Amended in Assembly May 5, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1960

Introduced by Assembly Member Lackey

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Dodd, and Frazier)

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February 12, 2016

An act to amend Section 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. 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.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: 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.

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(e) Is used solely in intrastate commerce.

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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, 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:

 

Fleet Size	Representative Sample
1 or 2	All
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 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.

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(j) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.

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