BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 45
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          Date of Hearing:   May 4, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     AB 45 (Hill) - As Amended:  April 11, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              
          UtilitiesVote:15-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Expands the application of provisions and sanctions regarding 
            underage drinking by passengers of charter-party carriers that 
            are limousines to encompass any vehicle used as a charter 
            party carrier, with specified exemptions.

          2)Makes the third or subsequent violation of the open container 
            of alcohol prohibition by the driver of a charter-party 
            carrier a misdemeanor.

           FISCAL EFFECT 

          Minor non-reimbursable county costs from prosecution and 
          incarceration related to misdemeanor violations.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . Charter-party carriers furnish limousines-for-hire 
            or passenger charter transportation service in motor vehicles. 
            Charter-party carriers do not include vehicles on a set 
            schedule or between fixed termini, taxi cabs, car rentals, or 
            a city bus. Typical charter party carriers provide different 
            sized vehicles to take a group of people to another location 
            and/or back, such as on tour buses. The group would usually 
            reserve the vehicle as a group, and would not reserve a "seat" 
            individually. Current law requires charter-party carriers to 
            possess a certificate to operate from the PUC.

           2)Current law  requires the driver of any limousine operated by a 








                                                                  AB 45
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            charter-party carrier to comply with certain requirements 
            relating to alcohol beverages, including:

             a)   Determining whether any passenger is under the age of 21 
               years.

             b)   Reading to the passenger(s) a statement that the 
               consumption of any alcoholic beverage in the vehicle is 
               unlawful.

             c)   Requiring the minor passenger to sign the statement and 
               if a minor consumes any alcoholic beverage during the 
               course of the ride, to immediately terminate the contract 
               and return passenger to the point of origin.

               A violation of the above subjects the carrier to specified 
               penalties, based on the number of offenses for conviction 
               of a driver, or any officer, director, agent or employee of 
               the carrier that prohibits storage of an opened container 
               of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle.

           3)Purpose  .  The author introduced this bill as a result of the 
            death of Brett Studebaker, a 19-year-old San Mateo resident, 
            who crashed his car and died on February 5, 2010, following an 
            evening of heavy alcohol consumption with his friends, who 
            rode in a charter bus to celebrate a friend's birthday. 
            Brett's alcohol level was found to be more than three times 
            the legal limit for an adult of drinking age. This bill 
            extends to all types of charter-party vehicles the 
            requirements and sanctions described above, and additionally 
            makes the third or subsequent violations a misdemeanor.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081