BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 235 (Frazier) - Driver's licenses: provisional licenses
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|Version: February 5, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 10 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: July 6, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 235 would require specified provisional driver's
license restrictions to remain in effect until the end of the
provisional period at age 18, instead of 12 months after
issuance of the provisional license.
Fiscal
Impact: One-time Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
implementation costs of approximately $200,000 in 2015-16.
(Motor Vehicle Account)
Background: Existing law provides for a graduated driver's licensing
structure and provisional driver's license program that
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restricts the driving privileges of young drivers under the age
of 18 in light of their operating inexperience. Prior to
applying for a provisional license, a person at least 15-1/2
years of age may apply for an instructional permit. A young
driver must hold the instructional permit for at least six
months, complete specified driver training instruction, document
50 hours of supervised driving practice, including at least 10
hours of driving during darkness, and successfully complete
DMV's examination requirements prior to applying for a
provisional license.
During the first 12 months following issuance of a provisional
license to a person between the ages of 16 and 18, the licensee
is prohibited from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and
transporting passengers under the age of 20, unless accompanied
by a parent, driving instructor, or a licensed driver who is at
least 25 years old. Existing law provides exceptions to these
restrictions and requirements in cases of medical necessity,
school activities, employment necessity, and transporting
immediate family members, as specified.
Proposed Law:
AB 235 would prohibit provisional driver's license holders
from transporting passengers under 20 years of age and from
driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. until the end of the
provisional period at age 18, rather than during the first 12
months after issuance of a provisional license. Current
exceptions to these restrictions would remain in effect.
Related
Legislation: AB 1801 (Frazier), an identical bill, was held on
the Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File last year.
AB 1113 (Frazier), which was vetoed by Governor Brown in 2013,
contained several provisions that would have enhanced
restrictions on provisional driver's license holders, including
the provision contained in this bill. The Governor's veto
message noted that the current restrictions have been effective
in saving lives, but also stated the following:
Rather than imposing yet even more restrictions on a
teenager's driving privilege, I am directing the Department
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of Motor Vehicles, California Highway Patrol, and Office of
Traffic Safety to implement a teen driver training and
education program to improve transportation safety for
provisional drivers.
Staff
Comments: This bill is intended to reduce the incidence of
traffic fatalities and accidents caused by teenage drivers by
increasing the restrictions on teen drivers operating a vehicle
under the provisional licensing program. Motor vehicle
accidents are the leading cause of teen deaths in the United
States, accounting for nearly one-third of all deaths among 16
to 19 year olds.
DMV indicates it would incur one-time costs of approximately
$200,000 in 2015-16 as a result of the bill. Implementation of
the bill would require programming changes to extend the length
of restrictions and reflect the new restriction verbiage printed
on the provisional license, and updates to informational
brochures, handbooks, and DMV's website.
Staff notes that DMV has a significant programming backlog of
federal and state mandates. These include federally-mandated
changes to the Commercial Driver License System, compliance with
which is tied to federal transportation funding, and state
mandates such as programming for the veteran designation on
driver's licenses and IDs (AB 935, Chap 644/2014) and the
issuance of free ID cards for homeless applicants (AB 1733, Chap
764/2014). Given the backlog, it is unlikely that DMV would be
able to complete the programming necessary to implement this
bill by the January 1, 2016 operative date without impacting
currently scheduled programming priorities.
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