BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 247 (Lara) - Charter bus transportation: safety improvements ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: January 4, 2016 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 8 - 0, | | | E.,U.,& C. 8 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: January 19, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 247 would place new safety requirements on charter buses. Specifically, this bill would require all charter buses to have specified safety and emergency equipment, require all charter buses manufactured after July 1, 2017 to have a secondary door as an emergency exit, and require drivers to instruct passengers on the vehicle's safety equipment and emergency exits prior to any trip. SB 247 (Lara) Page 1 of ? Fiscal Impact: Potential California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) costs in the range of $150,000 to $300,000 for staff support and an administrative law judge to conduct a formal rulemaking proceeding for the new charter bus safety requirements (Transportation Reimbursement Account). See Staff Comments. California Highway Patrol (CHP) costs of approximately $20,000 to develop standards and criteria for the proposed safety equipment requirements. (Motor Vehicle Account) Background: Existing law, the Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act, defines a "charter-party carrier of passengers" as a person or entity engaged in the transportation of persons by motor vehicle for compensation on a prearranged basis over any public highway in the state. The CPUC is generally responsible for the regulation of charter-party carriers of passengers, and existing law prohibits these entities from engaging in transportation services without obtaining a specified permit from the CPUC. Existing law also defines "charter bus transportation" as transportation using a vehicle designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 10 persons, including the driver, who have acquired the exclusive use of the vehicle to travel together, pursuant to a common purpose, and under a single contract at a fixed charge. Existing law requires the CHP to regulate the safe operation of motor vehicles engaged in transportation for hire or compensation, including charter buses, and to inspect those vehicles to ensure that they have the required safety equipment. Proposed Law: SB 247 would place new safety requirements on charter-party carriers of passengers engaged in charter bus transportation. Specifically, these carriers must: Ensure that charter bus drivers instruct all passengers on the safety equipment and emergency exits on the vehicle prior to any trip, including providing passengers with written instructions that demonstrate the location and operation of SB 247 (Lara) Page 2 of ? all exits and the importance of wearing a seatbelt. Ensure that its charter buses are equipped with all of the following safety measures: o Burn resistant materials for passenger compartments. o Independently powered emergency lighting fixtures designed to turn on in the event of an impact or collision. o Interior and exterior luminescent or retroreflective emergency signage. o An event data recorder capable of recording vehicle-related data in the event of sudden deceleration or hard braking. o Windows that can be easily opened and remain open during an emergency. The bill would also require CHP to adopt standards for the implementation of the charter bus safety requirements by July 1, 2017, and require charter buses manufactured after that date to be equipped with a secondary door for use as an emergency exit. Related Legislation: SB 109 (Corbett), Chap 752/2013, requires all modified limousines to have at least two rear side doors and two rear push-out windows that may be used as emergency exits by passengers. Staff Comments: This bill is intended to place new safety requirements on charter buses that are consistent with recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the investigation of a tragic head-on collision between a FedEx tractor-trailer and a charter bus in 2014 that resulted in the death of eight passengers. The CPUC indicates that the bill may require a formal proceeding to implement the new rules pertaining to charter bus safety measures, which would result in one-time costs as high as $328,341 for staff support and an administrative law judge to run the proceeding. The uncertainty is due to the bill requiring CHP to adopt the standards for implementing bus safety requirements, but the provisions are in the Public Utilities Code. Staff notes that it is unclear that a full PY of CPUC staff and administrative law judge time would be necessary to conduct a rulemaking proceeding of this nature. This Committee SB 247 (Lara) Page 3 of ? has typically noted CPUC costs in the range of $150,000 for conducting proceedings of similar scope and complexity, such as those related to limousine safety improvements. Staff notes that the costs to make the specified safety improvements to charter buses, the scope of which is currently unknown, would be the responsibility of charter bus companies and are not expected to result in a direct state fiscal impact. Recommended Amendments: Staff recommends a technical drafting amendment to remove the provisions of the bill from the Public Utilities Code, and instead include the language within the Vehicle Code (similar to the safety equipment requirements for modified limousines, as enacted by SB 109 of 2013). This would have the practical effect of reducing the bill's costs by eliminating the need for a formal CPUC proceeding to implement charter bus safety requirements. -- END --