BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2731
Page 1
(Without Reference to File)
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2731 (O'Donnell)
As Amended August 19, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 12, 2016) |SENATE: | 39-0 | (August 25, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY: Prescribes the manner in which trucks are to be
weighed in a designated heavy container corridor near the Ports
of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The Senate amendments:
1)Make legislative findings and declarations regarding the heavy
container corridor connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and
Long Beach to warehouses and distribution centers throughout
the port area.
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2)Recast provisions consistent with this bill as it was heard in
the Assembly to ensure that trucks weighed in the designated
heavy container corridor near the Ports of Long Beach and Los
Angeles are weighed in a consistent manner.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Prescribes, according to state and federal law, maximum gross
weight limits for vehicles and vehicle combinations using
public highways.
2)Authorizes the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to issue overweight truck permits on the following
designated roadways (heavy container corridor) to allow for
the movement of shipping containers from the Ports of Long
Beach and Los Angeles into the City of Carson:
a) A 3.66-mile portion of State Route (SR) 47 and SR 103
known as Terminal Island Freeway, between Willow Street in
the City of Long Beach and Terminal Island in the City of
Long Beach and the City of Los Angeles; and,
b) A 2.4-mile portion of SR 1 between Blinn Avenue in the
City of Los Angeles and Harbor Avenue in the City of Long
Beach.
1)Conditions the issuance of overweight truck permits upon the
cities of Carson, Long Beach, and Los Angeles adopting
ordinances or resolutions in support of the heavy container
corridor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: Existing law generally limits vehicles and vehicle
combinations, such as tractor-trailer combinations, to a gross
weight of no more than 80,000 pounds. Caltrans or a local
authority may issue a permit to transport oversized or
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overweight loads on highways under its control. Existing law
also authorizes Caltrans permit overweight trucks that exceed
the maximum gross weight limits to travel on the heavy container
corridor. Before Caltrans can issue a permit, however, the
cities of Carson, Long Beach, and Los Angeles must adopt related
resolutions or ordinances allowing these vehicles on specified
local roads. The permitted vehicles must:
1)Be used to transport intermodal cargo containers that are
moving international commerce;
2)Not exceed a gross weight of 95,000 pounds; and,
3)Meet weight limits that Caltrans determines.
The heavy weight corridor is a relatively short segment of state
highway and allows freight to be transferred between the port
docks and warehousing areas immediately adjacent to the ports.
The corridor runs through portions of the cities of Carson, Long
Beach, and Los Angeles, which, in addition to the California
Highway Patrol, have law enforcement authority in their
respective jurisdictions along the corridor.
Unfortunately, according to the author, differing enforcement
methods amongst the cities in the way they measure truck weights
has led to confusion for users of the heavy container corridor,
resulting in fines, penalties, and uneven enforcement between
the jurisdictions. The author introduced this bill to eliminate
this confusion by providing a consistent methodology for
enforcement, thereby enhancing "the seamless movement of goods
throughout the port complex."
Apparently, among the four enforcement entities, only the City
of Los Angeles used a method of weighing trucks that was
different from the other agencies. Last August, the Los Angeles
City Council approved a motion to address this disparity by
amending its ordinance to direct trucks in the overweight
corridor to be weighed consistent with surrounding
jurisdictions. However, according to the author's office,
despite the amended ordinance, the City of Los Angeles continues
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to weigh truck in a manner unlike the other jurisdictions in the
corridor; hence, he believes, the need for this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0004794