BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 995|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 995
Author: Bigelow (R)
Amended: 8/16/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/28/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Farm vehicles: registration exemptions
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill creates a pilot program that exempts certain
agricultural vehicles from registration.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/16/16 expand the pilot program to
include Kings and Madera Counties; incorporate double-jointing
language to avoid a chaptering-out conflict with AB 1960
(Lackey); and make several minor, nonsubstantive stylistic and
clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires vehicles driven upon a highway to be registered with
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Page 2
the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and imposes
registration fees related to the use and/or size of the
vehicle.
2)Defines implements of husbandry as vehicles that are used
exclusively in the conduct of agricultural operations, and
exempts from registration those that are only incidentally
operated or moved over a highway.
3)Specifies that any vehicle may be considered an implement of
husbandry if it is operated on highways only for the purpose
of transporting agricultural products and is not operated on a
highway for a total distance greater than one mile from the
point of origin of the trip.
4)Provides that the certain types of farm vehicles, as
specified, may obtain a special identification plate, and
exempts these vehicles from registration.
5)Specifies that farm vehicles are subject to all equipment and
device requirements as if they are registered.
6)Requires motor carriers of property to obtain a motor-carrier
permit from the DMV. In order to obtain a permit, the carrier
must:
a) Show proof that it has met applicable requirements
related to insurance and workers' compensation.
b) Obtain a carrier identification number from the
California Highway Patrol (CHP).
c) Comply with the requirements of the Basic Inspection of
Terminals (BIT) program, if applicable.
d) Pay the appropriate permit fees, as specified.
1)Establishes a pull-notice system to notify employers of any
current public records that are relevant to the driving
privileges of an employee engaged as a vehicle driver.
This bill:
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1)Establishes a pilot program with a sunset date of January 1,
2020, limited to the counties of Fresno, Kings, and Madera,
that exempts certain agricultural vehicles from registration
under the following conditions:
a) The vehicle must be designed and used exclusively for
carrying, or returning from carrying, agricultural or
farming products.
b) The vehicle must be used on a highway only to travel
between farms or between parts of a farm, for a distance of
no more than 20 air miles.
c) Operation on the highway must be incidental to a farming
operation and not for hire.
d) The vehicle must qualify for and display a special
identification plate.
e) The user of the vehicle must obtain a motor-carrier
permit from the DMV and a carrier identification number
from the CHP.
f) The user of the vehicle must conduct regular inspections
and maintenance on the vehicle, as specified in existing
law, and submit to inspections under the BIT program.
g) Employers participating in the program must enroll all
drivers in the DMV pull-notice system, including owners or
family members who drive a participating vehicle.
1)Requires the CHP and the DMV to report to the Legislature on
the status and effectiveness of the pilot program on or before
July 1, 2018. The CHP and the DMV would be required to
include in the report:
a) A description of the number of vehicles enrolled.
b) An evaluation of the loss of registration funding
attributable to the program.
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c) A description of collisions involving vehicles enrolled,
enforcement issues, and safety issues.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author states that farmers need flexibility in
the distance that their vehicles can travel while hauling
agricultural products. Currently farm vehicles that transport
agricultural products can only maintain their classification
as an implement of husbandry, and the associated exemption
from registration requirements, if they operate on California
roads for less than one mile. According to Fresno, Kings, and
Madera County farmers, however, field locations can vary from
year to year, and they are often farther than one mile away
from processing and packaging facilities. Consequently,
vehicles that haul agricultural products on public roads for
short distances are ineligible for the registration exemption
in current law.
2)Existing law and registration exemptions. Vehicles that are
operated on farms and that are only incidentally driven on
highways, for no more than a mile, are currently exempt from
registration requirements. While use of farm vehicles on
highways is generally restricted to protect the safety of the
traveling public, existing law also exempts from registration
requirements and commercial vehicle safety requirements a
number of farm vehicles that are operated on highways beyond
the typical one-mile limit. The law provides varying
allowances for these vehicles, depending on their type. For
example, melon trucks are exempt from registration and allowed
to travel up to two miles on highways, while trucks carrying
livestock feed (silage) are exempt and allowed to travel up to
20 miles on highways.
3)What registration provides. This bill exempts certain
agricultural vehicles from registration. Traditionally,
vehicle registration provides an avenue for inspection, and
registration holds are an effective means for bringing parties
into compliance and are critical to other enforcement programs
(e.g., the Air Resources Board Truck and Bus Regulation
programs, which require diesel trucks and buses that operate
in California to be upgraded or replaced in order to reduce
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emissions).
4)Heavy loads. Overweight trucks can damage infrastructure.
Regulations on the operation of commercial vehicles - often
enforced at the time of registration - help to mitigate wear
and tear that these vehicles can cause to roads by ensuring
that weight limits are not exceeded and that heavy vehicles
pay a proportionate share.
5)Not exempt from everything. This bill differs from other
recent attempts to relieve certain agricultural vehicles of
registration requirements in one particularly important way.
It explicitly requires participants in the pilot program to
enroll in other programs that provide safeguards against
dangerous vehicles and drivers and poor professional
practices. These include the following:
a) The Motor Carrier Program. A motor-carrier permit is a
document issued by the DMV's Registration Operations
Division. The permit is evidence that the motor carrier
has obtained a carrier identification number from the CHP
and registered that number with the DMV. The permit
additionally verifies that the motor carrier has met all of
the statutory requirements to commercially operate motor
vehicles on California's highways, including obtaining
appropriate insurance and workers' compensation coverage,
and paying permit fees.
b) The BIT Program. In 1988, the Legislature enacted the
California Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which
established the BIT Program, in an effort to alleviate the
growing number of truck-related collisions on California's
highways. Primarily, the intent is to ensure every truck
terminal throughout the state is inspected by the CHP on a
regular basis, thereby creating a level field for all motor
carriers statewide.
c) The pull-notice program. California's pull-notice
system provides employers with their drivers' public
driving record, which includes any accidents, citations,
and license suspensions. An employer who receives a report
on a driver whose license has been suspended or revoked
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must discontinue employment. The purpose of this program
is to protect the public from the most unsafe drivers by
preventing them from carrying passengers.
d) Special identification plates. Certain types of special
equipment are eligible for special plates. Each plate is
required to have a unique number, allowing for
identification of the vehicle, and must be renewed every
five years.
6)Current exemptions will not be affected. The proposed program
would not impact farm vehicles that currently qualify for a
special identification plate because they travel on highways
for distances no greater than one mile.
7)Overhaul in policy committee. This bill was significantly
amended in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing
as a result of discussions among a broad group of
stakeholders. While the pilot program in this version of the
bill and the policy proposal it replaces attempt to address
the same need, they represent two substantively different
approaches to resolving farmers' concerns.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/16/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/16/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
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Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron,
Weber
Prepared by:Sarah Carvill / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/17/16 15:41:52
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