Senate Bill No. 273

Introduced by Senator Gaines

February 14, 2013

An act to amend Section 36101 of the Vehicle Code, relating to farm vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 273, as introduced, Gaines. Farm vehicles: registration exemptions.

Existing law exempts specified farm vehicles from registration if they have and display an identification plate, including a cotton module mover and a vehicle equipped with a water tank owned by a farmer and used exclusively to service his or her own implements of husbandry.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 36101 of the Vehicle Code is amended
to read:

36101.  

The following farm vehicles are exempt from
registration, if they have and display an identification plate as
specified in Section 5014, and the vehicles shall not be deemed to
be implements of husbandry and they shall be subject to all
equipment and device requirements as if registered:

(a) A motor vehicle of a size so as to require a permit under
Section 35780 owned and operated by a farmer, designed and used
exclusively for carrying, or returning empty from carrying, feed
and seed products of farming, and used on a highway between one
part of a farm to another part of that farm or from one farm to
another farm.

(b) A vehicle equipped with a water tank owned by a farmer
and used exclusively to service his or her own implements of
husbandry.

(c) A water tank truck that is owned by a farmer, not operated
for compensation, and used extensively in the conduct of
agricultural operations, when used exclusively (1) for sprinkling
water on dirt roads providing access to agricultural fields or (2)
transportation of water for irrigation of crops or trees.

(d) (1) A cotton module mover, as defined in Section 36012.

(2) In order to maintain the exemption from registration granted
under this subdivision for a truck tractor, when combined with a
semitrailer, the owner of that truck tractor shall not operate it during
the exemption period in any manner other than as a cotton module
mover, as defined in Section 36012, and shall do all of the
following:

(A) Register the vehicle with the department before operating
it as a commercial motor vehicle.

(B) Apply to the department on a yearly basis for any renewal
of the exemption from registration.

(3) Exemption from registration under this subdivision does not
exempt a truck tractor, when combined with a semitrailer, operating
as a cotton module mover pursuant to Section 36012 begin delete and end delete begin insert , nor does
it exempt end insert this subdivision from the applicable safety requirements
of this code or any regulation adopted pursuant to any statute,
including, but not limited to, equipment standards, driver licensing
requirements, maximum driving and on-duty hours provisions, log
book requirements, drug and alcohol testing, maintenance of
vehicles, and any driver or vehicle standards specified in Division
14.8 (commencing with Section 34500).

(4) Truck tractors exempt from registration under this
subdivision are subject to the fees imposed under Sections 9250,
9250.8, and 9250.13, and to any other vehicle fees that are imposed
by statute on or after January 1, 1998, that are deposited in the
Motor Vehicle Account.

(e) A trailer that is equipped with a plenum chamber for the
drying of agricultural commodities.

(f) Except as provided in subdivision (j) of Section 36005, a
trap wagon, as defined in Section 36016, that is equipped with a
fuel tank or tanks. The fuel tank or tanks shall not exceed 3,000
gallons total capacity.

(g) A forklift truck, operated by a farmer not for compensation.
For purposes of this section, a hay-squeeze shall be deemed a
forklift.

(h) A truck tractor or truck tractor and semitrailer combination
specified in this subdivision that is owned by a farmer and operated
on the highways only incidental to a farming operation and not for
compensation. This subdivision applies only to truck tractors with
a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 pounds
that are equipped with all-wheel drive and off-highway traction
tires on all wheels, and only to semitrailers used in combination
with that truck tractor and exclusively in the production or
harvesting of melons. The vehicles specified in this subdivision
shall not be operated in excess of 25 miles per hour on the
highways.

The Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol may, by
regulation, prohibit the vehicles specified in this subdivision from
operating on specific routes. These vehicles shall not be operated
laden on the highway for more than two miles from the point of
origin and shall not be operated for more than 30 miles unladen
on the highway from the point of origin. These vehicles shall not
be operated for more than 15 miles unladen on the highway from
the point of origin begin delete , end delete unless accompanied by an escort vehicle to the
front begin delete , end delete and an escort vehicle to the rear.

(i)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert A motor vehicle specifically designed for, and used
exclusively in, an agricultural operation for purposes of carrying,
or returning empty from carrying, silage that is operated by a
farmer, an employee of the farmer, or a contracted employee of
the farmer between one part of a farm to another part of that farm
or from one farm to another farm, on a highway for a distance not
to exceed 20 miles from the point of origin of the trip. This
subdivision does not include a vehicle that is used for the
transportation of silage for retail sales.

begin delete

For

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For end insert the purposes of this subdivision, “silage” includes field
corn, sorghum, grass, legumes, cereals, or cereal mixes, either
green or mature, converted into feed for livestock.