BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1250 (Bloom) - Vehicles: buses: axle weight
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|Version: July 6, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 11 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense
File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1250 would permanently allow the operation of
existing overweight transit buses and those that are in the
process of procurement prior to January 1, 2016, regardless of
statutory bus weight limits. Regardless of existing weight
limits, the bill would also establish a declining maximum
unladen weight per axle for future transit bus procurements.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unquantifiable minor to significant impact on pavement
maintenance costs as a result of accelerated degradation by
allowing the operation of overweight transit buses (State
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Highway Account, local funds). Due to the numerous factors
that may result in pavement degradation, it is impossible to
calculate the isolated impacts and costs associated with the
operation of overweight transit buses on state highways and
local streets and roads.
Background: Existing law imposes a general gross weight limit of 20,000
pounds on any one axle, or 10,500 pounds over any one wheel, of
a vehicle operated on public streets, roads, and highways, as
specified. Regardless of this general weight limit, existing
law authorizes a bus of any kind to have a gross weight of up to
20,500 on any one axle. The bus weight limit has been in effect
since 1975.
Existing law exempts transit buses procured through a
solicitation issued prior to January 1, 2013 from existing
statutory bus weight limits, and allows, until January 1, 2016,
a public transit system to procure an overweight bus if the new
bus weighs less per axle than the bus it is replacing, or if the
new bus is part of a new fleet class that is required to address
certain needs, as specified.
Existing federal law establishes a maximum axle weight limit of
20,000 pounds for buses operating on the Interstate Highway
System, but this limit is currently suspended. Federal law
currently prohibits specified states, including California, or
any political subdivision of such states, from enforcing a
transit vehicle weight limit of less than 24,000 pounds on the
Interstate System.
Proposed Law:
AB 1250 would permanently exempt existing transit buses, and
those for which a transit provider has initiated procurement by
January 1, 2016, from the statutory vehicle and bus weight
limits. Notwithstanding specified gross weight limits, the
unladen weight over any one transit bus axle for future bus
procurements would be subject to the following limits:
For a bus procured through a solicitation issued in 2016 or
2017, the maximum unladen weight on one axle shall not exceed
25,000 pounds.
For a bus procured through a solicitation issued in 2018 or
2019, the maximum unladen weight on one axle shall not exceed
AB 1250 (Bloom) Page 2 of
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24,000 pounds.
For a bus procured through a solicitation issued in 2020 or
2021, the maximum unladen weight on one axle shall not exceed
23,000 pounds.
For a bus procured through a solicitation issued on or after
January 1, 2022, the maximum unladen weight on one axle shall
not exceed 22,000 pounds.
Related
Legislation: AB 1706 (Eng), Ch. 771/2012, provided an exemption
from statutory weight limits for buses procured through a
solicitation issued prior to January 1, 2013, and allowed
transit operators to purchase new overweight buses to replace
heavier buses, or to incorporate new fleet classes under
specified conditions, until 2015.
AB 1720 (Bloom), Ch. 263/2014, extended the sunset on provisions
allowing transit operators to purchase overweight buses by one
year, until 2016.
Staff
Comments: State law since 1975 has mandated that the weight on
any single axle of a transit bus may not exceed 20,500 pounds.
Due to numerous state and federal mandates, including Americans
with Disability Act requirements and mandated emissions
reduction equipment, transit buses today may often exceed that
weight, especially when carrying a large number of passengers.
After some local police departments began citing transit buses
for violation of existing weight limits, the Legislature enacted
several stop-gap measures to allow transit operators to continue
to procure vehicles while working on a solution with
stakeholders, which has proven elusive. Although discussions
continue, this bill would establish new permanent unladen weight
limits that appear to be more favorable to transit operators,
and do not represent a consensus solution to the ongoing problem
of overweight transit buses and bus weight limits.
Allowing the operation of overweight vehicles on the state's
highways and local streets and roads contributes to the problem
of pavement degradation at a time when the roadways are in an
ongoing state of disrepair. A recent needs assessment indicates
that in order to fully fund necessary maintenance and
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preservation of local streets and roads, an additional $78
billion in funding is needed over the next ten years. In
addition, the Governor noted in his 2015 inaugural address that
the state faces a $59 billion shortfall over the same period to
adequately maintain the existing state highway system. Since
there are many factors that contribute to pavement degradation,
it is impossible to quantify the isolated impacts that
overweight transit buses may have on pavement lifespan and the
costs associated with those impacts, although it is undeniable
that they are a contributing factor. This bill establishes
limits for unladen buses that exceed the current gross weight
limits per axle, which will further accelerate pavement
degradation and exacerbate the funding shortages.
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