BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 529
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lowenthal
VERSION: 6/25/13
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: July 2, 2013
SUBJECT:
Motor carriers: inspection and fees
DESCRIPTION:
This bill, beginning in 2016, changes the program through which
the state inspects large commercial trucks and trailers from a
periodic inspection of these vehicles and the operations
associated with them to one in which the California Highway
Patrol, through regulation, creates a performance-based truck
terminal inspection regime.
ANALYSIS:
Motor carriers transport property, except for household goods,
for hire in trucks, tractor-trailers, or other similar vehicles.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California
Highway Patrol (CHP) regulate those motor carriers that operate
within California. Specifically, DMV issues the permit that a
motor carrier must have to operate legally in this state. State
law gives CHP the exclusive authority to regulate the safety of
operation of motor carriers of property, principally through
inspections of the terminals from which they operate and
roadside inspections of their vehicles.
DMV issues motor carrier permits subject to the motor carrier
paying the "Safety Fee" (based on the number of vehicles the
motor carrier has in its fleet), providing proof of financial
responsibility (e.g., liability insurance), certifying that it
has workers' compensation coverage for its employees, securing a
CHP inspection (when required), and obtaining a carrier
identification number from CHP. A motor carrier must renew this
permit every year.
Pursuant to existing law, known as the Biennial Inspection of
Terminals (BIT) Program, CHP must inspect at a motor carrier's
terminal the vehicles, the vehicle maintenance records, and the
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driver records of motor carriers at least every 25 months. (A
"terminal" is any place where a commercial vehicle is regularly
garaged, maintained, operated, or from which it is dispatched.)
Not all motor carrier operations are subject to the BIT
program, as it is based not on the motor carrier permit but on
the types of vehicles the motor carrier operates.
To initiate a BIT inspection, the motor carrier must file an
application and pay specified fees to CHP. Existing law places
a priority on inspecting those vehicles that transport hazardous
materials. Tow truck companies and others operating specified
types of lighter weight trucks are excluded from the BIT program
and its inspections.
Failure of a motor carrier to schedule these BIT inspections
results in suspension of the motor carrier's permit. Failure to
pay the required fee on time results in additional delinquency
fees. A motor carrier operating without a valid motor carrier
permit or without having scheduled a BIT inspection is subject
to a misdemeanor penalty.
To encourage motor carriers to attain continuous satisfactory
ratings, motor carriers with two successive satisfactory BIT
inspections are exempt from the onsite inspection and instead
subjected to only an administrative review. In the
administrative review, CHP examines the motor carrier's
collision and citation history. After two consecutive
administrative reviews, a motor carrier must again receive an
onsite inspection. Existing law prohibits motor carriers
hauling hazardous materials from participating in this incentive
program, requiring instead that their terminals be inspected at
least once every 25 months.
This bill :
1.Deletes, effective January 1, 2016, the existing BIT program,
including the BIT program's requirement that CHP inspect a
motor carrier's vehicles, maintenance records, and driver
records every 25 months and that motor carriers pay a fee and
schedule these inspections.
2.Requires, instead, that by January 1, 2016, CHP adopt rules
and regulations establishing a performance-based truck
terminal inspection selection priority system. These
regulations shall incorporate methodologies consistent with
those used by the federal government, including quantitative
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analysis of specified safety-related motor carrier performance
data (such as accident and citation data) and information
collected during CHP's inspections and from other state,
federal, and local officials. CHP shall use this information
to create a database that it must update to provide real-time
information on each motor carrier's performance. CHP must
prioritize for inspection motor carrier terminals identified
by this system CHP develops, those never previously inspected
by CHP, and those operating vehicles hauling hazardous
materials.
3.Authorizes CHP, beginning January 1, 2016, to inspect any
terminal at any time it chooses. If a terminal has received a
"satisfactory" rating in a previous inspection, then CHP may
wait six years to next inspect that terminal. If a terminal
that receives "unsatisfactory" rating or falls below the
threshold established by the priority system in CHP's
regulations, then CHP must re-inspect within 120 days.
4.Requires, beginning January 1, 2016, all motor carriers to pay
and DMV to collect both the existing Safety Fee plus a new
"Carrier Inspection Fee" proceeds of which will pay for CHP's
truck terminal inspections and roadside safety inspections.
DMV would collect this fee when a motor carrier applies for an
original or renewal motor carrier permit.
5.Adds into the BIT program motor carriers of property not
currently included, thus greatly increasing the number of
trucking operations subject to BIT inspections. These will
include tow truck operators, construction truck operators,
utilities with trucks and trailers now not included, and all
companies that transport their products in two-axle trucks.
6.Clarifies that the definition of motor carriers of property
excludes vehicles never operated in commercial use if they
weigh less than 26,001 pounds, provided that they are operated
singly or are towing camp trailers, trailers for watercraft,
or a utility trailer.
7.Imposes a delinquency fee on motor carriers that renew their
permits after they have lapsed. (Now a motor carrier faces no
delinquency fee for paying after its permit expires, but it
cannot operate legally until it renews its permit.) All of
these funds accrue to the Motor Vehicle Account to pay DMV and
CHP costs associated with regulating motor carriers of
property.
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8.Makes conforming changes elsewhere in law, including deleting
references to obsolete requirements on motor carriers to
schedule BIT inspections or face suspension of their motor
carrier permits, that also take effect on January 1, 2016.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The Legislature created the BIT Program to ensure
that every motor carrier operating commercial vehicles from
terminal locations throughout the state underwent a safety
truck inspection at least once every 25 months to reduce the
fatality and injury collision rate in California. CHP has
conducted these inspections since 1989. During an inspection,
CHP will inspect a sample of regulated vehicles, maintenance
records of the vehicles, and driver records to determine if
the motor carrier is in compliance with all safety related
statutes and regulations. If the motor carrier passes
inspection, then the next inspection will take place in
approximately two years, but no later than 25 months.
Additionally, motor carriers are also required to carry out
their own vehicle inspections every 90 days and maintain
sufficient records of these inspections for CHP review.
Since the program's inception nearly 25 years ago, technology
and data collection systems now provide an opportunity to
revise the BIT program into a performance-based system.
Drawing from data gathered by DMV and law enforcement from
around the state and the nation, CHP can compile a full
complement of information and apply algorithms that will allow
them to focus its BIT inspections on new motor carriers and on
those that are most likely to be out of compliance with motor
carrier permit requirements or to have safety issues.
The author introduced this bill to use innovation and
technological advances that have occurred in recent years to
create a performance-based system to select for inspection
those trucking operations that are non-compliant or problem
motor carriers. This system will allow CHP to inspect
compliant motor carriers once every six years without the
motor carriers having to undergo two inspections in which it
gains a satisfactory rating. The author believes that this
bill will provide significant incentive for motor carriers to
employ business practices that ensure their drivers are
competent and their vehicles are safe.
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In addition, this bill realigns several functions between DMV
and CHP to increase program efficiencies and free up CHP time
for inspections and enforcement rather than revenue collection
and administrative tasks better handled during DMV's
permitting process. DMV will be responsible for collecting
all motor carrier fees, which will allow the DMV to hold or
suspend operating permits for non-compliant motor carriers.
This realignment will also permit CHP to focus solely on
terminal and motor carrier inspections, thereby ensuring that
public safety efforts are maximized.
2.Huge increase in BIT program . Under this bill, the number of
terminals (and their associated heavy duty vehicles) included
in the BIT program is likely to nearly double. Many of those
who operate these vehicles today, who are not now subject to
the BIT program and its inspection fee, will be subject to the
Carrier Inspection Fee that the bill imposes and to CHP
inspections of their operations. This bill is designed to
generate the same amount of revenue in the future for the
revamped BIT program as is generated by today's program, but
it is likely that CHP's workload could increase. CHP reports
that since the inception of the BIT program its general
budget, which comes primarily from the motor vehicle
registration fees, has subsidized the BIT program by nearly 50
percent. This is very likely to increase if this bill becomes
law and is fully implemented in 2016. The committee may wish
to consider whether this bill provides sufficient resources to
CHP to implement the revamped BIT program it creates and
whether it is appropriate that California's motorists
subsidize this program.
3.Chaptering conflicts . Both this bill and AB 501 (Nazarian)
amend Vehicle Code Section 34601 relating to motor carrier
weight thresholds in similar but different manners. The
author will need to resolve these substantive and chaptering
conflicts.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 73-1
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 15-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 26,
2013.)
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SUPPORT: California Construction Trucking Association
California Tow Truck Association
California Trucking Association
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
OPPOSED: None received.