BILL ANALYSIS Ó 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 45 - Hill Hearing Date:
June 21, 2011 A
As Amended: June 14, 2011 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law makes it unlawful for a person under 21 years of age
to drink an alcoholic beverage.
Current law makes it unlawful to provide a person under 21 years
of age with an alcoholic beverage.
Current law prohibits a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle
from drinking any alcoholic beverage while in a motor vehicle
upon a highway.
Current law makes it unlawful and punishable as an infraction
for any person to drive a motor vehicle with an open container
of alcohol.
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.
Current law regulating charter party carriers generally applies
to a limousine, defined to be a vehicle with seating capacity of
not more than 10 passengers including the driver, and a bus,
defined to be a vehicle with seating capacity of more than 10
passengers.
Current law provides that the law prohibiting a passenger in a
motor vehicle from drinking any alcoholic beverage does not
apply to passengers in a bus or limousine.
Current law provides that the law making it unlawful to drive a
motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol applies to the
driver of a limousine, but not a bus, when any passenger is
under 21 years of age.
This bill would make it unlawful to drive a bus with an open
container of alcohol when any passenger is under 21 years of
age.
This bill would make the third offense of this open container
law punishable as a misdemeanor for the driver of a limousine or
bus.
Current law requires the driver of a limousine to ascertain
whether any passenger is under 21 years of age, read them a
statement that consumption and transportation of alcohol in the
vehicle is unlawful, require each passenger under 21 years of
age to sign the statement, and, if that person is found to have
been drinking during the course of the ride, terminate the trip
and return the passenger to the point of origin of the ride.
This bill would require the driver of a limousine, if a person
under 21 years of age is found to have been drinking, to
terminate the trip and return that passenger to the point of
origin of the ride or, at the option of the driver, drop the
passenger off at his or her home, nearest police station, or any
other point mutually agreed to by both parties, as long as the
conditions are safe for the driver.
This bill would apply these requirements regarding any passenger
under 21 years of age to the driver of a bus when the driver
knows, or has reasonable reason to believe, that alcoholic
beverages are, or will be, transported on the bus and accessible
to passengers.
Current law requires a court to report to the CPUC any
conviction of a limousine driver for violating the open
container law and authorizes the CPUC, after a hearing, to
impose a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 for a first
offense, impose a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 or
suspend the carrier's certificate or permit for 30 days for a
second offense, and revoke the carrier's certificate or permit
for a third offense.
This bill would authorize the CPUC to impose those same
penalties when the driver of a bus is convicted of violating the
open container law and the convictions are reported to the CPUC.
BACKGROUND
Prevention of underage drinking and the tragic loss of life that
all too often results from drinking and driving is the intent of
many provisions of current law. It is always unlawful for a
person under 21 years of age to drink and generally unlawful for
an adult to provide alcohol to a minor. It is also unlawful for
any driver or passenger of a motor vehicle to drink or have any
open container of alcohol while driving or for any person to
drive while under the influence of alcohol.
But the laws apply differently to charter party carriers, which
are private vehicles for hire to transport passengers on a
pre-arranged basis. Charter party carriers are regulated by the
CPUC as a limousine (a vehicle with no more than 10 passengers
including the driver) or a bus (a vehicle with more than 10
passengers including the driver). Some charter party carriers,
with a wide range of seating capacity, are marketed as "party"
vehicles and have neon lighting, bars, sound systems and often
center poles and perimeter seating.
A complicated web of cross-referencing sections of the Vehicle
Code and Public Utilities Code allow adult passengers of a
charter party carrier limousine or bus to drink alcohol on
board. However, the open container prohibition applies to the
driver of a limousine (but not a bus) when any passenger is
under 21 years of age, effectively making it unlawful for adults
in a limousine to drink if anyone in the group is a minor.
In response to an apparent surge in underage drinking parties in
limousines in the late 1980s, AB 3628 (Leslie, 1998) imposed new
requirements on charter party limousines. A limousine driver is
required to ascertain whether any passenger is under 21 years of
age, read them a statement that consumption and transportation
of alcohol in the vehicle is unlawful, require each passenger
under 21 years of age to sign the statement, and, if that person
is found to have been drinking during the course of the ride,
terminate the trip and return the passenger to the point of
origin. The bill also required a court to report to the CPUC
any conviction of a limousine driver for violating the open
container law and authorized the CPUC, after a hearing, to
impose a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 for a first
offense, impose a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 or
suspend the carrier's certificate or permit for 30 days for a
second offense, and revoke the carrier's certificate or permit
for a third offense.
Despite this law being in effect for more than 20 years, the
CPUC has never imposed any penalties under these provisions and
has not identified a single case where a court reported a
conviction of a limousine driver for violating the open
container law. The law does not require the CPUC to do anything
unless it receives a notice of conviction under the open
container law.
The CPUC has sought to address underage drinking in charter
party vehicles by working with law enforcement where underage
drinking is a problem, including with the Hollywood Strike Force
and San Diego Area Law Enforcement Task Force.
COMMENTS
1. Author's Purpose . According to the author, this bill is
necessary to close the loophole in current law that exempts
party buses from provisions applicable to limousines and to
ensure that bus drivers do not turn a blind eye to underage
drinking parties. The bill is in response to the death of
Brett Studebaker, a 19-year-old who crashed into a sound
wall on Highway 101 near San Mateo in February 2010 after
his friend's 21-year-old birthday celebration aboard a
charter bus. His blood alcohol level was more than three
times the legal limit for an adult of drinking age. The
author states that this bill, named the Brett Studebaker
Law, "is life-saving legislation that will prevent
tragedies such as that of Brett Studebaker."
2. CPUC Penalties Triggered Only by Open Container
Violation . The author claims that this bill seeks to close
a loophole and make the provisions of AB 3628 that apply to
limousines also applicable to buses. But it is unclear if
any provision of that bill has effectively curbed underage
drinking in charter party carriers. That bill was intended
to make limousine drivers subject to CPUC penalties after
an open container conviction, but not a single open
container conviction has ever been reported to the CPUC and
not a single penalty has been imposed in 20 plus years.
This bill in its current form would make the driver of a
bus subject to this same open container violation if any
passenger is under 21 years of age, would require a court
to report to the CPUC any bus driver conviction under the
open container law, and authorize the CPUC to assess
penalties. However, the author indicates that he plans to
amend the bill to delete the provisions that would make a
bus driver subject to an open container violation if any
passenger is under 21 years of age. Thus, without this
change in current law, the open container law would not
apply to a bus driver, and there would be no potential
violation that could trigger the CPUC assessing penalties
on a bus driver. The changes in law that would remain in
the bill relate to bus and limousine driver obligations
during a trip.
3. Focus on Party Buses . This bill seeks to make drivers
of buses subject to the same requirements during a trip
that apply to limousine drivers - checking identification
and requiring passengers under 21 to sign a statement, and,
if a person under 21 years of age is found to have been
drinking, terminating the trip and returning the underage
passenger to the point of origin or another location.
Given that the only distinction in the law between a
limousine and a bus is the number of seats in the vehicle,
and that either vehicle could be a "party bus" where
underage drinking occurs, requiring only drivers of
limousines to comply is arbitrary. Thus, the bill seeks to
focus on party buses by applying these requirements only
"when the driver knows, or has reasonable reason to
believe, that alcoholic beverages are, or will be
transported on the bus and accessible to passengers." In
theory, this will excuse the driver from checking IDs and
collecting signed statements for a Little League or church
group where drinking is not likely but will ensure that
these steps are taken when a trip obviously includes
drinking.
4. Monitoring Underage Passengers . Unlike checking IDs and
collecting signed statements of minors, which are required
before a trip begins, the driver's obligation to determine
if an underage person subsequently drinks during a bus ride
raises concerns, especially in larger buses with up to 55
passengers. Bus companies claim that it will be an
impossible task for a driver to keep track of which
passengers are underage and whether they are drinking while
also safely driving the bus.
5. Ending the Trip . Current law requires that, if a
limousine driver finds an underage passenger to have been
drinking, to terminate the trip and return that passenger
to the point of origin of the ride. This bill applies that
obligation to bus drivers as well but gives both limousine
and bus drivers the option to drop the passenger off at his
or her home, nearest police station, or any other point
mutually agreed to by both parties, as long as the
conditions are safe for the driver. This obligation may
present practical problems. Returning an underage passenger
to the trip's point of origin or other location necessarily
means all passengers come along, which is especially
problematic for large buses on long-distance trips, and
even more so if multiple groups paid for passage on the
bus. For example, an all-adult group on a charter bus from
the Central Valley to a World Series game in San Francisco
may be more than a little miffed if the bus is suddenly
turning around to return home because another group on the
same bus included a minor who somehow got drunk. Moreover,
as the tragic death of Brett Studebaker shows, the safety
of a person who has been drinking excessively is not
guaranteed merely by getting them off the bus.
6. Double Referral . Should this bill be approved by the
committee, it should be re-referred to the Senate Committee
on Public Safety for its consideration.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (70-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (17-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(15-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Public Utilities Commission
California State Sheriffs' Association (in concept)
EF International Language Schools
Greater California Livery Association
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - Orange
County
State Public Affairs Committee - Junior Leagues of California
Oppose:
Amador Stage Lines
Coach America/San Francisco
Great American Stage
H & L Charter Co., Inc.
Lancer Insurance Company
Orange Belt Stages
Pacific Coachways Charter Services, Inc.
Pacific Monarch Ltd.
Sundance Stage Lines, Inc.
VIA Trailways
Jacqueline Kinney
AB 45 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 21, 2011