BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 2679 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Trans. Com. VERSION: 6/25/12 Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes Hearing date: July 3, 2102 SUBJECT: Transportation omnibus bill DESCRIPTION: This bill makes non-controversial changes to sections of law relating to transportation. ANALYSIS: According to the Legislative Analyst, the cost of producing a bill in 2001-02 was $17,890. By combining multiple matters into one bill, the Legislature can make minor changes to law in the most cost-effective manner. This bill includes the following provisions: 1.Caltrans claims İSection 1]. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to pay claims or damages up to a maximum of $5,000 without approval of the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (CVCGC). In the past, this threshold has been aligned with the limit for filing a claim in small claims court. In recent years, however, the Legislature has increased the small claims court limit on two occasions while Caltrans' threshold has not. As a result, many "small claims" that Caltrans could handle efficiently must be referred to the CVCGC. Referral to CVCGC frequently leads to the filing of a lawsuit, thereby necessitating the involvement of Caltrans' legal staff at substantially increased cost. This bill pegs the threshold under which Caltrans may pay claims without involving its attorneys at the small claims court limit. İSubmitted by the Assembly Transportation Committee] 2.Bicycles on capital grounds İSection 2]. Under current law it a misdemeanor to ride a bike on the sidewalks of the state capital to access the bike racks near the doors. This bill AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 2 makes it legal to ride a bike on capital walkways that the California Highway Patrol has designated as access routes to bicycle parking, provided that the bicycle is ridden in a manner that is reasonable and prudent having due regard for pedestrians, weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the area's grounds. İSubmitted by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee] 3.Updating agency names İSections 3, 7, 8, and 16]. The former Imperial Valley Association of Governments is now the Imperial County Transportation Commission, and the former Los Angeles County Transportation Commission is now the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). This bill updates the statutory references to these two agencies. İSubmitted by the Assembly Transportation Committee] 4.Using the term "disabled" İSections 4-6, 9, 11-15, and 17]. This bill updates the Transportation Development Act to replace the term "handicapped" with the term "disabled." İSubmitted by the Assembly Transportation Committee] 5.Correcting a drafting error İSection 10]. In 2009, AB 1219 (Evans), Chapter 143, Statutes of 2009, allowed the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) to file a claim with the transportation planning agency for up to 2% of local transportation funds available to the county and city members of the authority for countywide transit planning and coordination. AB 1219 erroneously cited STA's allotment as 2% when, in fact, STA's allotment has been 2.7% since 2004. This bill corrects this drafting error and aligns the statutory allotment distribution with current practice. İSubmitted by Solano Transportation Authority] 6.Gas-tax swap cleanup İSections 18 and 19]. This bill aligns the adjustment dates of the gasoline and diesel fuel sales tax prepayment rates with the excise tax rate adjustments for both gasoline and diesel fuel enacted in the fuel tax swap of AB 105 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 6, Statutes of 2011. The dates would be changed so that when there are adjustments to the gasoline and diesel fuel excise tax rates, they would also be accounted for in the sales tax prepayment rate, thereby reducing the time and costs associated with adjusting the rates at two different times for both the Board of Equalization (BOE) and the affected motor vehicle fuel suppliers. The bill also allows the BOE to notify fuel vendors of a new prepayment rate by means other than mail and makes a clarifying reference to the additional sales tax on AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 3 diesel fuel set to take effect on July 1, 2011. İSubmitted by Board of Equalization] 7.Highway relinquishments İSections 20-33]. Current law relinquishes numerous portions of the state highway systems to cities and counties. This bill cleans up the relinquishment statutes to reflect those relinquishments that have already occurred and those that will not occur. The bill also allows the California Transportation Commission to relinquish to the City of Watsonville a portion of State Route 152 within the city limits upon terms and conditions the commission finds to be in the best interests of the state. İSubmitted by the Assembly Transportation Committee and City of Watsonville] 8.Schoolbus stops İSections 34-36]. Current law requires schoolbus drivers to load or unload pupils only at stops designated by a school district superintendent. This bill additionally authorizes private school officials to designate schoolbus stops. The bill also requires the California Highway Patrol to approve any stops on highways with speed limits greater than 25 miles per hour if the stop is not visible for 500 feet in either direction. İSubmitted by Assemblyman Mike Feuer] 9.Release of impounded vehicles İSection 37]. Current law allows a peace officer to impound a vehicle if the driver is unlicensed or driving with a suspended or revoked license. In order for the vehicle to be released from impound, the registered owner, or the registered owner's agent, must present a valid driver's license and proof of current vehicle registration. It is not clear, however, whether the owner must present the documents to the law enforcement agency that caused the impound or to the garage operator. This bill clarifies that the law enforcement agency must confirm the validity of the license and registration and authorize the release of the impounded vehicle. İSubmitted by California Highway Patrol (CHP)] 10. Seatbelt warning for older used vehicles İSection 38]. Current law requires new car dealers to warn the buyers of older used vehicles (model years 1972-1990) about the lack of shoulder harnesses attached to the seat belts. The New Car Dealers Association suggests that this requirement is obsolete and should be repealed because no new car dealers sell such vehicles. İSubmitted by the New Car Dealers Association] AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 4 11. Clarifying definitions İSection 39]. This bill clarifies that a "slide back carrier" is a tow truck and replace the term "conventional trailer" with "trailer." İSubmitted by California Highway Patrol] COMMENTS: 1.Purpose of the bill . The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee is authoring this bill as a means of combining multiple, non-controversial changes to statutes into one bill, so that the Legislature can make minor amendments in a cost-effective manner. There is no known opposition to any item in the bill, and if concerns arise that cannot be resolved, the provision of concern will be deleted from the bill. 2.Additional provision . The author will propose an amendment in committee to add one additional provision requested by the California Trucking Association relating to rear license plates. Current law generally requires that rear license plates be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than 60 inches from the ground. With respect to dump trucks that have a load-bearing swing arm mechanism that lowers off the rear of the vehicle, it is not possible to display a license plate legally in this manner without obstructing the view of the license plate. To ensure visibility, the amendment allows the rear license plate on a dump bed motor truck equipped with a trailing, load bearing swing axle to be mounted more than 12 inches but not more than 107 inches from the ground. 3.Technical amendments : On page 24, line 20 after the second comma insert "Rialto," On page 27, lines 30-31 strike "in the County of Riverside" On page 27, lines 34-35 strike "in the County of Riverside" Strike Section 38 relating to seatbelt warnings for older used vehicles. Assembly Votes: Floor: 75-0 Appr: 17-0 R&T: 8-0 AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 5 Trans: 14-0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 27, 2012) SUPPORT: Board of Equalization OPPOSED: None received.