BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2731|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2731
Author: O'Donnell (D)
Amended: 6/8/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Vehicles: Terminal Island Freeway: special permits
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes the method for weighing trucks in
a designated heavy-truck corridor near the Ports of Long Beach
and Los Angeles.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Limits, generally, vehicles and vehicle combinations, such as
trucks and tractor-trailers, to a gross weight of no more than
80,000 pounds. The state Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) or a local authority may, at its discretion, issue
a permit to transport an oversized or overweight load on
highways under its control. This exception generally does not
apply to state highways.
AB 2731
Page 2
2)Authorizes Caltrans to issue a special permit to the operator
of a vehicle that exceeds the maximum gross vehicle weight
rating to travel on specified portions of the Terminal Island
Freeway near the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles:
a) A 3.66-mile portion of State Route (SR) 47 and SR 103
known as the Terminal Island Freeway, between Willow Street
in the City of Long Beach and Terminal Island in the City
of Los Angeles.
b) A 2.4-mile portion of SR 1 between Sanford Avenue in the
City of Los Angeles and Harbor Avenue in the City of Long
Beach.
3)Provides that in order for Caltrans to issue the permit, all
of the following conditions must be met:
a) The City of Carson, the City of Long Beach, and the City
of Los Angeles must adopt a resolution or ordinance in
support of the heavy-truck corridor.
b) The vehicle, vehicle combination, or mobile equipment
must be used to transport intermodal cargo containers in
international commerce.
c) The vehicle, vehicle combination, or mobile equipment,
in combination with its load, must not exceed 95,000
pounds.
d) The vehicle, vehicle combination, or mobile equipment
must meet axle weight limits prescribed by Caltrans.
This bill requires the City of Carson, the City of Long Beach,
and the City of Los Angeles to conform weight limits for the
Terminal Island heavy-truck corridor to the weight limits
determined by Caltrans.
Background
Establishment of the heavy-truck corridor. More than 20 years
ago, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles sought the
authority to allow intermodal cargo containers to carry larger
AB 2731
Page 3
loads and thus lessen the truck traffic near the facility. AB
2438 of 1994 (see below) authorized Caltrans to issue special
permits allowing the operation of overweight vehicles on
portions of the Terminal Island Freeway, upon enactment of an
ordinance or resolution by the affected cities. The specially
designated corridors connect both ports to warehouses and
distribution centers throughout the region, allowing customers
to move certain types of heavier cargo to and from the port
complex.
When is 95,000 pounds not 95,000 pounds? Existing law
establishes a maximum of 95,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating
for the heavy-truck corridor. However, while the City of Long
Beach and City of Carson use a common method of determining
whether a truck is overweight, the City of Los Angeles uses a
different method. These different approaches have led to
confusion among users of the heavy-truck corridor, resulting in
fines, penalties, and uneven enforcement among the three
jurisdictions. To address this problem, the City of Los Angeles
approved a motion in August 2015 to amend its ordinance to
direct trucks in the heavy- truck corridor to be weighed
consistent with surrounding jurisdictions. According to the
author's office, however, the city continues to weigh trucks in
a manner unlike the other jurisdictions, despite the amended
ordinance. This bill sets a uniform standard for the local
enforcement of trucks allowed to exceed normal weight limits.
Comments
Purpose. The author states that the Ports of Long Beach and Los
Angeles are two of the most active port facilities in the world,
and together represent the busiest port complex in the U.S.
Multiple studies have confirmed that the port complex produces
more traffic congestion and air pollution than any other
commercial facility in Southern California. The American Lung
Association's 2015 "State of the Air" report notes that the Los
Angeles Basin has some of the nation's highest ozone and fine
particulate pollution, and the South Coast Air Quality
Management District consistently points to the port complex as
the number one polluter in Southern California. The author
states that by establishing a uniform method for the localities
to use to determine truck weights, this bill will help ease
AB 2731
Page 4
traffic congestion and air pollution in the port complex.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1128 (Furutani, Chapter 298, Statutes of 2011) extended by
0.3 miles the portion of SR 1 for which Caltrans may issue
overweight permits.
SB 2072 (Karnette, Chapter 229, Statutes of 2002) deleted the
sunset on the weight exemption, making the authority permanent.
SB 839 (Karnette, Chapter 358, Statutes of 1997) extended the
sunset on the weight exemption for five years, from 1998 until
2003.
AB 2438 (Karnette, Chapter 1037, Statutes of 1994) authorized
Caltrans to issue overweight permits for the Terminal Island
Freeway, until 1998.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/16/16)
California Association of Port Authorities
Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/16/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
AB 2731
Page 5
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, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, 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: Burke, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by: Erin Riches / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
6/24/16 14:18:32
**** END ****