BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session AB 1250 (Bloom) - Vehicles: buses: axle weight ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: July 6, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 11 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1250 (Bloom) Page 1 of ? 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 ? 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 AB 1250 (Bloom) Page 3 of ? 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. -- END --