BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1574|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1574
Author: Chiu (D), et al.
Amended: 4/12/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/13/16
AYES: Hueso, Morrell, Cannella, Gaines, Hertzberg, Hill, Lara,
Leyva, McGuire, Pavley, Wolk
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/28/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Leyva, McGuire,
Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/31/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Vehicles of charter-party carriers of passengers and
passenger stage corporations
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), beginning January 1, 2018, to verify with the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that the buses, limousines,
and modified limousines used by a passenger stage corporation
(PSC) or a charter-party carrier (CPC) has been reported and
meet safety requirements.
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ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes the CPUC and empowers it to regulate privately
owned public utilities and common carriers in California.
(Article XII of the California Constitution; Public Utilities
Code §301 et seq.)
2) Defines PSC as every corporation or person engaged as a
common carrier, for compensation, in the ownership, control,
operation, or management of any passenger stage over any
public highway in the state between fixed termini or over a
regular route, not including those exclusively operating
within a local jurisdiction or school buses. Establishes the
CPUC's authority to regulate, require license or permit to
operate, require vehicles used are in safe operating
condition, require insurance and workers compensation, take
appropriate enforcement action and other provisions. (Public
Utilities Code §§226 and 1031 et seq.)
3) Defines "charter-party carrier of passengers" as every
person engaged in the transportation of persons by motor
vehicle for compensation, whether in common or contract
carriage, over any public highway in the state and includes
any person, corporation, or other entity engaged in the
provision of a hired driver service when a rented motor
vehicle is being operated by a hired driver. Establishes the
CPUC's authority to regulate, require license or permit to
operate, require insurance and workers compensation, require
vehicles are in safe operating condition, take appropriate
enforcement action and other provisions. (Public Utilities
Code §5351 et seq.)
4) Requires a bus operated as a CPC to undergo an annual bus
terminal and vehicle inspection conducted by the California
Highway Patrol (CHP). (Public Utilities Code §5373.1)
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5) Requires every vehicle operated as a PSC to undergo an
annual safety inspection conducted by the CHP. (Public
Utilities Code §226)
6) Requires CPCs to prepare under oath and provide annually to
the CPUC and the CHP a list of all vehicles used in
transportation for compensation during the preceding year.
(Public Utilities Code § 5374.5)
7) Requires every PSC to furnish the CPUC annually with a list,
prepared under oath, of all vehicles used in transportation
for compensation during the previous year, including
identifying each modified limousine and its terminal
location. Requires the CPUC to furnish the list of modified
limousines to the CHP. (Public Utilities Code §1042)
8) Provides the CHP with the ability to take enforcement action
related to requirements of buses of charter-party carriers as
required by the Public Utilities Code, including ensuring a
proper and current license or permit from the CPUC. (Vehicle
Code §14602.9)
9) Requires the DMV to regulate the safe operation of buses,
including tour buses, and establish regulations regarding
equipment and operations.
10)Requires the CHP to inspect, at least every 13 months, every
maintenance facility or terminal of any person who operates a
bus and, beginning in January 1, 2017, of all operators of
modified limousines. (Vehicle Code §34500 et seq.)
This bill:
1) Requires CPUC to work with DMV to verify on an annual basis,
that buses, limousines, and modified limousines used by a PSC
or CPC have been reported to CPUC by the carrier.
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2) Requires 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
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 every PSC and CPC to report annually to CPUC, in
addition to the list of all buses, limousines, and modified
limousines used in transportation for compensation by each
PSC and CPC, the vehicle registration information for each
vehicle.
5) Prohibits CPUC from issuing or continuing in effect any
permit or certificate of a PSC or CPC that does not submit
the vehicle registration information for each vehicle
reported to CPUC.
6) Requires the DMV to notify the CPUC when a CPC or PSC renews
or first registers a bus, limousine, or modified limousine,
and provide the CPUC with information that will allow it to
identify the vehicle.
7) Provides that the bill take effect on January 1, 2018.
Background
San Francisco bus tour accident. On November 13, 2015, a City
Sightseeing bus crashed into construction scaffolding in San
Francisco's Union Square resulting in 19 people injured. The
bus was originally used as a transit vehicle and had been
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retrofitted as a double-decker open-air tour bus before it was
sold to City Sightseeing. The CHP's investigation found the
cause of the crash was driver error, specifically driving at an
unsafe speed. Post-crash investigations revealed that City
Sightseeing had not notified the CPUC when it added the bus to
its fleet, as required by law. The CHP identified other safety
violations at the company in a December 2015 terminal
inspection.
Ghost buses. The CPUC has regulatory oversight over tour buses
that operate as CPCs or PSCs. Simultaneously, tour buses must
be registered with the DMV in order to operate on public roads.
Under current law, tour bus operators are required to provide a
list of all vehicles in operation to CPUC subject to its
licensing requirements. However, operators sometimes fail to
identify all their vehicles to the CPUC. Additionally the DMV
is not required to share registration bus information with the
CPUC. Unfortunately, the disconnect between the two agencies
leads to "ghost" buses that are not properly licensed with the
CPUC and, as a result, these buses also do not undergo required
safety inspections by the CHP for CPUC-licensed buses and
modified limousines, which can lead to dangerous conditions on
California roads.
Scope of the problem. According to the Assembly Committee on
Transportation and Housing analysis, based on data from the CPUC
and DMV, there are approximately 81,824 buses registered with
the DMV, but only approximately 12,600 buses licensed are
registered with CPUC. Although CPUC requires carriers to
identify their CPC or PSC vehicles during the permitting or
licensing process, not all carriers do so. In addition, 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
CPUC. By requiring DMV and CPUC to collect and share
registration and licensing information, the author intends to
ensure that all vehicles operated as CPCs or PSCs are properly
accounted for and inspected.
What's covered? This bill deals with buses and limousines
(including modified limousines) used for transportation for-hire
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licensed as a CPC or PSC by the CPUC. CPCs are chartered
vehicles with a driver under a contract for a fixed fee (e.g.
party bus or limousine for a wedding). PSCs transport
passengers based on an individual fare over a fixed route (e.g.
airport shuttle). This bill does not relate to school buses or
public transit buses, or transportation network companies, which
do not operate a terminal for their vehicle fleet.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 1677 (Ting, 2016) requires the CHP to develop protocols for
the inspection of tour buses by local agencies. The bill is
currently on the Senate Floor.
SB 247 (Lara, 2015) requires charter buses to have specified
emergency equipment. The bill is currently on the Assembly
Floor.
SB 812 (Hill, 2016) imposes additional, performance-based
inspection requirements on tour buses operated by PSCs and CPCs.
The bill is currently on the Assembly Floor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Up to $1.1 million (Transportation Reimbursement Account) to
the CPUC for additional staff and information technology
needs.
$208,587 (Motor Vehicle Account) for the CHP to conduct the
required inspections for every 2,500 vehicles.
One-time costs of $950,000, and $42,000 annually to DMV for
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programming, form revisions, and increased registrations and
transaction processing times.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco
California Bicycle Coalition
Greater California Livery Association
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Walk SF
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/11/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, 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. The incident
highlights an unfortunate disconnect in California's oversight
of tour bus safety. This bill is very simple: it requires the
DMV to let the CPUC know when a bus is registered. And it
requires the CPUC to continuously check with the DMV to see if
new buses are registered. It's about making sure that these
large state bureaucracies talk to each other.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/31/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, 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, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
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O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough
Prepared by:Nidia Bautista / E., U., & C. / (916) 651-4107
8/15/16 20:26:52
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