BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS Senator Ben Hueso, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 697 Hearing Date: 4/21/2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Hertzberg | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |4/9/2015 As Amended | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Nidia Bautista | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Charter-party carriers of passengers DIGEST: This bill would repeal the requirement of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to issue a decal to charter-party carriers of passengers. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1. Authorizes the CPUC to regulate various transportation services, including charter-party carriers of passengers, defined as persons engaged in the transportation of persons by motor vehicle for compensation on a prearranged basis over any public highway in the state, except for taxi cabs which are regulated by local agencies. (Public Utilities Code, Chapter 8 §§§5351, 5360, 5353) 2. Requires a charter-party carrier to obtain from the CPUC a permit or certificate to operate which establishes that the person or corporation is financially and organizationally capable to conduct the transportation service, including complying with all applicable laws and regulations. (Public Utilities Code §§ 5371 & 5374) 3. Requires a charter-party carrier to display a distinctive identifying symbol, in the form prescribed by the CPUC, showing the classification to which the carrier belongs. (Public Utilities Code §5385) 4. Requires the CPUC to issue specified decals for SB 697 (Hertzberg) Page 2 of ? charter-party carrier vehicles designed to carry not more than eight passengers, including the driver, and who have a valid permit or certificate from the CPUC. The decal shall be a minimum size of two and half inches by six inches and affixed to the lower right hand corner of the rear bumper. (Public Utilities Code §5385.5) This bill repeals the provision of the law requiring the CPUC to issue specified decals for charter party carrier vehicles designed to carry not more than eight passengers, including the driver. Background Senate Bill 611 (Hill, Chapter 860, Statutes of 2014) addresses safety issues related to modified limousines. Among its provisions, the bill repealed sections of the Public Utilities Code that provided for special "livery" license plates issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which were used in lieu of requiring decals on these vehicles. (Public Utilities Code §5385.6 (d) noted that the "special license plate shall be in lieu of the decal required to be issued and displayed pursuant to §5385.5.") As a result, the requirement to issue decals is now effective for limousines serving eight or less passengers, vehicles that must be registered with the CPUC. However, the CPUC is not producing these decals, nor has it issued these decals in two decades. For the time being, the CPUC has issued a "Temporary Acknowledgement of Vehicle Added Letter" to be kept in the permitted vehicle at all times. The agency has informed these vehicle owners/operators that the decals are not currently in production, but will be issued to the drivers once in production. The CPUC already requires charter-party carriers to display a distinctive identifying symbol prescribed by the CPUC based on classification. Examples of these symbols include: Transportation Charter Party (TCP) identification number along the bumper of limousine vehicles, or identifying symbols as filed by each Transportation Network Company (TNC), such as Uber or Lyft. Comments SB 697 (Hertzberg) Page 3 of ? For the 2015-16 proposed budget, the CPUC has requested a budget change proposal for $227,000 to hire three staff within the transportation division who would among other tasks work on decals. It's unclear if the CPUC would still anticipates any work related to decals should this bill becomes law. Prior/Related Legislation SB 611 (Hill, Chapter 860, Statutes of 2014) addresses safety issues related to modified limousines, including requiring the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to develop and implement an inspection program for these vehicles. The bill also repealed provisions in law that required charter-party carriers to obtain special "livery" license plates issued by the DMV, which were in lieu of the requirements to affix a decal as noted above. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT: California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (Sponsor) Greater California Livery Association OPPOSITION: None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The CPUC, the sponsor of the bill, suggest this is a simple cleanup of the code to capture the intent of the changes in SB 611 (Hill, 2014). They argue that when SB 611was being considered last year there was widespread belief amongst the parties that the "decal" required in Public Utilities Code §5385.5 was synonymous with the distinctive identifying symbols, specifically the Transportation Charter Party (TCP) identification, prescribed by Public Utilities Code §5385. The CPUC also notes it has not issued "decals" in twenty years and the agency lacks the resources to process the many thousands of decals that would be needed. The CPUC's preferred approach is to delete the section in law requiring the issuance of decals. Instead they hope to avoid directing resources towards an activity that wasn't intended and is not needed since the SB 697 (Hertzberg) Page 4 of ? charter-party carriers already have a requirement to have a distinctive identification symbol on their vehicles. -- END --