BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 45
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 45 (Hill)
As Amended August 24, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 12, 2011) |SENATE: |31-0 |(August 29, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: U. & C.
SUMMARY : Expands the provisions concerning under-age drinking
to apply to drivers of charter-party carriers, with certain
exemptions. Specifically, this bill :
The Senate amendments:
1)Require advance written notification to the designee fully
explaining their responsibilities and assumed liabilities. If
the carrier fails to comply, the amendments would require the
carrier to provide a designee and assume the responsibilities
and liabilities of a designee under this law.
2)Require the charter party carrier of passengers to ask the
chartering party at the time service is being prearranged to
make certain disclosures pertaining to the consumption of
alcoholic beverages and if there are passengers under 21 years
of age.
3)Restate the duties of the designee to "ensure compliance" with
all laws prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages by
persons under 21 years as a duty to make reasonable efforts to
ensure compliance with respect to persons the designee knew or
should have known to be under 21 years of age and was
consuming or consumed alcohol.
4)Limit the designee's liability to reasonably foreseeable
personal injuries or property damage (as opposed to any and
all).
5)Clarify that a party who provides the under-age party with
alcohol retains any liability they have under existing law for
those acts.
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6)Help ensure that a designee acts reasonably in executing his
or her duties by allowing the liability of a designee to
terminate once they deliver an intoxicated under-age drinker
to a reasonably safe location, such as a hospital, if not
their home or to their parent or guardian, as the bill
currently requires.
7)Clarify what is intended by the term "minor" in this bill as
the term is usually used to indicate under the age of majority
(18) when the bill focuses on anyone under 21 years of age,
including adults between 18-20 years of age.
8)Add co-authors and make other technical and clarifying
changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill expands the provisions
concerning under-age drinking to apply to drivers of
charter-party carriers, with certain exemptions. Specifically,
this bill expands the application of the alcoholic beverage
provisions concerning passengers under the age of 21 years by
applying those requirements to the driver of any vehicle used as
a charter-party carrier and makes the third or subsequent
violation of the open container prohibition a misdemeanor
against the driver of any vehicle used as a charter-party
carrier.
COMMENTS : According to the author, it took the loss of Brett
Studebaker, a 19-year old San Mateo resident to expose loopholes
in state law regarding under-age drinking in the party bus
industry. On the evening of February 5, 2010, Brett Studebaker,
a nineteen year old teenager boarded a charter bus to celebrate
a friend's birthday. According to the lawsuit filed by his
family, the charter bus dropped the passengers off at their cars
at approximately 2:00 a.m. after several hours of heavy alcohol
consumption. Unfortunately, Brett lost his life less than an
hour later when he crashed his vehicle into a sound wall and
another vehicle on Highway 101 near San Mateo. It was later
determined by officials that Brett's blood alcohol level was
more than three times the legal limit for an adult of drinking
age.
Issue : Limousines were not regulated by PUC until the
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proliferation of limousines companies in the late 1980s began to
lead to serious drug and alcohol abuse on limousine rides by
minors. Similar to limousines, charter buses are the new place
for under-age teenagers to drink. Some of these buses have the
reputation for promoting drinking parties on wheels, and there
is no consistent set of regulations promulgated to ensure that
drivers are checking the passenger's photo identification.
PUC enforcement authority : PUC is the agency responsible for
licensing limousine operators by issuing them a charter-party
carrier permit or certificate. Limousine operators and other
charter-party carriers are required to participate in DMV
Employer Pull Notice System, which is a program for the
carrier-employer to monitor the driving records of its drivers.
If a driver is pulled over by a California Highway Patrol
officer (CHP) for violating the open container law, that
information is supposed to be given to PUC by the courts. This
information sharing allows PUC to issue administrative citations
and fines against charter-party carriers for violations of the
law or PUC rules and regulations.
For instance, if a limousine driver is pulled over by a law
enforcement officer and is found to have passengers under 21
years of age drinking inside of the vehicle, the driver can then
be charged with an open container violation. PUC does not have
the authority to impose penalties against the driver. The
carrier (i.e. company) is held responsible for any violations
committed by its drivers. For a first offense, PUC may impose a
civil penalty no greater than $2,000 upon the carrier. For a
second offense, PUC may impose a civil penalty no greater than
$2,000 upon the carrier or suspend the carrier's permit for not
more than 30 days, or both. For a third offense, PUC shall
revoke the carrier's permit. These provisions and penalties
also apply to a limousine driver or a carrier officer, director,
agent or employee who is convicted of having an open container
of an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle when a minor passenger
is being transported.
Senate Floor amendments add co-authors, clarify the duties,
liabilities and/or penalties of the designee, driver, and
carrier, and make other technical, clarifying changes.
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083 FN:
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