BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2659
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2659 (Blumenfield)
As Amended June 6, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 5, 2012) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 9, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Allows licensed drivers of military commercial
vehicles to qualify for a California commercial driver's license
without undergoing a California driving skills test.
The Senate amendments delete all prior contents of the bill and
instead allow the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to waive
the driving skills test otherwise required under federal law for
a commercial motor vehicle driver with military commercial motor
vehicle experience who is licensed with the United States Armed
Forces at the time of his or her application for a commercial
driver's license, and whose driving record in combination with
his or her driving experience meets, at a minimum, the
conditions required under federal law.
EXISTING LAW requires an applicant for a commercial driver's
license (CDL) to pass a written and driving test for the
operation of a commercial motor vehicle that complies with the
minimum federal standards established by the federal Commercial
Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill dealt with unemployment
insurance benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Existing law requires a person to have a valid CDL of
the appropriate class in order to operate a commercial vehicle
in the state. DMV issues a CDL to an applicant only after he or
she passes written and driving skills tests and meets other
requirements depending on the particular type of vehicle the
AB 2659
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applicant seeks to operate.
Federal regulations outline specific skills and knowledge a
person must demonstrate before he or she is eligible for a CDL.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the federal
agency responsible for commercial vehicle oversight, recently
amended its regulations to allow states to waive this skills
test for an applicant possessing a military commercial vehicle
license and who certifies that within the two-year period
immediately prior to applying, he or she has not had: a license
suspended or revoked; a conviction for major offenses (e.g.,
driving under the influence (DUI) or leaving the scene of an
accident); more than one conviction for serious traffic
violations (e.g., excessive speeding or reckless driving); or,
any conviction arising in connection with a traffic accident,
nor any record of an accident in which he or she was at fault.
Additionally the applicant must be, or have been within the
prior 90 days, regularly employed in a military position
requiring operation of a commercial vehicle for at least the
prior two years.
According to the author, recent veterans represent a
disproportionate number of the country's unemployed population.
Further, research suggests that many of these recent veterans
were military transport operators, and therefore share skills
similar to commercial drivers. At the same time, the author
contends, the transport industry reports a shortage of truck
drivers. This bill attempts to address these two problems by
permitting DMV to adopt the federal waiver standards for the CDL
skills test. According to the author, 15 other states have
adopted the federal standards, including New York, Florida,
Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. With a high veteran
unemployment rate and a labor shortage in the trucking industry,
the author believes this bill benefits the state by allowing
qualified veterans to obtain a commercial driver's license in a
timely and safe manner.
The current version of this bill has not been heard by any
committee in the Assembly.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0004560
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