BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1047|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1047
          Author:   Jeffries (R)
          Amended:  5/30/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM. :  8-0, 6/12/12
          AYES:  DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Rubio, 
            Simitian, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Pavley
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  55-5, 1/17/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Vehicles:  motorcycle safety

           SOURCE  :     ABATE of California


           DIGEST  :    This bill prohibits state and local law 
          enforcement agencies from conducting motorcycle-only 
          checkpoints.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law authorizes a local jurisdiction, 
          by ordinance and only on highways under its jurisdiction, 
          to establish vehicle inspection checkpoints to look for air 
          emissions violations or sobriety checkpoints to identify 
          drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  
          Drivers of motor vehicles must stop and submit to an 
          inspection at a checkpoint when signs are displayed 
          requiring a stop. 
           
          In its effort to reduce negative outcomes associated with 
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1047
                                                                Page 
          2

          motor vehicle crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety 
          Administration (NHTSA) administers traffic safety grants to 
          state and local governments to conduct local highway safety 
          programs.  Among the grant funding NHTSA provides are funds 
          to states through the Motorcyclist Safety Grant program.  
          Federal law provides that these motorcycle safety funds are 
          available only for two purposes: 

          motorcyclist safety training
          motorcyclist awareness programs.
           
          Comments
           
           Purpose  .  This bill prohibits law enforcement from 
          conducting motorcycle-only checkpoints.  The author 
          introduced this bill in response to other states setting up 
          roadside checkpoints and stopping and citing only 
          motorcyclists.  The author contends that it is important to 
          prohibit these motorcycle-only checkpoints because they 
          have resulted in motorcyclists feeling singled out and 
          profiled for stops by police.  

          California law enforcement does not conduct motorcycle 
          safety checkpoints.  The author claims this bill is 
          important to protect Californian motorcyclists' rights.  
          According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), however, 
          neither it nor any local law enforcement agencies conduct 
          motorcycle-only checkpoints.  Some have described an 
          example of a motorcycle-only checkpoint that occurred in 
          Citrus Heights, California; however, in this instance the 
          local law enforcement agency was conducting a targeted 
          enforcement effort rather than a motorcycle-only 
          checkpoint.  

           Targeted enforcement efforts and checkpoints are often 
          confused  .  The distinguishing feature of a checkpoint is 
          that drivers are required to pull over and stop in a 
          designated area when requested to do so by law enforcement 
          personnel.  Once a driver has pulled into the designated 
          area, he/she is required to submit to an inspection 
          conducted by a law enforcement officer.  Drivers are 
          notified that the checkpoint is in place by posted signs 
          that require drivers to pull over and stop.  Drivers who 
          fail to stop may be cited.  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1047
                                                                Page 
          3

          Targeted enforcement programs, on the other hand, call for 
          the deployment of additional law enforcement officers in a 
          given area to look for and cite drivers for specific 
          violations.  One common example of a targeted enforcement 
          effort is the recent Click It or Ticket campaign to 
          increase compliance with seatbelt laws.  An example of a 
          targeted enforcement effort involving motorcyclists was 
          CHP's enforcement campaign to increase patrols on a 33-mile 
          stretch of State Route 74 near Temecula focused on traffic 
          violations made by motorcyclists.  In addition to increased 
          enforcement, targeted enforcement programs can also include 
          public awareness media efforts designed to reduce the 
          overall incidence of specific violations.  

           Are motorcycle-only checkpoints fair?   Proponents for this 
          bill argue that it is unfair to single out motorcycles for 
          safety inspections.  If CHP were to conduct other safety 
          checkpoints to look for proper seat belt and child 
          restraint use, these would effectively single out 
          automobiles.  In such checkpoints, CHP would wave 
          motorcyclists through because motorcycles have no seat belt 
          requirements.  If the CHP conducts a helmet checkpoint, it 
          stands to reason the officers would wave through automobile 
          drivers because they are not required to wear helmets.  It 
          is unclear why one checkpoint or the other would be 
          considered more or less fair to the drivers being stopped.
          In fact, several motorcycle riders that were stopped at the 
          motorcycle-only checkpoints in New York sued the state in 
          2009, claiming that the main purpose of the checkpoints was 
          to look for criminals and that the practice was intrusive 
          and unfair to riders (Wagner, et al. v. The County of 
          Schenectady, NY, et al.).  A federal judge dismissed the 
          case in November 2011, rejecting the motorcyclists' claims 
          that the New York State Police violated their 
          constitutional rights and concluding that the checkpoints 
          were enacted to promote motorcycle safety and were 
          effective in addressing this interest.  

           Other states and legislation  .  To date, only New York, 
          Georgia, and Virginia have conducted motorcycle-only 
          checkpoints.  In response to their growing use, motorcycle 
          advocacy groups are urging lawmakers across the country to 
          ban these checkpoints.  New Hampshire and North Carolina 
          have passed laws banning the use of federal grant funds for 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1047
                                                                Page 
          4

          motorcycle-only checkpoints.  In addition, Virginia has 
          passed a law which prohibits motorcycle-only checkpoints 
          regardless of funding source.  At the federal level, 
          Wisconsin Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri, Paul 
          Ryan, and Sean Duffy have introduced H.R. 904 that, if 
          enacted, would prohibit the United States Secretary of 
          Transportation from providing funds to state and local 
          governments for the creation of motorcycle-only 
          checkpoints.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/14/12)

          ABATE of California (source)
          American Motorcyclist Association
          Sacramento Outrider Motorcycle Association
          Thunder Roads Magazine - Northern California


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  55-5, 1/17/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bill Berryhill, 
            Bonilla, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, 
            Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, 
            Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gatto, 
            Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Hayashi, Hill, 
            Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, 
            Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, 
            Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Perea, Portantino, 
            Silva, Solorio, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Yamada
          NOES:  Alejo, Lara, Pan, Swanson, Torres
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, 
            Campos, Cedillo, Davis, Fletcher, Furutani, Galgiani, 
            Gorell, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Hueso, Huffman, V. 
            Manuel Pérez, Skinner, Smyth, Williams, John A. Pérez


          JJA:k  6/14/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****


                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1047
                                                                Page 
          5














































                                                           CONTINUED