BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2659
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          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
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          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
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          Analysis Prepared by  :    Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093