BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 338 (Hill) - Charter-party carriers of passengers:
limousines: fire extinguishers.
Amended: June 19, 2013 Policy Vote: T&H 9-0
Urgency: Yes Mandate: Yes (see staff comment)
Hearing Date: July 1, 2013 Consultant: Marie Liu
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 338 would require charter limousines to be
equipped with two readily accessible and fully charged fire
extinguishers mounted in the driver's compartment and in the
vehicle's trunk or luggage compartment as a condition of being
licensed by the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
Fiscal Impact: One-time costs of up to $140,000 from the Public
Utilities Commission Transportation Reimbursement Account
(special) to develop regulations to require limousines to be
equipped with two fire extinguishers.
Background: Charter-party carriers of passengers are businesses
that transport persons by motor vehicle for compensation over
the public highways of California. Charter-party carriers are
principally charter bus and limousine companies. To operate as
a charter-party carrier, the carrier must obtain from the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) a permit or certificate, place
identifying symbols or plates on its vehicles, and acquire
adequate liability insurance. The charter-party carrier must
renew its permit or certificate every three years.
Before the PUC can issue a permit or certificate, it must
require a business applying for or renewing the permit or
certificate to establish that it is reasonably fit and
financially responsible to conduct or continue to conduct
transportation services and it meets several statutorily
required conditions.
Proposed Law: This bill would require that charter-party
limousines be equipped with two readily accessible and fully
charged fire extinguishers mounted in the driver's compartment
SB 338 (Hill)
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and in the vehicle's trunk or luggage compartment as a condition
of being licensed by the PUC.
This bill is an urgency measure.
Related Legislation: SB 109 (Corbett) requires limousines
manufactured on or after January 1, 2015, to have two windows
and two doors in the rear compartment to serve as emergency
exits in the case of fire.
Staff Comments: The CPUC will need to update its rules and
licensing forms to reflect the fire extinguisher requirements.
Staff believes that the language in the bill is fairly
prescriptive so that limited decision making needs to be made by
the CPUC in updating their rules. Staff estimates that the
proceeding costs will be no more than $140,000 one-time.
This bill would require fire extinguishers be equipped as a
condition of licensure. Existing limousine operators may have up
to three years to comply with this provision if they recently
renewed their license. However, it is the author's intent that
this requirement be immediately effective for all limousine
operators after a reasonable compliance period. To achieve
this, the author is proposing an amendment that makes this
requirement independent of the issuance of a license and adds a
compliance period. This amendment is likely not to affect costs
as the CPUC will likely still update their rules so that they
can enforce this requirement through licensing process. The
amendment would also require that the second extinguisher be in
the passenger cabin instead of the trunk.
This bill creates a state mandate as it establishes a new crime
or infraction. However, this mandate is not reimbursable.
Proposed Author Amendments: Delete Section 1 of the bill and
instead add section 5374.3 to the PUC as follows:
5374.3 Beginning 30 days after the enactment of this section,
vehicles, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 5371.4, shall
be equipped with two readily accessible and fully charged fire
extinguishers having at least a 2A10BC 5lb rating, maintained in
efficient operating condition, and securely mounted in the
driver's compartment and in the passenger cabin in a conspicuous
place or a clearly marked area in each of those two locations.
SB 338 (Hill)
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This section is not intended to limit the commission's ability
to require compliance with this section as a condition for the
issuance of a permit or certificate.