BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 247 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 247 (Lara) As Amended June 8, 2016 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 26-4 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Transportation |13-0 |Frazier, Linder, | | | | |Baker, Bloom, Brown, | | | | |Chu, Dodd, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Gomez, Medina, | | | | |Melendez, Nazarian, | | | | |O'Donnell | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |13-5 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Gallagher, | | | |Bonta, Calderon, |Jones, Obernolte, | | | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, |Wagner | | | |Roger Hernández, | | | | |Holden, Quirk, | | | | |Santiago, Weber, Wood | | SB 247 Page 2 | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Requires a charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in charter bus transportation to ensure each vehicle operated for that purpose is equipped with specified safety features. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires each vehicle used for charter bus transportation to be equipped with interior and exterior luminescent or retroreflective emergency signage by July 1, 2019. 2)Requires each vehicle used for charter bus transportation manufactured after on or after July 1, 2020, to be equipped with a secondary door for use as an additional emergency exit, windows that can be easily opened and remain open during an emergency, and emergency lighting fixtures that will turn on in the event of an impact or collision. 3)Requires each vehicle used for charter bus transportation to comply at all times with applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). 4)Requires the driver of each vehicle used for charter bus transportation instruct all passengers on the vehicle's safety equipment and emergency exits prior to any trip. 5)Requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to adopt standards and criteria for the implementation of the above safety requirements by July 1, 2017. SB 247 Page 3 EXISTING LAW: 1)Defines "charter-party carrier of passengers" as a person engaged in the transportation of persons by motor vehicle for compensation over any public highway. 2)Establishes the "Passenger Charter-Party Carriers Act," which directs the California Public Utilities Commission to issue permits or certificates to charter-party carriers, investigate complaints against carriers, and cancel, revoke, or suspend permits and certificates for specific violations. 3)Defines "charter bus transportation" as transportation using a vehicle with a capacity of more than 10 persons, including the driver, of a group of persons who have acquired the exclusive use of the vehicle to travel together under a single contract at a fixed charge. 4)Requires CHP to regulate the equipment, maintenance, and safe operation of specified vehicles. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, one-time minor costs ($20,000) for the CHP to adopt the required standards. [Motor Vehicle Account] COMMENTS: In April 2014, a tractor trailer drifted across the median of Interstate 5 near Orland and collided with a charter bus carrying high school students on a college visit to northern California. The collision disabled the bus door and caused diesel fuel from the tractor trailer's fuel tank to spray into the passenger compartment of the bus and ignite. Both drivers and eight bus passengers were killed in the collision or by injuries sustained in the fire. SB 247 Page 4 After its investigation of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a number of recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for ways to improve the safety of both charter buses and motor carriers. The federal entities identified in the NTSB report have not yet adopted these recommendations. This bill codifies a number of the NTSB report's recommendations in California statute for vehicles used in charter bus transportation. The author believes that this bill will close the gap in safety standards between buses and other modes of transportation, such as airplanes and rail, and address the potentially dangerous conditions faced by bus passengers. The author intends to ensure that, although accidents will continue to happen, the survival rate of passengers in those future accidents is as high as possible, and that no future deaths are caused by inadequate emergency exit systems. The Legislature has enacted similar safety requirements for charter party carrier vehicles in recent years, including equipment requirements for modified limousines as a result of a fatal limousine fire in San Mateo. Federal preemption potential: Under federal law, states cannot adopt a safety standard for motor vehicle equipment that conflicts with an FMVSS in effect on the same aspect of performance of that equipment. However, this bill would mandate the installation of certain safety features to, in effect, mitigate the impact of a traffic accident, but would not mandate SB 247 Page 5 that the performance of that equipment meets a specified standard. For this reason, it appears the requirements of this bill would not be preempted by federal law. For example, under this bill, a motorcoach would be required to be equipped with windows that are easily opened, but those windows would still be required to meet all applicable FMVSS for characteristics such as size, design, and manufacture. Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by: Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0003558