BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1574
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1574 (Chiu)
As Amended April 12, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Utilities |13-0 |Gatto, Patterson, | |
| | |Burke, Chávez, Dahle, | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Hadley, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Ting | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Transportation |15-0 |Frazier, Linder, | |
| | |Baker, Bloom, Brown, | |
| | |Chu, Daly, Dodd, | |
| | |Gomez, Kim, Mathis, | |
| | |Medina, Melendez, | |
| | |Nazarian, O'Donnell | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
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|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires, beginning January 1, 2018, the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in collaboration with the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), to verify that the buses,
limousines, and modified limousines used by a passenger stage
corporation (PSC) or a charter-party carrier (CPC) have been
reported and meets safety requirements. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Requires the CPUC to verify on an annual basis, in
collaboration with DMV, that the buses, limousines, and
modified limousines used by a PSC or CPC have been reported to
the CPUC by the carrier.
2)Requires the CPUC to ensure that all newly registered buses,
limousines, or modified limousines of PSCs or CPCs, reported
by DMV, meet all statutory and regulatory requirements for
safe operation.
3)Requires CPUC to take immediate steps to require the PSC or
CPC to update its reporting of buses, limousines, and modified
limousines to CPUC and request the Department of the
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California Highway Patrol (CHP) to conduct a safety inspection
of the bus, limousine, or modified limousine, if CPUC become
aware that the vehicle has not been reported by the carrier.
4)Requires each CPC to furnish annually to the CHP and CPUC a
list of all buses, limousines and modified limousines used in
the transportation for compensation, including the vehicle
registration information for each vehicle.
5)Requires the CPUC to furnish a copy of the specified list to
the carrier's insurer, if the carrier's accident liability
protection is provide by a policy of insurance.
6)Authorizes the CPUC, in addition to any other specified
penalties, for a first occurrence, to suspend the carrier's
certificate or permit or impose a fine, or both, and for a
subsequent occurrence may suspend or revoke the certificate or
impose a fine, or both, if the CPC's insurer informs the CPUC
that the carrier has failed to obtain insurance coverage for
any vehicle reported on the specified list.
7)Prohibits the CPUC from issuing or continuing in effect any
permit or certificate of a PSC or CPC that has not submitted
the required list.
8)Requires the DMV, in issuing or renewing a commercial vehicle
registration, to require the owner of a bus, limousine, or
modified limousine used by a CPC or PSC to disclose the name
of the carrier or corporation that will be using the vehicle
in its operations.
9)Requires the DMV to notify the CPUC when a CPC or PSC renews
or first registers a bus, limousine, or modified limousine,
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and provide the CPUC with information that will allow it to
identify the vehicle.
10)Provides that the bill take effect on January 1, 2018.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the total costs to the CPUC would be several hundred
thousand dollars annually, but will depend on the amount of
additional workload. In addition, the CHP will incur an
estimated cost of about $200,000 for every additional 2,500
vehicle inspections. Furthermore, the DMV will incur a one-time
special fund cost of around $225,000 to establish four new
body-type codes, in order to distinguish auto or commercial
vehicles used by a PSC or CPC.
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: "The current tour bus regulation and
inspection program isn't working. San Franciscans
unfortunately got a first-hand view of this in November when
an unregistered and uninspected tour bus crashed in Union
Square. The bus in the Union Square crash was a so-called
ghost bus, which means the CPUC, the regulator here, didn't
know it was in the company's fleet [?] Tour buses in
California must be safer; we can't have another crash happen
like the one in Union Square. For us to make sure tour buses
are safe, we need to know that they're on the road in the
first place. Ensuring full inspections and eliminating ghost
buses are important steps we need to take so that tourists and
residents do not become victims of regulatory loopholes."
2)Background: PSCs are services that provide transportation to
the general public on an individual fare basis, such as
scheduled bus operators, which are buses that operate on a
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fixed route and scheduled services, or airport shuttles, which
operate on an on-call door-to-door share the ride service.
CPCs are services that charter a vehicle, on a prearranged
basis, for the exclusive use of an individual or group.
Charges are based on the mileage or time of use, or a
combination of both. Types of CPCs include limousines, tour
buses, sightseeing services, and charter and party buses.
3)San Francisco Tour Bus Crash: In November 2015, a sightseeing
tour bus operated by City Sightseeing crashed in San
Francisco's Union Square, injuring 20 people. According to
news reports, the bus was registered with the DMV, but it was
not registered with the CPUC, hence, the bus was not inspected
by CHP before it went into operation.
4)CPUC and DMV Discrepancies: Although the CPUC requires
carriers to identify their CPC or PSC vehicles during the
permitting or licensing process, according to the author not
all carriers do so. In addition, the DMV registers commercial
vehicles but they are not required to collect information on
which CPC or PSC carrier the commercial vehicle may be
operating under, nor share such information with the CPUC.
According to the author this creates the number discrepancy
between the CPUC and DMV.
This bill requires, beginning January 1, 2018, the CPUC, in
collaboration with the DMV, to verify that the buses,
limousines, and modified limousines used by a PSC or a CPC has
been reported and meet safety requirements.
Analysis Prepared by:
Edmond Cheung / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 FN:
0003247
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