BILL NUMBER: AB 1960 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lackey
FEBRUARY 12, 2016
An act to amend Section 471 of 34501.12
of, and to add Section 34500.6 to, the Vehicle Code, relating
to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1960, as amended, Lackey. Pickup trucks.
Vehicles: Basic Inspection of Terminals program.
Existing law, the Basic Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program,
makes it unlawful for a motor carrier to operate a specified type of
vehicle, including, but not limited to, combination of a motortruck
and a specified vehicle or vehicles that exceeds 40 feet in length
when coupled together, without identifying to the Department of the
California Highway Patrol all terminals, as defined, in this state
where vehicles may be inspected by the department and where vehicle
inspection and maintenance records and driver records will be made
available for inspection. Existing law requires motor carriers to
make vehicles and records available for inspection upon request by an
authorized representative of the department.
This bill would exclude an agricultural vehicle from being subject
to the BIT program, and would define agricultural vehicle to mean a
vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight
rating or a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,000 pounds or less if
specified conditions are met, including that the vehicle is operated
by certain individuals and is used exclusively in the conduct of
agricultural operations.
Existing law defines a pickup truck to mean a motor truck with a
manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,500
pounds, an unladen weight of less than 8,001 pounds, and which is
equipped with an open box-type bed not exceeding 9 feet in length.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 34500.6 is added to the
Vehicle Code , to read:
34500.6. For purposes of this division, an agricultural vehicle
is a vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross combination
weight rating or a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,000 pounds or
less if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) Is operated by a farmer, an employee of a farmer, or an
instructor credentialed in agriculture as part of an instructional
program in agriculture at the high school, community college, or
university level.
(b) Is used exclusively in the conduct of agricultural operations.
(c) Is not used in the capacity of a for-hire carrier or for
compensation.
(d) The towing vehicle has a gross weight rating of 16,000 pounds
or less.
SEC. 2. Section 34501.12 of the Vehicle
Code is amended to read:
34501.12. (a) Vehicles and the operation thereof, subject to this
section, are those described in subdivision (a), (b), (e), (f), (g),
(j), or (k) of Section 34500. 34500, except
an agricultural vehicle as defined in Section 34500.6.
(b) It is unlawful for a motor carrier to operate any vehicle of a
type described in subdivision (a) without identifying to the
department all terminals, as defined in Section 34515, in this state
where vehicles may be inspected by the department pursuant to
paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 34501 and where vehicle
inspection and maintenance records and driver records will be made
available for inspection. Motor carriers shall make vehicles and
records available for inspection upon request by an authorized
representative of the department. If a motor carrier fails to provide
vehicles and records, an unsatisfactory terminal rating shall be
issued by the department.
(1) The number of vehicles that will be selected for inspection by
the department at a terminal shall be based on terminal fleet size
and applied separately to a terminal fleet of power units and
trailers, according to the following schedule:
Representative
Fleet Size Sample
1 or All
2
3 to 8 3
9 to 15 4
16 to 25 6
26 to 50 9
51 to 90 14
91 or more 20
(2) The lessor of any vehicle described in subdivision (a) shall
make vehicles available for inspection upon request of an authorized
representative of the department in the course of inspecting the
terminal of the lessee. This section does not affect whether the
lessor or driver provided by the lessor is an employee of the
authorized carrier lessee, and compliance with this section and its
attendant administrative requirements does not imply an
employee-employer relationship.
(c) (1) The department may inspect any terminal, as defined in
Section 34515, of a motor carrier who, at any time, operates any
vehicle described in subdivision (a).
(2) The department shall adopt rules and regulations establishing
a performance-based truck terminal inspection selection priority
system. In adopting the system's rules and regulations, the
department shall incorporate methodologies consistent with those used
by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, including those
related to the quantitative analysis of safety-related motor carrier
performance data, collected during the course of inspection or
enforcement contact by authorized representatives of the department
or any authorized federal, state, or local safety official, in
categories, including, but not limited to, driver fatigue, driver
fitness, vehicle maintenance, and controlled substances and alcohol
use. The department shall also incorporate other safety-related motor
carrier performance data in this system, including citations and
accident information. The department shall create a database to
include all performance-based data specified in this section that
shall be updated in a manner to provide real-time information to the
department on motor carrier performance. The department shall
prioritize for selection those motor carrier terminals never
previously inspected by the department, those identified by the
inspection priority selection system, and those terminals operating
vehicles listed in subdivision (g) of Section 34500. The department
is not required to inspect a terminal subject to inspection pursuant
to this section more often than once every six years, if a terminal
receives a satisfactory compliance rating as the result of a terminal
inspection conducted by the department pursuant to this section or
Section 34501, or if the department has not received notification by
the system of a motor carrier operating while exceeding the threshold
of the inspection selection priority system. Any motor carrier that
is inspected and receives less than a satisfactory compliance rating,
or that falls below the threshold of the selection priority system,
shall be subject to periodic inquiries and inspections as outlined in
subdivision (f), and these inquiries and inspections shall be based
on the severity of the violations.
(3) As used in this section and Section 34505.6, subdivision (f)
of Section 34500 includes only those combinations where the gross
vehicle weight rating of the towing vehicle exceeds 10,000 pounds,
but does not include a pickup truck or any combination never operated
in commercial use, and subdivision (g) of Section 34500 includes
only those vehicles transporting hazardous material for which the
display of placards is required pursuant to Section 27903, a license
is required pursuant to Section 32000.5, or for which hazardous waste
transporter registration is required pursuant to Section 25163 of
the Health and Safety Code. Notwithstanding Section 5014.1, vehicles
that display special identification plates in accordance with Section
5011, historical vehicles, as described in Section 5004, implements
of husbandry and farm vehicles, as defined in Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 36000) of Division 16, and vehicles owned or operated by
an agency of the federal government are not subject to this section
or Section 34505.6.
(d) It is unlawful for a motor carrier to operate, or cause to be
operated, any vehicle which that is
subject to this section, Section 34520, or Division 14.85 (commencing
with Section 34600), unless the motor carrier is knowledgeable of,
and in compliance with, all applicable statutes and regulations.
(e) It is unlawful for a motor carrier to contract or subcontract
with, or otherwise engage the services of, another motor carrier,
subject to this section, unless the contracted motor carrier has
complied with subdivision (d). A motor carrier shall not contract or
subcontract with, or otherwise engage the services of, another motor
carrier until the contracted motor carrier provides certification of
compliance with subdivision (d). This certification shall be
completed in writing by the contracted motor carrier in a manner
prescribed by the department. The certification, or a copy of the
certification, shall be maintained by each involved party for the
duration of the contract or the period of service plus two years, and
shall be presented for inspection immediately upon the request of an
authorized employee of the department. The certifications required
by this subdivision and subdivision (b) of 34620 may be combined.
(f) (1) An inspected terminal that receives an unsatisfactory
compliance rating shall be reinspected by the department within 120
days after the issuance of the unsatisfactory compliance rating.
(2) When a motor carrier's Motor Carrier of Property Permit or
Public Utilities Commission operating authority is suspended as a
result of an unsatisfactory compliance rating, the department shall
not conduct a reinspection for permit or authority reinstatement
until requested to do so by the Department of Motor Vehicles or the
Public Utilities Commission, as appropriate.
(g) A motor carrier issued an unsatisfactory terminal rating may
request a review of the rating within five business days of receipt
of the notification of the rating. The department shall conduct and
evaluate the review within 10 business days of the request.
(h) The department shall publish performance-based inspection
completion data and make the data available for public review.
(i) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Basic
Inspection of Terminals program or BIT program.
(j) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.
SECTION 1. Section 471 of the Vehicle Code is
amended to read:
471. A "pickup truck" is a motor truck with a manufacturer's
gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,500 pounds, an unladen
weight of less than 8,001 pounds, and that is equipped with an open
box-type bed not exceeding 9 feet in length. "Pickup truck" does not
include a motor vehicle otherwise meeting the above definition that
is equipped with a bed-mounted storage compartment unit commonly
called a "utility body."