BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2659 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 20, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair AB 2659 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: June 6, 2012 SUBJECT : Commercial driver's licenses SUMMARY : Allows the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to waive the commercial driver's license (CDL) drive test for applicants with military experience as truck drivers. Specifically, this bill : Allows the driving skills test to be waived for a commercial motor vehicle driver with military commercial motor vehicle experience who is currently licensed with the United States Armed Forces at the time of his or her application for a CDL, and whose driving record in combination with his or her driving experience meets, at a minimum, the conditions required by federal regulations. EXISTING LAW : Requires an applicant for a 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. 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 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., DUI or leaving the scene of an accident); more than one conviction AB 2659 Page 2 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 2 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 possess skills similar to commercial drivers. At the same time, the transport industry reports a shortage of truck drivers. This bill attempts to address these two problems by permitting DMV to implement the federal waiver for the CDL skills test. According to the author, 15 other states have adopted the federal standards. 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 responsible manner. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Chamber of Commerce California Distributors Association California Grocers Association California Independent Grocers Association California Manufacturers & Technology Association California Retailers Association California State Commanders Veterans Council California Trucking Association National Federation of Independent Business Operation Gratitude United Chambers of the San Fernando Valley Veterans of Foreign Wars Opposition None on file AB 2659 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093