BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1128|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 1128
          Author:   Furutani (D), et al.
          Amended:  7/5/11 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM  :  9-0, 06/28/11
          AYES:  DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal, 
            Pavley, Rubio, Simitian

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 05/26/11 (Consent) - See last page 
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Terminal Island Freeway:  special permits

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the Department of 
          Transportation to issue permits allowing vehicles that 
          exceed the weight limit to travel on a section of State 
          Highway Route 1.

           ANALYSIS :    Existing law generally limits vehicles and 
          vehicle combinations, such as tractor-trailer combinations, 
          to a gross weight of no more than 80,000 pounds.  The 
          Department of Transportation (Caltrans) or a local 
          authority, at its discretion, may issue a permit to 
          transport an oversized or overweight load on highways under 
          its control.
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          In addition, existing law authorizes Caltrans to issue a 
          special permit to the operator of a vehicle that exceeds 
          the maximum gross weight limits to travel on a specified 
          3.66 mile section of the Terminal Island Freeway (State 
          Route (SR) 47 and SR 103) and a 2.1 mile section of SR 1.  
          Before Caltrans can issue such a permit, both the cities of 
          Long Beach and Los Angeles must adopt related resolutions 
          or ordinances allowing these vehicles on specified local 
          roads.  The permitted vehicles must:

                 Be used to transport intermodal cargo containers 
               that are moving international commerce.
                 Not exceed a gross weight of 95,000 pounds.
                 Meet weight limits that Caltrans determines. 

          Vehicles for which Caltrans issues a permit may not 
          transport hazardous materials, must display a 
          Caltrans-issued indicia indicating its permitted status, 
          and must carry a copy of the permit at all times, which the 
          operator must furnish upon request from an employee of 
          Caltrans or the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

          This bill extends by 0.3 miles the portion of SR 1 for 
          which Caltrans may issue these overweight permits, provided 
          that the City of Carson adopts a related resolution or 
          ordinance permitting these vehicles to travel on local 
          roads as well.  This would allow a permitted overweight 
          vehicle travel on a 2.4 section of SR 1.  Specifies the 
          bill does not allow an applicant or permit holder to 
          operate a vehicle that exceeds the weight limit outside the 
          designated corridor.

           Comments
           
          The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles rank among the 
          busiest port facilities in the world and no other 
          commercial facility in Southern California produces more 
          vehicular traffic congestion.  In light of these 
          significant traffic congestion issues, the City of Long 
          Beach requested a weight exemption on specified state 
          highways near the port.  AB 2438 (Karnette), Chapter 1037, 
          Statutes of 1993, granted that exemption for a limited 
          time, and SB 2072 (Karnette), Chapter 229, Statutes of 

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          2002, made it permanent.  The port contended when AB 2438 
          was pending that the situation at the ports necessitated 
          allowing heavier vehicles to use state highways and local 
          roads to enhance the growth and efficiency of both ports.  
          The City of Long Beach further asserted then that without 
          this exemption cargo could be diverted to other ports.  

          The exemption that AB 2438 created allows vehicles carrying 
          overweight cargo containers to travel on a combined 5.8 
          miles of the Terminal Island Freeway and SR 1 (the Pacific 
          Coast Highway) to reach warehouse facilities around the 
          Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles, and Terminal 
          Island.  Shippers store goods that come through the ports 
          of Los Angeles and Long Beach at these nearby warehouses, 
          which trucks reach via the current overweight corridor, but 
          the proponents note that warehouses outside of this route 
          are not fully utilized.

          The author introduced this legislation to allow overweight 
          vehicles carrying port cargo to use additional roadway 
          segments in and around the City of Carson to reach these 
          underused warehouses.  To accomplish this, this bill would 
          authorize Caltrans to increase the distance that overweight 
          vehicles can travel on a relatively small section of State 
          Highway Route 1, upon the adoption of an ordinance or 
          resolution by the City of Carson designating the related 
          local routes within that city.  

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

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/11/11)

          California Association of Port Authorities
          Carson Chamber of Commerce
          City of Carson
          City of Los Angeles
          Desert Express
          FCL Logistics, LTD.
          International Warehouse Logistics Association
          Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
          Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
          Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn
          Los Angeles County Business Federation

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          Price Transfer, Inc.
          Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
          South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce
          The Port of Los Angeles


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 05/26/11
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Carter, 
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, 
            Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, 
            Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, 
            Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, 
            Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, 
            Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, 
            Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel 
            Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, 
            Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, 
            Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Campos, Cedillo, Davis, Gorell, Jones


          JJA:nl  7/12/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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