BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 234| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 234 Author: Walters (R), et al. Amended: 4/1/13 Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/9/13 AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso, Lara, Liu, Pavley, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Roth SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT : Recreational off-highway vehicles SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill limits the requirement due to take effect on July 1, 2013, that passengers in a recreational off-highway vehicle (ROHV) may only sit in seats installed by the original manufacturer to ROHVs with a 2014 or later model year. ANALYSIS : A person may not drive a motor vehicle on any street, road, or highway open to the public (highway) unless the owner registers the vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Existing law prohibits the operator of an off-highway motor vehicle (OHV) from driving the OHV upon any highway, except to cross a highway or when a highway is closed due to snow. OHVs include several types of vehicles not designed or intended for highway use, including dune buggies, certain motor bikes, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles CONTINUED SB 234 Page 2 (ATVs). In order to operate an OHV on public lands, the owner must apply to DMV to register the OHV and receive an OHV identification sticker, which serves in lieu of a license plate and includes a unique number for each OHV. Existing law generally allows a person of any age to operate an OHV, provided that the person can reach the controls necessary to operate the vehicle safely, and prescribes various rules for the operation of and equipment on specified OHVs. For example, while on public lands the operator of an ATV must wear a helmet and may not transport passengers. AB 1595 (Cook, Chapter 165, Statutes of 2012) defined ROHVs as a motor vehicle designed for operation primarily off of the highway and that has: A steering wheel. Non-straddle seating for the operator and passengers. A maximum speed capability of greater than 30 miles per hour. An engine displacement equal to or less than 1,000 cubic centimeters. AB 1595 included ROHVs among OHVs subject to DMV registration and identification requirements and established the following requirements for the operation of ROHVs on public lands: An ROHV operator must be at least 16 years old or be directly supervised in the vehicle by a parent, guardian, or adult authorized by a parent or guardian. ROHV operators and passengers must wear safety helmets as well as seatbelts and shoulder belts or safety harnesses that are CONTINUED SB 234 Page 3 properly fastened when the vehicle is moving. All passengers must occupy seats provided by the manufacturer. An ROHV passenger must be able to grasp the occupant handhold with the seat-shoulder belt or safety harness fastened while seated upright with his/her back up against the seatback and with both feet flat on the floorboard. AB 1266 (Nielsen, Chapter 529, Statutes of 2012) delayed until July 1, 2013, the effective date of the requirement that all passengers occupy seats provided by the manufacturer, and deleted the requirement that an ROHV passenger must be able to put both feet flat on the floorboard when seated upright and grasping the handhold with the safety harness fastened. This bill: 1. Limits the requirement that passengers in an ROHV may sit only in seats installed by the original manufacturer to ROHVs with a 2014 or later model year. 2. Requires seats installed in 2013 or earlier model year ROHVs, that are in locations other than those provided by the manufacturer, to be installed such that the passenger sitting there must be fully contained inside of the vehicle's rollover protection structure. 3. Defines a handhold for purposes of the requirement that a passenger must be able to grasp the handhold while sitting in a seat with the harness fastened, provides that the steering wheel is the handhold for the driver, and requires that handholds to be designed to allow passengers to exit the ROHV without interference. Comments Last year, the Legislature passed, with no "no" votes, and Governor Brown signed AB 1595 (Cook), which added the definition of ROHVs and safety rules for their operation to state law. The CONTINUED SB 234 Page 4 safety requirements of AB 1595 include the use of seatbelts or harnesses, wearing helmets, and seating standards. After the Governor signed AB 1595 in July of last year, OHV owners contacted various legislators to express concern with two of its provisions. First, some asserted that AB 1595's requirement that all ROHV passengers be able to sit "with both feet flat on the floorboard" while wearing the seat belt or harness and grasping the safety handhold would effectively ban children and shorter adults from being able to ride as passengers. Second, owners of ROHVs who had installed aftermarket seats noted that AB 1595 would make those seats illegal on January 1, 2013. In response to these two concerns, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 1266 (1) to modify the requirement that a person be able to put both feet on the floor while seated and holding the handhold in the vehicle, and (2) to delay for six months the effective date of the requirement that all passengers in an ROHV occupy seats provided by the manufacturer in order to provide time for a permanent resolution. When this six-month delay expires, this bill resolves the issue of aftermarket seats by prohibiting them in ROHVs with a model year 2014 or later and requiring aftermarket seats in earlier models be installed within the roll cage of the ROHV. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 4/23/13) ABATE American Sand Association California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs California Off-Road Vehicle Association Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association JJA:d 4/23/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE CONTINUED SB 234 Page 5 **** END **** CONTINUED