BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1223 (Huff) - Driver's licenses: provisional licenses
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|Version: April 21, 2016 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 10 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1223 would expand the applicability of the
provisional driver's license program to new drivers under the
age of 21, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) implementation
costs in 2016-17, likely exceeding $350,000. (Motor Vehicle
Account)
Background: Existing law provides for a graduated driver's licensing
structure and provisional driver's license program that
restricts the driving privileges of young drivers under the age
of 18 in light of their operating inexperience. Prior to
applying for a provisional license, a person at least 15-1/2
years of age may apply for an instructional permit. A young
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driver must hold the instructional permit for at least six
months, complete specified driver training instruction, document
50 hours of supervised driving practice, including at least 10
hours of driving during darkness, and successfully complete
DMV's examination requirements prior to applying for a
provisional license.
During the first 12 months following issuance of a provisional
license to a person between the ages of 16 and 18, the licensee
is prohibited from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and
transporting passengers under the age of 20, unless accompanied
by a parent, driving instructor, or a licensed driver who is at
least 25 years old. Existing law provides exceptions to these
restrictions and requirements in cases of medical necessity,
school activities, employment necessity, and transporting
immediate family members, as specified. A provisional licensee
must be in possession of certain signed documentation when
driving under one of those exceptions.
Existing law authorizes a person who is 18 years of age or older
to apply for an original driver's license by passing a traffic
laws and signs test, among other requirements. There are no
graduated driving requirements or provisional restrictions on a
person who initially applies for a driver's license at age 18 or
older.
Proposed Law:
SB 1223 would extend the requirements of the provisional
driver's license program to drivers under the age of 21, rather
than to drivers under the age of 18. The bill also authorizes a
provisional licensee who is 18-20 years old to drive an
immediate family member without a signed statement from a parent
or legal guardian, and to use the following alternative
documentation to drive under restricted circumstances:
A copy of a class schedule as documentation to authorize
driving for school or school-authorized activities
A copy of a work schedule as documentation to authorize
driving for employment necessity.
Related
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Legislation: AB 235 (Frazier), which was held on this
Committee's Suspense File last year, would have required
provisional driver's license restrictions to remain in effect
until the end of the provisional period at age 18, instead of 12
months after issuance of the provisional license. AB 1801
(Frazier), an identical bill to AB 235, was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's Suspense File in 2014.
AB 724 (Cooley), which was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's Suspense File in 2013, would have extended
provisional driver's license requirements to those under the age
of 20.
Staff
Comments: This bill is intended to reduce the incidence of
traffic fatalities and accidents caused by young and
inexperienced drivers by applying a graduated driver's licensing
structure and 12-month restricted driving period to all new
drivers under the age of 21. An increasing number of teens wait
until they are 18 or older to obtain a driver's license, which
means they are not subject to the mandatory driver's training or
restricted driving requirements of the provisional driver's
license program. Existing data indicates that young drivers
without provisional driver's license training have a much higher
crash rate than those who undergo a graduated driver's licensing
structure.
Implementation of the bill would require DMV to make programming
changes to revise the applicability of provisional restrictions,
and make necessary updates to informational brochures,
handbooks, and DMV's website. One-time costs to perform these
tasks are expected to exceed $350,000.
Staff notes that DMV has a significant programming backlog of
federal and state mandates. These include federally-mandated
changes to the Commercial Driver License System, compliance with
which is tied to federal transportation funding, and state
mandates such as the recent implementation of AB 60 (Chapter
524/2014), which allows for the issuance of driver's licenses
for those without documentation proving legal presence, and AB
1461 (Chapter 729/2015), which provides for automatic voter
registration through the DMV, in addition to other
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recently-enacted legislation. Given the current backlog, it is
unlikely that DMV would be able to complete the programming
necessary to implement this bill by the January 1, 2017
operative date without impacting currently scheduled programming
priorities.
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