BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1174|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1174
          Author:   Walters (R), et al.
          Amended:  5/1/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE :  7-0, 4/24/12
          AYES:  DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Rubio, 
            Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Pavley, Simitian

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    Vehicles:  length limitations:  motorsports

           SOURCE  :     National Hot Rod Association
                      Professional Racer Owners Association
                      Western Motorsports


           DIGEST  :    This bill permits extra-long semitrailers of up 
          to 56 feet, if the semitrailer is used primarily in 
          connection with motorsports.

          ANALYSIS  :    Most large trucks on the highway are truck 
          tractor-trailer combinations.  Typically, a truck tractor 
          pulls a semitrailer.  A semitrailer is a trailer that is 
          constructed so that some part of its weight and load rests 
          upon or is carried by another vehicle, usually a truck 
          tractor.  A kingpin is the main pin used to connect a 
          semitrailer to a tractor truck.  The distance from the 
          kingpin to the rear axle, referred to as KP-RA length, 
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1174
                                                                Page 
          2

          determines the width of the turning radius of the 
          tractor-trailer combination.  Generally, any increase in 
          the wheelbase of any vehicle in a combination of vehicles 
          will result in more roadway used to complete a turn.  

          On specified federal and state routes, existing law allows 
          semitrailers of up to 53 feet with a maximum KP-RA distance 
          for a semitrailer with two-axels of not more than 40 feet, 
          provided the truck tractor is pulling only the semitrailer. 


          Existing state law also authorizes the Department of 
          Transportation or a local authority, for highways under 
          their respective jurisdictions, to issue special permits 
          authorizing vehicle combinations consisting of a truck 
          tractor-semitrailer with a KP-RA distance of no more than 
          46 feet for vehicles used primarily in connection with 
          motorsports.  These semitrailers also may be up to 53 feet 
          in length, as existing federal law limits semitrailers in 
          California to a length of no more than 53 feet.

          Existing law defines motorsports to mean an event, and all 
          activities leading up to that event, that an organization 
          of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United 
          States has sanctioned.

          This bill permits extra-long semitrailers of up to 56 feet, 
          if the semitrailer is used primarily in connection with 
          motorsports.
           
          Background

          California Highway Patrol (CHP) enforcement history  .  
          Before 2005, law enforcement and CHP did not consistently 
          enforce the 53-foot limit on semitrailers related to 
          motorsports.  After further review commenced under a new 
          commissioner, CHP officers began ticketing and impounding 
          vehicles with semitrailers exceeding the 53 foot length 
          limit and have done so since 2005. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/15/12)

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1174
                                                                Page 
          3


          National Hot Rod Association (co-source)
          Professional Racer Owners Organization (co-source)
          Western Motorsports (co-source)
          Alan Johnson Racing
          Cruz Pedregon Racing
          Don Schumacher Racing
          T.W. Racing Inc.


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author's office states that 
          even though motorsport trailers meet both weight and 
          kingpin to rear axle requirements, their overall length of 
          56 feet is 3 feet longer than state law allows.  When law 
          enforcement measures and impounds these 56-foot trailers, 
          it costs racing teams tens of thousands of dollars and 
          gives them a disincentive to participate at events held in 
          California. 

          The author's office asserts that all other states offer 
          these motorsports trailers either an exemption or a 
          permitting process, or they simply withhold enforcement so 
          the trailers can operate within their jurisdictions.  
          Proponents contend that California is the only state that 
          intentionally fines and impounds these trailers for being 
          longer than the 53 feet and state that failure to change 
          the law could result in racing organizations and teams 
          pulling out of events in California to avoid the risk of 
          these costly regulations.  This will have a negative impact 
          on any potential economic recovery and would also result in 
          General Fund revenue reductions.


          JJA:do  5/16/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****
          






                                                           CONTINUED