BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 2438 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lowenthal VERSION: 3/28/14 Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: no Hearing date: June 10, 2014 SUBJECT: Firefighting equipment: driver's licenses: trainer requirements DESCRIPTION: This bill allows an individual who is training a firefighter how to use firefighting equipment (e.g., to drive a fire engine) to possess a class C license with a firefighter endorsement, provided he or she meets all other statutory requirements. ANALYSIS: Existing law prescribes different classes of driver's licenses for different types of vehicles. Class C: The most common license, a Class C driver's license, is issued to drivers of passenger vehicles and pickup trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of up to 26,000 pounds. Class B: A Class B license covers all vehicles covered by Class C, as well as a vehicle with three or more axles weighing more than 6,000 pounds; a bus; a farm labor vehicle; a single vehicle with three or more axles or a GVWR of more than 26,000 pounds, towing another vehicle with a GVWR of maximum 10,000 pounds; and a house car over 40 feet in length. Class A: A Class A license covers all vehicles covered by Class B and C, as well as a combination of vehicles, if a vehicle being towed has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds; a vehicle towing more than one vehicle; and a trailer bus. Existing law establishes requirements to obtain a driver's license as follows: Class C: The applicant must be at least 18 years old (if AB 2438 (LOWENTHAL) Page 2 under 18, the applicant must complete the provisional driver's license program). The applicant must complete an application, provide a thumbprint, have his or her picture taken, provide a social security number and verification of birth date and legal presence, pass an eye exam, pass a traffic laws and signs test, pass a drive test, and pay a $33 application fee. If the applicant fails the drive test, he or she can re-test for a $6 fee. A Class C license is good for five years; the renewal fee is $33. Commercial driver's license (Class A or B): The applicant must be at least 21 years old if he or she will be driving across state lines, 18 years old if driving only within California. In addition to completing Class C license requirements, the applicant must pass a drive test, including a pre-trip inspection and a skills and driving test; submit a medical examination report form (the exam costs roughly $100); complete a 10-Year History Record Check Form; and pay a $70 application fee. If the applicant fails the drive test, he or she can re-test for a $30 fee. A commercial driver's license is good for five years, with a renewal fee of $41, but the applicant must submit a new medical report form every two years. Firefighter endorsement: To receive a firefighter endorsement, a driver must complete the Class C license requirements, submit proof of employment and training, complete a health questionnaire form, and pay a $27 application fee. The applicant must also complete Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A training or fire department training that meets or exceeds National Fire Protection Association or State Fire Marshal standards; prepares the applicant to safely operate appropriate department fire equipment; includes at least 16 hours of classroom instruction; and includes at least 14 hours of supervised behind-the-wheel training. The firefighter endorsement is timed to expire with the license, and there is no renewal fee, but the applicant must submit a new health questionnaire form every two years. Existing law provides that in order to operate fire equipment, an individual must possess: A restricted Class A license with a firefighter endorsement, a non-commercial Class B license with a firefighter endorsement, or a Class C license with a firefighter endorsement; or AB 2438 (LOWENTHAL) Page 3 A Class A or Class B license appropriate to the size and configuration of the firefighting equipment he or she will operate (a firefighter endorsement is not also required). Existing law provides that in order to conduct driver training for fire equipment, an individual must: Be registered with the State Fire Marshal to instruct a Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A course; or Possess at least five years of fire service experience as an emergency vehicle operator, three of which must be at the rank of engineer or higher; possess a valid California Class A or Class B license or a Class A or B license restricted to the operation of firefighting equipment; and be certified as a qualified training instructor or training officer by the state of California, the federal government, or a county training officers' association. This bill provides that if an individual meets all other statutory requirements, he or she may possess a Class C license with a firefighter endorsement, rather than a Class A or Class B license, in order to conduct firefighter driver training. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . The author states that fire departments are increasingly choosing not to have designated training staff and are instead broadly applying the term "trainer" to any firefighter who may at some point in the course of their career train their colleagues. The author asserts that in light of these circumstances, the existing law requirement of a higher licensure standard for training presents an unnecessary burden for firefighters and their departments. 2.Background . Until recently, state law required a firefighter to obtain a commercial driver's license (Class A or Class B, as appropriate) in order to operate firefighting equipment. To obtain a commercial license, an applicant must pass a written exam and a behind-the-wheel driving test in the appropriate type of vehicle. An applicant must take the written exam through the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), but may take the behind-the-wheel exam either through DMV or through a third-party tester authorized under DMV's Employer Tester Program (ETP). ETP allows transportation AB 2438 (LOWENTHAL) Page 4 firms, including qualified fire departments, to administer DMV-approved driving tests for their employees seeking commercial driver's licenses. By 2010, DMV began significantly tightening ETP requirements pursuant to broad changes in federal commercial licensing regulations. Fire departments argued that they would no longer be able to conduct their own ETP programs but would instead be forced to send their employees to one of DMV's commercial drive test facilities. This would make it more difficult for firefighters - particularly in rural areas - to get their driver's licenses. Accordingly, AB 1648 (Jeffries), Chapter 360, Statutes of 2010, moved firefighter licenses out of the commercial driver's license program. Instead of requiring a commercial driver's license to operate fire equipment, AB 1648 allows a Class C license with a firefighter endorsement. AB 1648 specified, however, that a trainer must possess a Class A or B license, or a Class A or B license restricted to the operation of firefighting equipment. AB 1648 was the product of extensive negotiations between this committee, stakeholders, and DMV. This committee focused on ensuring that training undertaken by local fire departments met DMV standards. To help address this concern, the final version of AB 1648 included the requirement for trainers to hold a commercial license. The committee may wish to consider the fact that by removing the requirement for trainers to hold a commercial driver's license, this bill would partially undo the settlement negotiated by this committee four years ago. The sponsor of this bill, the California Professional Firefighters, states that "the current broad application of trainer-related licensing requirements ? flies contrary to the spirit and intent of AB 1648, which was to promote a more streamlined process for the issuance and use of firefighter driver's licenses." The sponsor states that this bill would rectify that problem. 3.How much streamlining is enough ? By removing the requirement for firefighters to obtain a commercial license to operate fire equipment, AB 1648 of 2010 exempted firefighters from the medical examination report required for a commercial license. Subsequently, AB 1567 (Jeffries), Chapter 111, Statutes of 2012, eliminated the requirement to submit a medical examination report to obtain a firefighter endorsement, AB 2438 (LOWENTHAL) Page 5 replacing it with a self-certified health questionnaire form. By allowing a trainer to possess a Class C license with a firefighter endorsement instead of a commercial driver's license, this bill would enable a trainer, in addition to a trainee, to submit a self-certified health questionnaire form. The committee understands, however, that firefighters undergo regular physical exams and evaluations. For example, firefighters must take an annual physical and fit test in order to wear their self-contained breathing apparatus or respirators, and most if not all professional fire departments in the state require their employees to take an annual physical. 4.Should trainers be held to a higher standard ? To obtain a commercial driver's license, an applicant must, among other requirements, pass a drive test conducted at a DMV field office or ETP site. To obtain a firefighter endorsement, an applicant must, among other requirements, complete Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A training or similar fire department training. This training is a 40-hour course that includes both classroom instruction and hands-on driving exercises. While this bill would not reduce these training requirements, it would enable fire departments to "train the trainers" onsite rather than sending employees to a DMV field office to take the drive test. The committee may wish to consider whether allowing a trainer to be trained by a coworker onsite maintains the same safety standard as requiring a drive test by a DMV examiner at a DMV field office. Assembly Votes: Floor: 75-0 Trans: 15-0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 4, 2014.) SUPPORT: California Professional Firefighters (sponsor) California Fire Chiefs Association Catherine C. Capriles, Deputy Fire Chief of Training and Support Services, Palo Alto Fire Department AB 2438 (LOWENTHAL) Page 6 Palo Alto Professional Firefighters, Local 1319 United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Local 112 Chris Woodard, Battalion Chief, Palo Alto Fire Department OPPOSED: None received.