BILL NUMBER: AB 2488	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Williams

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

    An act to amend Section 44081 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to vehicular pollution.   An act to add
Section 35400.9 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2488, as amended, Williams.  Vehicles: gross polluters.
  Vehicle length limitation.  
   Existing law imposes a 40-foot limitation on the length of
vehicles that may be operated on the highways, with specified
exemptions. Existing law exempts from this limitation an articulated
bus or trolley and a bus, except a schoolbus, that is operated by a
public agency or passenger stage corporation that is used in a
transit system if it is equipped with a folding device attached to
the front of the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment, and does not extend more than
36 inches from the front of the body of the bus or trolley when
fully deployed. In addition, existing law prohibits a bicycle that is
transported on the above-described device from having the bicycle
handlebars extend more than 42 inches from the front of the vehicle.
 
   This bill would authorize the Gold Coast Transit District to
install folding devices attached to the front of its buses that are
designed and used exclusively for transporting bicycles if the use of
the device meets certain requirements, including, but not limited
to, that the device does not extend more than 40 inches from the
front of the bus when fully deployed, and that the handlebars of the
bicycles being transported do not extend more than 46 inches from the
front of the bus. If the Gold Coast Transit District installs the
bicycle racks, the bill would require the district to report to the
Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on
Transportation and Housing on or before December 31, 2017, regarding
safety issues and mobility improvements.  
   This bill would also require the district, prior to installing a
folding device on a bus that is 45 feet in length, to establish a
route review committee, as specified, in order to determine, by
unanimous vote of the voting members of the committee, which routes
proposed by the district are suitable for the safe operation of a
45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack. The
bill would require the committee's initial review to include a field
review of the proposed routes.  
   The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute.  
   Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance (smog check) program, administered by the Department of
Consumer Affairs. The smog check program requires inspection of motor
vehicles upon initial registration, biennially upon renewal of
registration, upon transfer of ownership, and in certain other
circumstances. Existing law requires the department, in cooperation
with the State Air Resources Board, to institute procedures,
including remote sensing devices and roadside testings, to audit the
emissions of vehicles while being driven on the streets and highways
of the state.  
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 35400.9 is added to the 
 Vehicle Code   , to read:  
   35400.9.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 35400, the Gold Coast
Transit District created pursuant to Part 15 (commencing with Section
103000) of Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code may install a
folding device attached to the front of a bus that is designed and
used exclusively for transporting bicycles if all of the following
conditions are met:
   (1) The device does not extend more than 40 inches from the front
body of the bus when fully deployed.
   (2) The device, including all bicycles transported on the device,
is mounted in a manner that does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment.
   (3) The handlebars of a bicycle that is transported on a device
described in this subdivision do not extend more than 46 inches from
the front of the bus.
   (b) (1) The Gold Coast Transit District shall establish a route
review committee prior to the installation of the initial folding
device, pursuant to subdivision (a), on a bus that is 45 feet in
length. The purpose of the committee is to ensure the safe operation
of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack.
   (2) The committee established pursuant to this subdivision shall
perform an initial review of the routes on which the district
proposes to operate a 45-foot bus equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack. The review shall include a field review of the proposed
routes. It is the intent of the Legislature that the field review
required under this paragraph include consultation with traffic
engineers from affected public agencies that have jurisdiction over
segments of the route or routes under review, to ensure coordination
with all affected state and local public road agencies that may
potentially be impacted due to the operation of a 45-foot bus with a
front-mounted bicycle rack.
   (3) By unanimous vote of all voting members, the committee shall
make a determination of the routes that are suitable for the safe
operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
   (4) Upon any proposal to make substantive changes or additions to
approved routes, those changes shall be subject to review and
certification pursuant to paragraph (2) prior to being approved by
the committee.
   (5) The members of the committee shall be selected not more than
30 days after receipt of the district proposal to equip a 45-foot bus
with a front-mounted bicycle rack and shall be comprised of the
following members:
   (A) One member from the district who shall be appointed by the
district's general manager and who shall be a voting member of the
committee.
   (B) One member who is a traffic engineer selected by the governing
board of the district and who shall be a voting member of the
committee.
   (C) One member appointed by the labor organization that is the
exclusive representative of the busdrivers of the district. If there
is no exclusive representative of the busdrivers, a busdriver member
shall be chosen by a majority vote of the busdrivers employed by the
district. This member shall be a voting member of the committee.
   (D) One member appointed by the governing board of the district
who shall be a representative of the bicycling community and who
shall reside in the district. This member shall be a nonvoting member
of the committee.
   (c) If a folding device is installed pursuant to subdivision (a),
the Gold Coast Transit District shall submit a report in compliance
with Section 9795 of the Government Code to the Assembly Committee on
Transportation and the Senate Committee on Transportation and
Housing on or before December 31, 2017. The report shall include a
summary of any incidents where the size of the folding devices was a
factor, and a summary of the mobility improvements these folding
devices provide. 
   SEC. 2.    Due to the unique circumstances of a large
number of bicycle riders using buses operated by the Gold Coast
Transit District, and the need to determine whether there are safety
considerations in having 40-inch bicycle racks on the front of its
buses, it is necessary that, and the Legislature finds and declares
that, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning
of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution. 

  SECTION 1.    Section 44081 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
   44081.  (a) (1) The department, in cooperation with the state
board, shall institute procedures for auditing the emissions of
vehicles while actually being driven on the streets and highways of
the state. The department may undertake those procedures itself or
seek a qualified vendor of these services. The primary object of the
procedures shall be the detection of gross polluters. The procedures
shall consist of techniques and technologies determined to be
effective for that purpose by the department, including, but not
limited to, remote sensing. The procedures may include pullovers for
roadside emissions testing and inspection. The department shall
consider the recommendations of the review committee based on the
outcome of the pilot demonstration program conducted pursuant to
Section 44081.6.
   (2) The department may additionally use other methods to identify
gross polluting vehicles for out-of-cycle testing and repair.
   (b) The department shall, by regulation, establish a program for
the out-of-cycle testing and repair of motor vehicles found, through
roadside auditing, to be emitting at levels that exceed specified
standards. The program shall include all of the following elements:
   (1) Emission standards, and test and inspection procedures and
regulations, adopted in coordination with the state board, applicable
to vehicles tested during roadside auditing. Emission standards for
issuance of a notice of noncompliance to a gross polluter shall be
designed to maximize the identification of vehicles with substantial
excess emissions.
   (2) Procedures for issuing notices of noncompliance to owners of
gross polluters, either at the time of the roadside audit, or
subsequently by certified mail, or by obtaining a certificate of
mailing as evidence of service, using technologies for recording
license plate numbers. The notice of noncompliance shall provide
that, unless the vehicle is brought to a designated test-only
facility or a test-and-repair station that is both licensed and
certified pursuant to Sections 44014 and 44014.2 for emissions
testing within 30 days, the owner is required to pay an
administrative fee of five hundred dollars ($500) to be collected by
the Department of Motor Vehicles at the next annual registration
renewal or the next change of ownership of the vehicle, whichever
occurs first. Commencing on the 31st day after issuance of the notice
of noncompliance, the fee shall accrue at the rate of five dollars
($5) per day up to the five hundred dollars ($500) maximum.
   (3) Procedures for the testing of vehicles identified as gross
polluters by a designated test-only facility, or a test-and-repair
station that is both licensed and certified pursuant to Sections
44014 and 44014.2, to confirm that the vehicle exceeds the minimum
emission standard for gross polluters set by the department.
   (4) Procedures requiring owners of vehicles confirmed as gross
polluters to have the vehicle repaired, resubmitted for testing, and
obtain a certificate of compliance from a designated test-only
facility, or a test-and-repair station that is both licensed and
certified pursuant to Sections 44014 and 44014.2, or removed from
service as attested by a certificate of nonoperation from the
Department of Motor Vehicles within 30 days or be required to pay an
administrative fee of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), to
be collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles at the next annual
registration renewal or the next change of ownership, whichever
occurs first. Commencing on the 31st day after issuance of the notice
of noncompliance, the fee shall accrue at the rate of five dollars
($5) per day up to the five hundred dollar ($500) maximum. The
registration of a vehicle shall not be issued or renewed if that
vehicle has been identified as a gross polluter and has not been
issued a certificate of compliance. Except as provided in subdivision
(b) of Section 9250.18 of the Vehicle Code, any revenues collected
by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to this subdivision and
Section 9250.18 of the Vehicle Code shall be deposited in the Vehicle
Inspection and Repair Fund. If the ownership of the vehicle is
transferred, the administrative fee provided for in this subdivision
shall be waived if the vehicle is brought into compliance.
   (5) A procedure for notifying the Department of Motor Vehicles of
notices of noncompliance issued, so that the Department of Motor
Vehicles may provide effective collection of the administrative fee.
The Department of Motor Vehicles shall cooperate with, and implement
the requirements of, the department in that regard.
   (c) The department may adopt any other regulations necessary for
the effective implementation of this section, as determined by the
department.
   (d) Upon the request of the department, the Department of the
California Highway Patrol shall provide assistance in conducting
roadside auditing, to consist of (1) the stopping of vehicles and
traffic management, and (2) the issuance of notices of noncompliance
to gross polluters. The department shall reimburse the Department of
the California Highway Patrol for its costs of providing those
services. The Department of Transportation and affected local
agencies shall provide necessary assistance and cooperation to the
department in the operation of the program.
   (e) There shall be no repair cost limit imposed pursuant to
Section 44017 for any repairs that are required to be made under the
roadside auditing program, except as provided in Section 44017.
   (f) This section does not apply to vehicles operating under a
valid repair cost waiver or economic hardship extension issued
pursuant to Section 44015.