieve
the vehicle. Expanding the authority to impound vehicles
of unlicensed carriers to anywhere in the state will enable
impoundment at hotels, convention centers, and tourist
locations where carriers typically operate. It also may
bolster enforcement of the Act and serve as an additional
deterrent to operating without proper authority.
4) Airport Regulations . While current law allows for
placement of CPUC enforcement personnel at airports, it
does not explicitly allow CPUC enforcement of airport
regulations when patrolling at the airport. This bill
provides that the CPUC may cancel, revoke, or suspend any
permit or certificate issued to a charter-party carrier if
the carrier fails to follow any order, decision, rule,
regulation, direction, demand, ordinance, or other
requirement established by the governing board of an
airport, including airport restrictions on solicitation
practices. In some instances, the CPUC and airports may
have differing regulations, as is the case, for example,
with weigh bill requirements of the CPUC and the San
Francisco Airport. While this provision could lead to
arbitrary or selective enforcement of different regulations
by the CPUC, it should lead to overall enhanced enforcement
of regulations that protect public safety and ensure a
level playing field in the charter-party carrier market.
5) Double Referral . This bill has been double-referred to
the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Utilities & Commerce (15-0)
Assembly Transportation (12-0)
Assembly Appropriations (14-1)
Assembly Floor (62-4)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Greater California Livery Association
Support:
Greater California Livery Association
California Bus Association
California Public Utilities Commission
San Francisco International Airport
WeDriveU, Inc.
Oppose:
None on file.
Jackie Kinney
AB 2572 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 15, 2010