BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING Senator Jim Beall, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 2073 Hearing Date: 6/14/2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Holden | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |2/17/2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Randy Chinn | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Golf carts: City of La Verne DIGEST: This bill allows for the use of oversized golf carts as part of the City of La Verne's golf cart transportation plan. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Defines "golf carts" as motor vehicles weighing less than 1,300 pounds, designed to operate at not more than 25 miles per hour, and designed to carry not more than two persons. 2)Authorizes cities or counties to adopt golf cart transportation plans that do not include the use of any state highway. A crossing of, or a golf cart lane along, a state highway may be included in the plan if authorized by the law enforcement agency having primary traffic enforcement responsibility. 3)Specifies certain required elements in the golf cart transportation plan, including minimum general design criteria for the development, planning, and construction of separated golf cart lanes. 4)Exempts the City of La Verne from the requirement for separated golf cart lanes under specified conditions. This bill expands the definition of "golf cart" in the City of AB 2073 (Holden) Page 2 of ? La Verne to include utility-style golf carts and shuttle-style golf carts for use within the area included in their golf cart transportation plan. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose of bill. The author seeks to revise his bill from last year, which eliminated the sunset on La Verne's authority to permit golf carts on specified city streets under specified conditions, by expanding the definition of "golf cart" to include larger vehicles. This would allow the continued use of oversized golf cart-like vehicles, according to the author. 2)History of La Verne and golf carts. Founded in 1887, La Verne is in the foothills of the San Gabriel-Pomona valleys. La Verne is approximately 35 miles east of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County. La Verne is a small city of 33,000 covering 8.5 square miles. It has eight mobile home parks, three large retirement communities, and a university of about 2,500 students. Golf carts have been authorized for use on certain city streets in La Verne since 2009. The original authorizing legislation sunset on January 1, 2016; this was intended to allow time for the university and retirement communities to transition to safer vehicles which meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Because of the historic use of golf carts by the retirement communities and the university, La Verne was exempted from the requirement to have separate golf cart lanes. However, La Verne was still required to develop a golf cart transportation plan and subject to several additional safety restrictions, including: a) Limiting the golf carts to streets with speed limits of not more than 25 miles per hour b) Limiting the golf carts to streets immediately adjacent to or surrounded by the university or a retirement community c) Requiring the law enforcement agency with primary traffic jurisdiction to approve the street segments d) Limiting the authority to golf carts owned by the university or retirement community and equipped with a AB 2073 (Holden) Page 3 of ? windshield, headlights, brake lights, and seatbelts e) Limiting the golf cart usage to employees of the university or retirement community within the scope of employment of the university or retirement community In 2015, the sunset was eliminated via AB 173 (Holden, Chapter 65, Statutes of 2015), allowing La Verne to permanently permit the use of golf carts, a change in the policy articulated in the original legislation. This bill revises the definition of "golf cart" for purposes of La Verne by authorizing the use of vehicles which are larger and heavier than the typical two-person golf cart. These include vehicles which can transport as many as eight people, as well as larger flatbed vehicles. While these vehicles have apparently been used for years, this bill legitimizes their use. 1)Recent experience indicates no problems. The La Verne Police Chief indicates there have been no issues with these vehicles. As these vehicles wear out, he expects that they will be replaced with larger street-legal neighborhood electric vehicles. Assembly Votes: Floor: 77-0 Trans: 16-0 Related Legislation: AB 173 (Holden, Chapter 65, Statutes of 2015) - deleted the 2016 sunset on the authority of the City of La Verne to permit golf carts to be used on city streets thereby continuing the authority indefinitely. AB 963 (Adams, Chapter 6, Statutes of 2008) - allowed the City of La Verne, until January 1, 2016, to designate a highway or portion thereof for use by both golf carts and motor vehicles under specified conditions. AB 1244 (Adams, 2007) - would have exempted the City of La Verne, from the requirement to provide separate lanes for golf carts. AB 1244 was passed by the Legislature but vetoed due to concerns about the safety of mixing motor vehicle traffic and AB 2073 (Holden) Page 4 of ? golf carts in the same travel lanes. This bill was vetoed by the Governor. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.) SUPPORT: Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities City of La Verne Police Department Hillcrest University of La Verne OPPOSITION: None received -- END --