BILL ANALYSIS SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 2777 SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Trans. Com. VERSION: 6/17/10 Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes Hearing date: June 29, 2010 SUBJECT: Transportation omnibus bill DESCRIPTION: This bill makes non-controversial changes to sections of law relating to transportation. ANALYSIS: According to the Legislative Analyst, the cost of producing a bill in 2001-02 was $17,890. By combining multiple matters into one bill, the Legislature can make minor changes to law in the most cost-effective manner. This bill includes the following provisions. The sponsor of each provision is noted in brackets. 1.Deleting obsolete reporting requirements. [Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, and 12] Current law includes a number of reporting requirements and an advisory committee that are no longer relevant. This bill deletes the following obsolete requirements. [Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review] A requirement that the California Highway Patrol submit a risk assessment of California transportation's system to the Legislature by January 1, 2003. A requirement that the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) establish an advisory committee to develop recommendations on ways to upgrade and modernize Caltrans' AB 2777 (ASM TRANS) Page 2 data automation system to better track project delivery. A requirement that the California Transportation Commission report to the Legislature by September 1, 2002, on the impact of adding an advance project development element to the State Transportation Improvement Program. A requirement that the California Transportation Commission report to the Legislature on or before February 1, 1999, on the success of SB 45 (Kopp, Chapter 622, Statutes of 1997) related to transportation financing. A requirement that DMV submit an annual consolidated report to the Legislature regarding the revenues and expenditures related to special interest license plates for state agencies. A requirement that DMV submit an annual consolidated report to the Legislature regarding the revenues and expenditures related to special interest license plates for non-profit organizations. 1.CTFA vote threshold. [Section 5] AB 798 (Nava), Chapter 474, Statutes of 2009, established the California Transportation Financing Authority (CTFA) to assist transportation agencies in obtaining financing, primarily through issuing bonds backed by specified sources of revenue, to develop transportation projects. The CTFA board consists of seven members: five ex-officio members and one member each appointed by the Assembly Speaker and Senate Rules Committee. AB 798 established a quorum as four members and requires a vote of a quorum to approve any action. Consistent with all of the other boards and commissions housed within the Treasurer's Office, this bill instead requires a majority vote of present members to approve an action after a quorum has been established. [Rohimah Moly, State Treasurer's Office] 2.Grammatical corrections. [Section 6] Legislative Counsel has identified some grammatical errors in a section of law proscribing transit-related crimes. The amendments correct these errors. [Legislative Counsel] 3.Correcting a cross-reference relating to ambulance drivers. [Section 7] Current law establishes the pull-notice system, which provides the employer of a driver who drives a specified type of vehicle, including an ambulance driver, with a report showing the driver's current public record and any subsequent convictions, driver's license revocations, failures to appear, accidents, driver's license suspensions, driver's license revocations, or any other actions taken against the driving AB 2777 (ASM TRANS) Page 3 privilege. With respect to ambulance drivers, current law cross-references the incorrect section. The bill corrects the mistaken cross-reference. [Avery Browne, California Highway Patrol] 4.Disabled license plates. [Sections 8 and 14] Current law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue special license plates to disabled persons and disabled veterans. Current law also allows a disabled person or disabled veteran displaying such a plate to park for unlimited periods in time-restricted spaces and for free at metered spaces. This bill clarifies that disabled persons license plates and disabled veterans license plates may only be issued for motor vehicles, as opposed to vehicles, a term which includes trailers. [Dennis Clear, Department of Motor Vehicles] 5.Commemorative license plates. [Sections 9 and 10] Current law authorizes DMV to issue both commemorative Olympic license plates and commemorative collegiate license plates. This bill clarifies that DMV may issue Olympic and commemorative collegiate license plates as environmental (or "vanity") license plates, displaying numbers and letters requested by the vehicle owner. [Dennis Clear, Department of Motor Vehicles] 6.Apportionately registered fleet vehicles. [Section 13] Current law requires DMV to apportionately register and tax commercial vehicles that are based in other states or countries and that use California highways. DMV may make these apportionment calculations on a fleetwide basis and may place a lien upon all the vehicles of the fleet if the taxes are not paid. If a fleet owner contests the amount or existence of a lien, DMV must issue its findings, and the fleet owner then has 20 days to request an administrative hearing. This bill conforms California law to federal law by allowing commercial vehicle fleet owners 30 days, rather than the current 20 days, to request an administrative hearing of a fleet apportionment lien. [Dennis Clear, Department of Motor Vehicles] COMMENTS: 1.Purpose of the bill . The Assembly Transportation Committee is authoring this bill as a means of combining multiple, non-controversial changes to statutes into one bill, so that AB 2777 (ASM TRANS) Page 4 the Legislature can make minor amendments in a cost-effective manner. There is no known opposition to any item in the bill, and if concerns arise that cannot be resolved, the provision of concern will be deleted from the bill. 2.Technical amendments . Delete Section 4 of the bill relating to the CTC's report on SB 45. On page 8, line 32 after the period insert "Additionally, the authority may not take any action unless a quorum is present at the time of the vote." On page 9, line 6 strike "a" and insert "an" On page 9, line 7, strike the first "a" and insert "an" On page 10, line 1 strike "(f)" and insert "(g)" Delete Sections 11 and 12 of the bill relating to DMV reports on special interest license plates. Add chaptering amendments to resolve conflicts with AB 1648 and AB 1944 Assembly Votes: Floor: 74-0 Appr: 17-0 Trans: 13-0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on Wednesday, June 23, 2010) SUPPORT: None received. OPPOSED: None received.