BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: sb 338
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: hill
VERSION: 9/6/13
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: September 12, 2013
SUBJECT:
Limousines: fire extinguishers and inspections
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires owners of limousines to equip their
limousines with two fire extinguishers, one near the driver and
one accessible to passengers, and it requires the California
Highway Patrol (CHP) to inspect limousines offered for hire.
ANALYSIS:
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. By definition,
they are not taxicabs, transit vehicles, school transportation
vehicles, or other specified transportation services.
Typically, charter-party carriers of passengers offer their
customers both a vehicle and driver to transport passengers on a
prearranged basis.
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.
The PUC issues six different types of charter-party carrier
permits and certificates, depending on the type of vehicle
operated and types of transportation services offered. Three of
these encompass limousines, of which there are about 12,500
licensed to operate for charter-party carrier businesses in this
state. Limousines can be sedans or sport utility vehicles and
by definition seat fewer than ten passengers.
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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. The PUC shall not issue or renew a
permit or certificate unless the charter-party carrier applicant
meets several requirements, including:
It is financially and organizationally capable of
operating its business so that it complies with rules and
regulations governing highway safety;
It has a preventative maintenance program in effect for
its vehicles, as prescribed in CHP regulations, and it will
maintain its vehicles in safe operating condition;
It regularly checks the driving records of and has in
effect a safety education and training program for all of
its drivers; and
It provides for controlled substance and alcohol testing
of its drivers.
This bill :
1. Requires a charter-party carrier to submit its permit to
operate its limousines to the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV), which shall identify in registration documents if
someone has modified that vehicle to accommodate more
passengers and to make that information available to CHP.
2. Requires charter party carriers operating limousines
modified after manufacture to carry more passengers to equip
their modified limousines with two readily accessible and
fully charged fire extinguishers having a specified rating,
maintained in efficient operating condition, and mounted in
the driver's compartment and accessible to the passengers.
The driver of such a vehicle shall notify passengers of the
location of the fire extinguishers prior to commencing a
trip.
3. Requires not later than July 1, 2015, CHP to implement a
safety inspection program of charter-party carriers who
operate limousines modified after manufacture to carry more
passengers. CHP may adopt emergency regulations to implement
this inspection program initially, but these may be in effect
for no more than one year after which CHP must adopt final
regulations. CHP regulations shall establish a fee schedule
that CHP will base on the number of these limousines a
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charter-party carrier operates. These fees shall be a minimum
of $25 and no higher than $75 per vehicle with a maximum fee
of $6,500 levied per fleet. PUC will collect the fees.
4. Directs CHP to adopt regulations for limousine inspections
that are consistent with those for bus inspections.
5. Requires CHP to inspect charter-party carriers that operate
these modified limousines at least once every 13 months. CHP
shall inspect, among other things, the vehicles, safety
equipment and maintenance program, driver records, accident
reports, and changes in vehicle ownership.
6. Requires CHP to transmit limousine inspection data to the
PUC.
7. Requires the original manufacturer or final-stage
manufacturer of a limousine modified after manufacture to
carry more passengers to certify to CHP that the vehicle
meets all applicable federal and state motor vehicle safety
standards.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author introduced this bill in response to an
incident that occurred on May 5, 2013, in which a limousine
caught fire while traveling on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge
over the San Francisco Bay. That limousine was carrying nine
passengers. The driver escaped unharmed and four of the
passengers escaped through the driver's partition. The five
other passengers died in the blaze. The author notes that
under current law both the PUC and the CHP regulate
charter-party vehicles with a seating capacity of more than 10
passengers, including larger limousines and party buses. CHP
regulations require these charter-party vehicles to be
equipped with a fire extinguisher and to undergo an annual
safety inspection.
On the other hand, the PUC is the sole regulator of
charter-party vehicles with a seating capacity of less than 10
passengers, such as smaller six- and eight-passenger
limousines, which are not therefore subject to CHP safety
regulations requiring fire extinguishers and inspections. The
author introduced this bill to extend these safety protections
to smaller limousines that someone has modified and that are
offered for hire, as the limousine involved in the May 5th
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incident was. He states that a life in a nine-passenger
vehicle is just as valuable as a life in a 10-passenger
vehicle.
2.Concurrence hearing . This bill is back in the Senate on
concurrence and has been referred to this committee pursuant
to rule 29.10 because Assembly amendments add the provisions
that relate to limousine inspections. As passed by the
Senate, the bill related solely to the fire extinguisher
requirement. At today's 29.10 hearing, the committee may not
amend the bill further and may only hold the bill or return
the bill to the Senate floor.
RELATED LEGISLATION:
SB 109 (Corbett) requires that limousines for hire, which
someone has modified to increase the number of passengers they
can carry, shall have at least two doors and one or two push-out
windows to serve as emergency exits. Also being heard today in
this committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 71-0 (Unofficial)
Appr: 13-1
Trans: 15-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, September
11, 2013.)
SUPPORT: California Fire Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs Association
California Professional Firefighters
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Greater California Livery Association
Orange County Fire Authority
OPPOSED: None received.