BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 529|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 529
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 9/3/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 7/2/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/30/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 5/23/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Motor carriers: inspections and fees
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : 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 (CHP), 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 CHP regulate those motor carriers that operate within
California. Specifically, DMV issues the permit that a motor
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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
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
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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
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
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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.
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.
9.Requires the CHP, commencing January 30, 2017, and every 5
years thereafter, to report to DMV the amount it expended for
truck terminal inspections and roadside safety inspections,
and requires DMV to compare those expenditures to the amounts
collected for carrier inspection fees, as specified, and,
commencing July 1, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter, adjust
the carrier inspection fee to ensure that the net revenues
from the carrier inspection fee are sufficient to cover the
CHP's reasonable costs for those activities.
10.Contains double-jointing language with AB 501 (Hueso).
Comments
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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 they gain 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.
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
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time DMV programming costs of approximately $100,000,
primarily in 2014-15, related to the collection of the new
Carrier Inspection Fee (Motor Vehicle Account). Ongoing DMV
costs will be minor and absorbable as inspection fees will be
collected with other fees paid to DMV.
Estimated CHP costs in the range of $50,000 to $100,000 over
several fiscal years for staff time to adopt new regulations
associated with the restructured inspection program (Motor
Vehicle Account). CHP indicates these costs are absorbable.
Unknown one-time CHP costs, likely in the hundreds of
thousands in 2014-15, to create a database that includes
safety and performance-based data on motor carriers (Motor
Vehicle Account).
New DMV-collected Carrier Inspection Fee revenues of
approximately $12 million to $13.5 million annually (Motor
Vehicle Account). This fee is intended to offset fee revenue
losses associated with the elimination of the biennial motor
carrier terminal inspection fees collected by CHP, which
generated $13.45 million for the program in 2012-13.
Indeterminable impact on Safety Fee revenue (Motor Vehicle
Account) and Uniform Business License Tax revenue (General
Fund). These items are collected annually by DMV as part of
the motor carrier permit program. While the amounts of these
fees are not changed by this bill, the current fee is
collected based on fleet size. This bill specifies that a
motor carrier's trailers are no longer counted as part of the
fleet size when assessing these fees. However, any loss of
fees related to changes in fleet size could be offset by the
expansion in the number of motor carriers subject to the fees.
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/13)
California Construction Trucking Association
California Tow Truck Association
California Trucking Association
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/31/13)
U.S. Towing Consortium
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 5/23/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina,
Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove, Holden, Jones, Waldron, Vacancy,
Vacancy
JA:ej:d 9/3/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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