BILL NUMBER: AB 628 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Conway
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to amend Sections 38026 and 38026.5 of, and to add and
repeal Section 38026.1 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 628, as amended, Conway. Vehicles: off-highway vehicle
recreation: County of Inyo.
Existing law authorizes an off-highway motor vehicle that has been
issued a plate or device to be operated or driven upon a highway
under certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes various public
entities, and the Director of Parks and Recreation, to designate a
highway, or portion thereof, for the combined use of regular
vehicular traffic and off-highway motor vehicles if certain
requirements are met. Existing law prohibits a highway from being
designated for this combined use for a distance of more than 3 miles.
This bill would, until January 1, 2017, authorize the County of
Inyo to establish a pilot project that would exempt from this
prohibition specified combined-use highways , except as
provided, in the unincorporated area in the County of Inyo so
that the highways can be used to link existing off-highway motor
vehicle trails and trailheads on federal Bureau of Land Management or
United States Forest Service lands, and to link off-highway motor
vehicle recreational-use areas with necessary service and lodging
facilities, in order to provide a unified linkage of trail systems
for off-highway motor vehicles, as prescribed. The bill would require
the County of Inyo, in consultation with the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation, and the
Department of Parks and Recreation, not later than January 1, 2016,
to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report evaluating the
effectiveness of the pilot project, and containing specified
information.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Inyo County is a rural county with a population of 17,945
residents.
(b) Inyo County is comprised of 10,140 square miles.
(c) Inyo County is the second largest county in the United States
in area, yet only 2 percent of this land is inhabited.
(d) Ninety-two percent of land in Inyo County is federally
administered public lands.
(e) Inyo County has outstanding natural diversity, including Mount
Whitney in the eastern Sierra, which is the highest peak in the
contiguous United States, as well as Death Valley, which is the
lowest point in the United States and the largest national park in
the contiguous United States.
(f) With six million acres of public land, Inyo County offers
numerous opportunities to explore and recreate.
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act
and designating combined-use highways on unincorporated county roads
in the County of Inyo for more than three miles to link existing
roads in the unincorporated portion of the county to existing trails
and trailheads on federal Bureau of Land Management or United States
Forest Service lands in order to provide a unified system of trails
for off-highway motor vehicles. It is further the intent of the
Legislature that no General Fund moneys be expended for the pilot
project established by this act, and the project will be revenue
neutral to the state.
SEC. 3. Section 38026 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
38026. (a) In addition to Section 38025 and after complying with
subdivision (c) of this section, if a local authority, an agency of
the federal government, or the Director of Parks and Recreation finds
that a highway, or a portion thereof, under the jurisdiction of the
authority, agency, or the director, as the case may be, is located in
a manner that provides a connecting link between off-highway motor
vehicle trail segments, between an off-highway motor vehicle
recreational use area and necessary service facilities, or between
lodging facilities and an off-highway motor vehicle recreational
facility and if it is found that the highway is designed and
constructed so as to safely permit the use of regular vehicular
traffic and also the driving of off-highway motor vehicles on that
highway, the local authority, by resolution or ordinance, agency of
the federal government, or the Director of Parks and Recreation, as
the case may be, may designate that highway, or a portion thereof,
for combined use and shall prescribe rules and regulations therefor.
A highway, or portion thereof, shall not be so designated for a
distance of more than three miles, except as provided in Section
38026.1. A freeway shall not be designated under this section.
(b) The Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission may
propose highway segments for consideration by local authorities, an
agency of the federal government, or the Director of Parks and
Recreation for combined use.
(c) Prior to designating a highway or portion thereof on the
motion of the local authority, an agency of the federal government,
or the Director of Parks and Recreation, or as a recommendation of
the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, a local
authority, an agency of the federal government, or the Director of
Parks and Recreation shall notify the Commissioner of the California
Highway Patrol, and shall not designate any segment pursuant to
subdivision (a) which, in the opinion of the commissioner, would
create a potential traffic safety hazard.
(d) (1) A designation of a highway, or a portion thereof, under
subdivision (a) shall become effective upon the erection of
appropriate signs of a type approved by the Department of
Transportation on and along the highway, or portion thereof.
(2) The cost of the signs shall be reimbursed from the Off-Highway
Vehicle Trust Fund, when appropriated by the Legislature, or by
expenditure of funds from a grant or cooperative agreement made
pursuant to Section 5090.50 of the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 4. Section 38026.1 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
38026.1. (a) The Except as provided in
subdivision (c), the County of Inyo may establish a pilot
project to designate combined-use highways on unincorporated county
roads in the county for no more than three
10 miles so that the combined-use highways can
be used to link existing off-highway motor vehicle trails and
trailheads on federal Bureau of Land Management or United States
Forest Service lands, and to link off-highway motor vehicle
recreational-use areas with necessary service and lodging facilities,
in order to provide a unified system of trails for off-highway motor
vehicles.
(b) The pilot project shall do all of the following:
(1) Prescribe a procedure for highway, road, or route selection
and designation by a vote of a majority of the quorum
of the Inyo County Board of Supervisors.
(2) In cooperation with the Department of Transportation,
establish uniform specifications and symbols for signs, markers, and
traffic control devices to control off-highway motor vehicles,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Devices to warn of dangerous conditions, obstacles, or
hazards.
(B) Designations of the right-of-way for regular vehicular traffic
and off-highway motor vehicles.
(C) A description of the nature and destination of the off-highway
motor vehicle trail.
(D) Warning signs for pedestrians and motorists of the presence of
off-highway motor vehicle traffic.
(3) Require that off-highway motor vehicles subject to the pilot
project meet the safety requirements of federal and state law
regarding proper drivers' licensing, helmet usage, and the
requirements pursuant to Section 38026.5.
(4) Prohibit off-highway motor vehicles and regular vehicular
traffic from traveling faster than 35 miles per hour on highways
designated under this section.
(c) The County of Inyo shall not designate a highway for combined
use pursuant to this section unless the Commissioner of the
Department of the California Highway Patrol finds that designating
the highway for combined use would not create a potential traffic
safety hazard.
(c)
(d) Not later than January 1, 2016, the County of Inyo,
in consultation with the Department of the California Highway
Patrol, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Parks
and Recreation, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a report
evaluating the pilot project, and containing both of the following:
(1) A description of the proposed trail
road segments to be allowed for combined use for over three
miles, as approved or adopted by a majority vote of the members of
the Inyo County Board of Supervisors.
(2) An evaluation of the overall safety and effectiveness of the
pilot project, including its impact on traffic flows and safety.
(d) (1) A report submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 5. Section 38026.5 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
38026.5. (a) In accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 4000,
a motor vehicle issued a plate or device pursuant to Section 38160
may be operated or driven on a local highway, or a portion of the
local highway, that is designated pursuant to Section 38026 or
38026.1 if the operation is in conformance with the
this code and the vehicle complies with off-highway vehicle
equipment requirements specified in this division.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), it is unlawful for a person
using an off-highway vehicle on a combined-use highway to do any of
the following:
(1) Operate an off-highway motor vehicle on the highway during the
hours of darkness.
(2) Operate a vehicle on the highway that does not have an
operational stoplight.
(3) Operate a vehicle on the highway that does not have rubber
tires.
(4) Operate a vehicle without a valid driver's license of the
appropriate class for the vehicle operation in possession.
(5) Operate a vehicle on the highway without complying with
Article 2 (commencing with Section 16020) of Chapter 1 of Division 7.