BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1890 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Solorio VERSION: 6/6/12 Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: no Hearing date: June 12, 2012 SUBJECT: Motorcyclist electronic toll transponder use DESCRIPTION: This bill allows motorcyclists to store an electronic toll transponder in various locations on their persons or motorcycles. ANALYSIS: Existing law makes it unlawful to enter a toll bridge or highway without either the funds sufficient to pay the toll or a transponder or other electronic toll payment device. If a driver uses a transponder to pay tolls, the device must be in a visible location in the vehicle while on the toll facility for enforcement purposes. While existing law specifies where on the windshield of a vehicle it is allowable for a driver to affix a transponder, there is no requirement that the transponder be affixed, only that it be visible while on the toll facility. This bill allows a motorcyclist to place a transponder in one of the following locations, as long as the toll device reader can still detect the device: In the motorcyclist's pocket; Inside a cycle net that drapes over the gas tank of the motorcycle; On license plate devices if provided by the toll operator; In the glove or storage compartment of the motorcycle; or On the windshield of the motorcycle. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . According to the author, this bill codifies some of AB 1890 (SOLORIO) Page 2 the existing best practices of toll management authorities regarding motorcyclists' use of electronic toll payment devices. Existing law details the precise mounting locations of these transponders on a vehicle's windshield. The author notes that because these mounting requirements were developed with only automobiles in mind, they fail to apply appropriately to motorcyclists. This bill resolves this problem by allowing motorcyclists to use any one of five transponder storage methods when passing through toll facilities, as long as the toll operator's detection equipment can read the transponder. Assembly Votes: Floor: 77 - 0 Trans: 14 - 0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 6, 2012) SUPPORT: Orange County Transportation Authority OPPOSED: None received