BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 541
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 541
(Hill) - As Amended August 17, 2015
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|Policy |Utilities and Commerce |Vote:|14 - 0 |
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| |Public Safety | |7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill codifies the State Auditor recommendations to
strengthen the Public Utilities Commission's (PUC) oversight of
transportation-related activities. This bill allows peace
officers to impound buses and limousines of specified companies
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that carry passengers when they lack the required permits or
licensing. Specifically, this bill:
1)Directs the PUC to coordinate enforcement with peace officers,
as specified.
2)Authorizes the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a
city attorney to prosecute actions or proceedings for the
violation of any law committed in connection with a
transaction involving the transportation of household goods
and personal effects.
3)Requires the PUC to establish the specified goals related to
its existing authority to provide oversight and regulation of
transportation-related activities of household goods carriers
and Charter Party Carriers (CPC), and Passenger Stage
Corporations (PSC):
4)Requires the PUC to assess its capabilities to carry out the
activities, specified in the goals, and submit a report to the
Legislature by January 1, 2017, with an analysis of current
capabilities and deficiencies, and recommendations to overcome
any deficiencies identified.
5)Allows peace office to impound a bus or limousine of a CPC or
PSC for 30 days if the officer determines that specified
violations occurred while the driver was operating the vehicle
of the charter-party carrier:
6)Clarifies that impoundment provisions do not apply to
privately owned, personal vehicles, or to charter-party
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carriers that are not required to carry individual permits.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Increased one-time costs of approximately $250,000 for the PUC
to assess the transportation program and submit an evaluation
report to the Legislature.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill improves the
functions of the Transportation Enforcement Branch (the
Branch) at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to improve
customer service and enforcement against illegally operating
charter-party carriers, passenger stage corporations, and
moving companies.
2)Background. In June 2014, the California State Auditor
released a report examining the Branch within the Safety and
Enforcement Division, efforts to regulate passenger carriers,
as well as its use of fees collected from carriers. The
report found that the Branch did not provide sufficient
oversight of CPCs and PSCs to ensure consumer safety.
The report made a number of recommendations to address problems
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identified by the Auditor. This bill codifies these
recommendations by requiring the PUC to establish specific
goals and assess its capabilities to achieve such goals, and
submit a report to the Legislature with an analysis of current
capabilities and deficiencies, and recommendations to overcome
any deficiencies identified.
To improve enforcement of the Branch, this bill authorizes
peace officers to help in the enforcement of
transportation-related services. The PUC would coordinate
efforts with peace officers through educational outreach and
establishing lines of communication.
3)Passenger Transportation. California law regulates different
modes of passenger transportation for compensation, including
taxi services, which are regulated by cities and/or counties,
as well as CPCs and PSCs, which are regulated by the PUC. The
division within the CPUC responsible to ensure that services
are delivered in a safe and reliable manner is the Safety and
Enforcement Division. The division is responsible for safety
oversight in specific industries, including electric, natural
gas, and telecommunications infrastructure; railroads, rail
crossings, and light rail transit system; passenger carriers,
ferries; and household goods carriers.
The Division is funded through a fee assessed on various types
of state-regulated vehicles, including passenger carriers.
The PUC collects these fees from operators and deposits them
in the Transportation Reimbursement Account. The PUC has set
the fee for passenger carriers that seat no more than 15
persons at 1/3 of 1 percent of their annual gross revenue,
plus a $10 quarterly fee or a $25 annual fee. The PUC is
allowed to maintain an appropriate reserve in the account
based on past and projected operating experiences.
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Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081