BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1932 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1932 (Obernolte) As Amended August 3, 2016 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 5, 2016) |SENATE: | 38-0 |(August 15, | | | | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: TRANS. SUMMARY: Authorizes a motorcyclist safety training program that is licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as a traffic violator school to administer a motorcyclist training course and provides that the motorcyclist training course may include instruction specific to the safe and lawful operation of motorcycles. The Senate amendments recast the provisions of the Assembly version of the bill to instead authorize schools operating under the existing California Motorcycle Safety Program (CMSP) to also act as licensed traffic violator schools, subject to the existing curriculum approval and licensure by DMV. EXISTING LAW: AB 1932 Page 2 1)Authorizes DMV to refuse to issue or renew a person's driver's license if the department determines that the applicant is a negligent or incompetent operator of a motor vehicle. 2)Requires DMV to presume a person whose driving record shows a specified number of violation points in a specified period of time to be a negligent operator of a motor vehicle. 3)Requires DMV to license and administer traffic violator schools, operators, and instructors. 4)Authorizes a court adjudicating a traffic offense, after a deposit of bail, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, to order or permit a person to attend a licensed traffic violator school. 5)Requires the court to continue a proceeding against a person in consideration of the successful completion of a course of instruction at a licensed traffic school and authorizes the court to order that the conviction be held confidential, as specified. 6)Prohibits a violation point from being assessed to a person's driving record if the conviction resulting in the point assessment is held confidential. 7)Requires California Highway Patrol (CHP) to administer a motorcycle safety program, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. COMMENTS: When a court adjudicates a certain type of traffic offense, it may order or permit a person who has deposited bail, pled guilty or no contest, or been convicted to attend traffic AB 1932 Page 3 violator school. If a person successfully completes a course of instruction at a traffic violator school, the record of the conviction may be ordered to be held confidential, except for DMV's statistical purposes, and a violation point will not be assessed on that person's driving record. Only the first conviction in an 18-month period may be ordered to be held confidential, and any subsequent conviction in that period will result in a point being assessed. A conviction cannot be held confidential if it is the result of certain types of violations, including driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing a peace officer, wrong-way driving, driving over 100 miles per hour, participating in a speed contest, transporting explosives, and driving with a suspended or revoked driving privilege. A classroom program offered by a licensed traffic violator school must consist of just over 5.6 hours of instruction and an additional hour for the completion of a post-knowledge test, while an online program must exceed 42,500 words and offer an additional hour for the completion of a post-knowledge test. Under existing law, the CHP currently administers the CMSP. The program includes two courses: the Motorcyclist Training Course, a basic course consisting of five hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of actual riding that is mandatory for persons under the age of 21 and recommended for others seeking a motorcycle endorsement; and the optional Premier Program consisting of 7.5 hours of classroom instruction and 13.5 hours of riding. According to the CHP, over 950,000 motorcycle riders have participated in the CMSP since 1987. This bill would authorize a safety course operating under the CMSP to also act as DMV-licensed traffic violator school, subject to curriculum approval and licensure by DMV, thereby allowing a person ordered to complete traffic school in the above scenario to instead complete a course that fulfills the roles of both programs. The curriculum for this course would be consistent with DMV's curriculum for traffic violator school, with the addition of information specific to the safe operation of motorcycles. AB 1932 Page 4 The author argues that, presently, the courses of instruction available through a licensed traffic violator school are generally applicable to the safe operation of automobiles, but not necessarily motorcycles. Thus, if a person commits a violation while operating a motorcycle, he or she must complete a traffic school course that might not apply directly to the mode of transportation that person most frequently uses. In 2015, AB 902 (Bloom), Chapter 306, sponsored by bicycling advocates authorized a local authority to allow a person alleged to have committed a traffic offense to participate in a driver awareness or education program or other locally-sanctioned diversion program as an alternative to the court procedure set forth above, as long as the violation did not involve a motor vehicle. Arguments for that legislation included the importance of providing education to bicyclists and motorists about lawful and otherwise appropriate behavior regarding interactions between motorists and bicyclists through the use of diversion programs. This bill would similarly allow alleged offenders to complete an educational course that most closely aligns with the practices and experiences they encounter in their everyday activities. This bill would also still allow a person to attend regular traffic violator school at the direction or permission of the court. The concept of this bill, allowing a person to complete a traffic violator school requirement that matches the type of vehicle used when an offense was committed, is substantially similar to that of the earlier version of this bill heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee. Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of this bill. AB 1932 Page 5 Analysis Prepared by: Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0003855