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
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          |Author:    |Hertzberg                                            |
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          |Version:   |4/9/2015    As Amended                               |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant:|Nidia Bautista                                       |
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          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.
          

          


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