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