BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1706
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1706 (Eng)
As Amended August 21, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |64-8 |(May 31, 2012) |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Permanently allows the operation of overweight transit
buses on non-interstate highways that were procured before
January 1, 2013. Authorizes transit operators to purchase new
overweight transit buses to replace existing buses of equal or
lesser weight, or to incorporate a new fleet class under
specified conditions, until 2015.
The Senate amendments :
1)State the intent of the Legislature that the manufacturers of
buses move toward producing lighter buses that would comply
with state and federal law in order to prevent the damage that
overweight buses cause to California's system of local streets
and roads.
2)Allow, permanently, the operation of overweight transit buses
on non-interstate highways that were procured before January
1, 2013.
3)Allow transit providers to procure new buses between January
1, 2013 and January 1, 2015, only on a "like-for-like" basis
or to incorporate a new type of bus into their fleets,
pursuant to a public hearing at which the transit agency is
required to make a finding of need based on agency's most
recently adopted Short Range Transit Plan.
4)Require state regulatory agencies to take into account vehicle
weight impacts when promulgating regulations that will affect
vehicle weights.
5)Delete the requirement for the establishment of a task force
to study options for bus axle weight limits.
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6)Sunset the bill's provisions on January 1, 2015 relative to
the interim procurement requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the size and weight limits for vehicles operating
on the state's highways. For buses, sets the gross weight on
any one axle to not exceed 20,500 pounds.
2)Suspends temporarily, under federal law, the axle weight limit
of 20,000 pounds for buses operating over the federal
Interstate Highway System. Prohibits specified states,
including California, or any political subdivision of such
states, from enforcing a transit vehicle weight limit of less
than 24,000 pounds on the Interstate Highway System.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially different
from the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown, likely moderate costs in any fiscal year to various
state agencies to consider vehicle weight impacts and the
impact that regulations may have on the ability to comply with
statutory weight limits.
2)Unquantifiable minor to significant impact on pavement
maintenance costs by allowing the operation of overweight
transit buses. Due to the numerous factors that may result in
pavement degradation, it is impossible to calculate the
isolated impacts and costs associated with continued operation
of overweight transit buses on state highways and local
streets and roads.
COMMENTS : Existing state law imposes a general gross weight
limit of 20,500 pounds on any one axle for buses operated on
public streets, roads, and highways, as specified. Existing
federal law establishes a maximum axle weight limit of 20,000
pounds for buses operating on the Interstate Highway System, but
this limit is currently suspended. Federal law currently
prohibits specified states, including California, or any
political subdivision of such states, from enforcing a transit
vehicle weight limit of less than 24,000 pounds on the
Interstate System.
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A December 2003 federal Department of Transportation/Federal
Transit Administration study on bus axle weight limitations
indicated that the buses have been operating in excess of the
20,000 pound federal axle weight limits on the Interstate
Highway System for over 20 years. The report also indicated
that "Since 1992, there has been a permissive arrangement
whereby states are not required to enforce axle weight limits
for intrastate transit buses." The report further recommended
the following approaches used for dealing with overweight
transit buses:
1)Some states, particularly in the northeast, have higher
axle-weight limits that preempt the federal limits due to
grandfather rights. In these states, transit buses with a
seated load often remain legal.
2)A number of years ago, bus operators for the Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) received
traffic citations for driving overweight transit buses on
Interstate highways. As a result, MTA bought over 90
tandem-axle Neoplan transit buses for freeway operation.
3)Federal law currently allows states to exempt intrastate
transit buses from the weight limit.
The federal study also recognized that other areas currently
have higher axle weight limits than California. The State of
Pennsylvania and others have a 22,400 pound axle weight limit.
This bill's sponsor, the California Transit Association (CTA),
contends that vehicles have increased in weight due to state and
federal mandates, as well as to accommodate for higher passenger
loads and passenger amenities. They cite clean vehicle fleet
rules as promulgated by the California Air Resources Board as
contributing weight factors especially as compressed natural gas
equipment can add around 4,000 pounds to the weight of a bus.
Further, they cite additional requirements, such as the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), that requires
public transit buses to be equipped with ADA-compliant tools,
such as wheelchair lifts, ramps, kneelers, tie-downs, and other
equipment. Their contention is that this gear also adds
hundreds of pounds of weight to buses, in addition to passengers
with wheelchairs, which can add 1,000 pounds of weight for only
two passengers in wheelchairs. They claim that these
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requirements have caused "transit systems to seek compliance
with one law while breaking another as a result."
Additionally, CTA indicates that buses today carry more
passengers than they did in years past. Buses are designed to
accommodate more standing passengers, and thus more passengers
overall. Also, as average passenger weights in the United
States are also increasing, this is a contributing factor that
needs to be considered by the task force as proposed by this
bill for establishing new public transit bus weight limits.
Responding to the need to increase the federal and state public
transit bus axle weight limits, local road and state highway
maintenance officials indicate that an increase in the axle
weight allowances of the buses will result in pavement stress,
resulting in higher reconstruction costs for local arterials
than state highways. This bill represents an approach that is
sensitive to the road maintenance concerns of local and state
entities as well as the needs of public transit entities to
operate buses that are over the state operational bus weight
limits due to requirements imposed by state and federal
agencies.
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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