BILL NUMBER: SB 1328 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 25, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lowenthal
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 26708 of the Vehicle Code,
relating to vehicles. An act to add Section 43018.7 to
the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1328, as amended, Lowenthal. Vehicles: windows.
Greenhouse gas emissions: automotive glazing
standards.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the
State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with
monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases.
The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas
emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions
level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt rules and
regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission
reductions.
This bill would require the executive officer of the board, by no
later than January 1, 2011, to complete and approve alternative test
procedures for automotive glazing standards applicable to new
passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty vehicles less than
or equal to 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW) in order to
reduce the percentage of the total solar energy (Tts) transmitted
into the vehicle when the vehicle is parked.
Existing law prohibits any person, except as specified, from
driving any motor vehicle with any object or material placed,
displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon the vehicle that
obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield
or side windows.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 43018.7 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
43018.7. No later than January 1, 2011, the executive officer of
the board shall complete and approve the alternative test procedures
for automotive glazing standards referenced in Section 95603 of Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations.
SECTION 1. Section 26708 of the Vehicle Code is
amended to read:
26708. (a) (1) A person shall not drive any motor vehicle with
any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or
applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
(2) A person shall not drive any motor vehicle with any object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or on
the vehicle that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through
the windshield or side windows.
(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Rearview mirrors.
(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors that are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.
(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials that are displayed in a
7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed
from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials that are
displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window
farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other
materials that are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner
of the windshield nearest the driver.
(4) Side windows that are to the rear of the driver.
(5) Direction, destination, or terminus signs upon a passenger
common carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not
interfere with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.
(6) Rear window wiper motor.
(7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.
(8) The rear window or windows, if the motor vehicle is equipped
with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the
vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the
highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to
the rear of the vehicle.
(9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite
the driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and that
occupies an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner
toward the rear of that window and that provides the driver with a
wide-angle view through the lens.
(10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section
26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's
front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in
his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed
physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from
the sun due to a medical condition, or has in his or her possession
a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist
certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a
visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not
be used during darkness.
(11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that
is not greater than 5 inches square, if the device provides either
of the following:
(A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped
with the device.
(B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on
public or private roads or facilities.
(12) A portable Global Positioning System (GPS), which may be
mounted in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield
farthest removed from the driver or in a 5-inch square in the lower
corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an
airbag deployment zone, if the system is used only for door-to-door
navigation while the motor vehicle is being operated.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be
installed, affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the
windshield if the following conditions apply:
(1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above
the undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point 5 inches in
front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its
rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.
(2) The material is not red or amber in color.
(3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other
lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through
the windshield.
(4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into
the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any
greater extent than the windshield without the material.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and
transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the
front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the
front seat if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88
percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49
C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance
of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as
specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the
ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful
ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the
vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying
that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of
this subdivision and the certificate identifies the installing
company and the material's manufacturer by full name and street
address, or, if the material was installed by the vehicle owner, a
certificate signed by the material's manufacturer certifying that the
windows with the material installed according to manufacturer's
instructions meet the requirements of this subdivision and the
certificate identifies the material's manufacturer by full name and
street address.
(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or
bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be
removed or replaced.