BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1298
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          Date of Hearing:   May 2, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                  AB 1298 (Blumenfield) - As Amended:  April 7, 2011
           
          SUBJECT  :  Vehicle Code: 72-hour restriction.  

           SUMMARY:   Authorizes a local jurisdiction to issue an ordinance 
          establishing a minimum distance that a vehicle must be moved to 
          remain in compliance with the 72-hour parking restriction.  
          Specifically this bill:  

          1)Authorizes a local jurisdiction, by ordinance, to establish a 
            minimum distance that a vehicle must be moved to remain in 
            compliance with the 72-hour parking restriction.  

          2)Authorizes a local jurisdiction to impound a vehicle if it is 
            not moved the distance specified by the local ordinance.  

           EXISTING LAW:   

          1)Specifies that vehicles may be removed from public and private 
            roadways, under certain circumstances.  

          2)Specifies that a vehicle left standing on a highway for 72 or 
            more consecutive hours may be removed by a peace officer.  

          3)Permits local authorities to enact, by ordinance or 
            resolution, prohibitions or restrictions on the stopping, 
            parking, or standing of vehicles, including, on certain 
            streets or highways, or portions thereof, during all or 
            certain hours of the day.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  The author has described a situation in Los Angeles 
          where vehicles are left parked along roadways for extended 
          periods of time.  As the 72-hour time limit approaches (the time 
          after which a local authority may remove a vehicle), drivers 
          move the vehicles, usually only a short distance, and leave them 
          again for just  under  72-hours.  The author notes that this 
          happens repeatedly, resulting in vehicles remaining parked on 
          public roadways indefinitely.  While the vehicles are cited, 
          they cannot, according to state law, be removed until they have 








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          remained in place for 72 or more consecutive hours.  This 
          practice has become common and is frustrating to local law 
          enforcement and citizens who report that these vehicles take up 
          available on-street parking, impair visibility, and often become 
          an attractive nuisance for vandals.  

          The author notes that the majority of vehicles engaging in this 
          practice are mobile billboards; however, other personal and 
          commercial vehicle owners also employ this tactic.  The author 
          cites that the practice has continued despite the fact that law 
          enforcement officials issue repeated citations to offenders.  

          The author states that, typically, local jurisdictions would be 
          allowed to address this problem through the issuance of a local 
          ordinance specifying the distance a vehicle must be moved; 
          however, a recent California Supreme Court decision (O'Connell 
          v. City of Stockton) provided that local regulations are 
          preempted by state law from setting forth the requirement that 
          state law specifically authorize the establishment of the local 
          ordinance.  

          This bill seeks to establish the specific authority for the 
          local jurisdictions to enact ordinances establishing a minimum 
          distance a vehicle must be moved.  In doing so, local 
          jurisdictions would have the express authority to establish a 
          reasonable distance that a car must be moved to help curb the 
          problem of long-term vehicle storage on roadways.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          League of California Cities

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319- 
          2093 












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