BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 541|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 541
Author: Hill (D)
Amended: 9/3/15
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE: 10-0, 4/27/15
AYES: Hueso, Fuller, Cannella, Hertzberg, Hill, Lara, Leyva,
McGuire, Morrell, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 6/3/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner,
Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 9/8/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Public Utilities Commission: for-hire transportation
carriers: enforcement
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill codifies recommendations from the State
Auditors report on strengthening the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC)'s oversight of transportation-related
activities of household good and charter-party carriers. This
bill requires the CPUC to hire an independent entity to assess
the agency's capabilities, in consultation with carrier trade
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Page 2
associations, related to specific goals and report its findings
to the Legislature. This bill also expands enforcement authority
to other peace officers beyond just the California Highway
Patrol (CHP).
Assembly Amendments (1) require the CPUC to hire an independent
entity to assess the capabilities of the agency to carry out the
specified activities and report to the Legislature , (2) clarify
the definition of peace officers referencing the existing Penal
Code, (3) narrow the vehicles law enforcement can impound to
buses and limousines of charter-party carriers and passenger
stage corporations when they are operating without required
permits or licensing, and (4) specify that the language in this
bill related to impoundment does not authorize the impoundment
of privately owned personal vehicles, or the impoundment of
charter-party carriers that are not required to carry individual
permits.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the CPUC with five members appointed by the
Governor and confirmed by the Senate and empowers it to
regulate privately owned public utilities and common carriers
in California. Specifies that the Legislature may prescribe
that additional classes of private corporations or other
persons are public utilities. (Article XII of the California
Constitution; Public Utilities Code §301 et seq.)
2)Establishes the CPUC's authority to regulate, require license
or permit to operate, require insurance and workers
compensation, take appropriate enforcement action and other
provisions related to passenger stage corporations (Public
Utilities Code §1031 et seq.), and transportation
charter-party carriers (Public Utilities Code §5351 et seq.).
3)Establishes the CPUC's authority to regulate private carriers
of passengers (Public Utilities Code §4001) and household
goods carriers (Public Utilities Code §5101 et seq.) including
requiring public liability and property insurance, cargo
insurance, knowledge of rates, documentation, timely reporting
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of revenues and payment fees, and provides that the CPUC can
take appropriate enforcement action, etc.
4)Provides the CHP with the ability to take enforcement action
related to requirements of buses of charter-party carriers as
required by the Public Utilities Code, including ensuring a
proper and current license or permit from the CPUC. (Vehicle
Code §14602.9)
This bill:
1)Requires the CPUC to hire an independent entity for not more
than $250,000 to assess the agency's capabilities to carry out
the specific activities related to household goods carriers
and to report to the Legislature no later than January 1,
2017.
2)Requires the CPUC to hire an independent entity for not more
than $250,000 to assess the agency's capabilities to carry out
the specific activities related to transportation
charter-party carriers and to report to the Legislature no
later than January 1, 2017.
3)Requires the CPUC to prioritize the timely processing of
applications of carriers, including enabling electronic filing
and fee payments, dedicating staff to answering inquiries,
implementing electronic case tracking of complaints and other
requirements.
4)Authorizes a peace officer, as defined, to impound a bus or
limousine when the passenger stage coach or charter-party
carrier of passengers is not properly licensed or permitted.
5)Requires the CPUC to coordinate with peace officers likely to
be involved in enforcement, including conducting educational
outreach to promote awareness and establishing lines of
communication to allow the CPUC to enforce the fine and
penalty provisions.
6)Requires the CPUC to implement a process for appropriate and
timely enforcement against illegally operating carriers,
including performing staff-driven investigations and
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performing sting operations.
7)Provides that the Attorney General, a district attorney of the
proper county or city and county, or a city attorney may
institute and 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 or involving a charter-party carrier of
passengers.
8)Exempts from the impoundment provisions of this bill privately
owned personal vehicles and charter-party carriers that are
not required to carry individual permits.
Background
Since its inception in 1911 (then as the Railroad Commission),
the CPUC has regulated private companies and individuals that
own, operate, control or manage transportation of people and
property. Until 1995, with passage of federal trucking
deregulation laws, the CPUC licensed and regulated many types of
carriers transporting commodities over public highways within
California. Currently, the CPUC's remaining authority is
limited to non-rail passenger carriers and household goods
movers. Under state law, the CPUC is required to license
carriers, and investigate and enforce safety and consumer
protection laws for the following surface transportation
carriers:
Passenger Stage Corporations - for-hire carriers transporting
passengers over public highways on an individual-fare basis.
Examples include: Greyhound bus service and airport shuttles.
Transportation Charter-Party Carriers - operate under the
direction and control of their chartering party that arranges
the transportation, on a prearranged basis. Examples include
tour buses, limousines, and transportation network companies,
including Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar.
Private Carriers of Passengers - includes not-for-hire motor
carrier transporting passengers in buses (vehicles seating 10
or more) that are required to obtain a "CA number" from CHP.
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Household Goods Carriers - includes for-hire moving companies.
The work to license, enforce and ensure safety of these carriers
is done through the CPUC's Transportation Enforcement Branch
(TEB) within the Safety and Enforcement Division with
approximately 45 authorized staff positions. The CPUC is
responsible for issuing operating permits and certificates
(operating authority) to qualified applicants for authority to
operate as passenger stage corporations, charter-party carriers
of passengers, and household goods carriers, and for denying,
suspending and revoking operating authorities of such carriers
that fail to meet statutory and regulatory requirements. The
TEB's efforts are funded through a fee assessed on various types
of state-regulated vehicles, including passenger carriers. The
CPUC collects these fees from operators and deposits them in the
Transportation Reimbursement Account.
Type of Carrier No. Permitted
Charter-party carriers of passengers8,942
Private carrier of passengers 1,310
Household goods carriers 1,077
Passenger stage corporations 262
In response to a request by the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee, the State Auditor developed and released a report in
June 2014 concerning the CPUC's TEB's efforts to regulate
passenger carriers, as well as its use of the fees it collects
from these carriers. The report concluded that the "branch does
not adequately ensure that passenger carriers comply with state
law." The Auditor's report cited 17 areas within TEB's efforts
that are lacking and merit improvement, including lack of staff
training, a lack of procedures for processing complaints,
failure to complete investigations and issue citations in a
timely manner, and many others. The Auditor's report also
provided a series of recommendations to address the many
failures and shortcomings and to improve the TEB's efforts to
ensure carrier and public safety. This bill codifies many of the
recommendations of the audit.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
will have an increased one-time cost of approximately $250,000
for the CPUC to assess the transportation program and submit an
evaluation report to the Legislature.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/8/15)
California Moving and Storage Association
Greater California Livery Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/8/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author states that the CPUC's TEB
requires further direction from the Legislature to improve its
functions. SB 541 is a proposal to ensure the CPUC is focusing
its efforts appropriately to ensure safety and improved customer
service and enforcement of illegally operating limousines,
buses, and moving companies.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 9/8/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, 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,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez
Prepared by:Nidia Bautista / E., U., & C. / (916) 651-4107
9/8/15 22:02:39
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