BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 45 (Hill) - Charter-party carriers: alcoholic beverages - 
          open containers.
          
          Amended: August 6, 2012         Policy Vote: EUC 7-1, JUD 4-0 
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 6, 2012                           
          Consultant: Jolie Onodera       
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the 
          Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 45 would repeal specified provisions of the 
          Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act (Act) related to the 
          requirements for a driver of a limousine for hire operated by a 
          charter-party carrier of passengers (carrier) concerning the 
          consumption of alcoholic beverages by passengers under 21 years 
          of age, and would instead require the chartering party, as 
          defined, to name a "designee" to be present on any party bus or 
          limousine, as specified. This bill would impose various 
          responsibilities and liabilities upon the designee, driver, and 
          carrier to prevent the consumption of alcohol by persons under 
          21 years of age. This bill would also provide for specified 
          penalties for failure to comply with these provisions, and would 
          make it a misdemeanor for third and subsequent violations 
          relating to the storage or possession of an open container of an 
          alcoholic beverage, as specified.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Minor, absorbable costs to the Public Utilities Commission 
              (PUC) associated with the revised provisions of the Act.
              Potential ongoing minor court costs for misdemeanor 
              filings, likely less than $25,000 (General Fund) for 50 new 
              misdemeanor filings per year.
              While the impact of this bill independently is likely to be 
              minor, the cumulative effect of all new misdemeanors could 
              create General Fund cost pressure on capital outlay, 
              staffing, programming, the courts, and other resources in 
              the context of recently enacted 2011 Public Safety 
              Realignment.

          Background: Existing law, the Passenger Charter-party Carriers' 








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          Act, authorizes the California PUC to regulate charter-party 
          carriers of passengers, 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. The Act 
          imposes the following requirements on the driver of any 
          limousine for hire operated by a carrier under a valid 
          certificate or permit:
               Ascertain whether any passenger is under the age of 21 
              years.
               Read to any passenger under 21 years of age a specified 
              statement that notifies the passenger, among other things, 
              that the consumption of any alcoholic beverage in the 
              vehicle is unlawful and that, if during the course of the 
              ride any minor is found to be, or to have been, consuming 
              any alcoholic beverage, the contract will be terminated and 
              the customer will be brought back to the point of origin of 
              the ride.
               Require every passenger under the age of 21 years to sign 
              the statement to be retained by the limousine operator for 
              the period required by the commission.
               Immediately terminate the contract of hire and return the 
              passengers to the point of origin of the ride if any minor 
              passenger, after signing the statement above is found to be, 
              or to have been, consuming any alcoholic beverage during the 
              course of any ride subject to this section.

          Under existing law, failure of a driver to comply with the 
          aforementioned requirements that results in the conviction of a 
          driver of a violation of Vehicle Code (VC) section 23225, which 
          prohibits the storage of an open container containing any 
          alcoholic beverage in a vehicle, is subject to various penalties 
          which include specified fines and revocation of the carrier's 
          permit. Notably, under existing law, the requirements previously 
          noted that are imposed upon a limousine driver do not apply to 
          the driver of any bus, taxicab, or van.

          Proposed Law: This bill, to be known as the Brett Studebaker 
          Law, would repeal Section 5384.1 of the Public Utilities Code 
          related to requirements for a limousine driver for hire operated 
          by a carrier concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages 
          by passengers under 21 years of age, and would instead enact 
          specified requirements and liabilities relating to under-age 
          drinking on charter party carriers, as specified. This bill 
          would impose various penalties for violations of the bill's 








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          provisions, and would create two new misdemeanors. This bill:
           Requires a chartering party, as defined, to disclose to the 
            carrier at the time the service is prearranged or the contract 
            is made, whether alcoholic beverages will be served or 
            transported in the passenger compartment of the vehicle during 
            transportation and whether a member of the party will be under 
            21 years of age.
           If the aforementioned is true, the carrier is required to 
            notify the chartering party of specified responsibilities, 
            including the assignment of a "designee" who is at least 25 
            years of age to be present whenever persons under 21 years of 
            age who are not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are 
            being transported.
           Requires the designee to make reasonable efforts to ensure 
            compliance with all laws prohibiting the consumption of 
            alcoholic beverages by persons under 21 years of age who are 
            members of the party and are unaccompanied by a parent or 
            legal guardian.
           Requires the carrier to provide a copy of a written form 
            signed by the designee to the chartering party within 24 hours 
            of the reservation. If the form is not provided, the carrier 
            must provide a designee who is not the driver and shall incur 
            all liabilities of that designee.
           Requires the carrier to inform the driver of the vehicle that 
            alcohol will be present and that there will be persons under 
            21 years of age present during the provision of transportation 
            services, and the name of the designee.
           Requires the driver to obtain the designee's signature or 
            initials on a written form indicating the designee's 
            acknowledgment and agreement to specified terms.
           Extends the following existing penalties imposed on limousine 
            drivers to all charter-party carriers of passengers for a 
            specified violation of the Vehicle Code related to the storage 
            of an opened container of an alcoholic beverage.
                  o         For a first offense, the PUC may impose a 
                    civil penalty of not more than $2,000 upon the 
                    carrier.
                  o         For a second offense, the PUC may impose a 
                    civil penalty of not more than $2,000 upon the carrier 
                    or suspend the carrier's certificate or permit for not 
                    more than 30 days, or both.
                  o         For a third offense, the PUC is required to 
                    revoke the carrier's certificate or permit.
           Provides that a third or subsequent violation of VC section 








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            23225, relating to the storage of an opened container of an 
            alcoholic beverage, or Section 23223, relating to the 
            possession of an open container of an alcoholic beverage, or a 
            driver of any vehicle used to provide transportation services 
            on a prearranged services, operating under a valid certificate 
            or permit, as specified, is a misdemeanor.

          Staff Comments: The PUC has indicated the costs to their 
          department associated with the revisions to the Act will be 
          minor and absorbable. 
          
          Except in cases where a different punishment is prescribed, a 
          misdemeanor offense is punishable by imprisonment in the county 
          jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, 
          or by both. The Judicial Council may incur costs for increased 
          misdemeanor filings, but annual costs are likely to be minor of 
          less than $25,000 (General Fund) statewide if 50 new 
          misdemeanors are filed per year, and would be offset to a degree 
          by fine revenue.  

          The creation of new misdemeanors has historically been analyzed 
          by this Committee to result in non-reimbursable state mandated 
          costs for local law enforcement and incarceration. Staff notes, 
          however, that the creation of new misdemeanors taken 
          cumulatively could increase the statewide adult jail population 
          to a degree that could potentially impact the flexibility of 
          counties to manage their jail populations recently increased 
          under the 2011 Public Safety Realignment. While the provisions 
          of this bill are likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of 
          all new misdemeanors could create unknown General Fund cost 
          pressure on capital outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, 
          and other resources.