BILL NUMBER: SB 1345 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Berryhill
( Coauthor: Senator Gaines
)
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Dahle and Mathis )
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 11400 of the Streets and Highways
Code, relating to pedestrian malls. An act to amend
Section 38026.1 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1345, as amended, Berryhill. Pedestrian malls:
disputed claims. Vehicles: off-highway vehicle
recreation: County of Sierra.
Existing law authorizes an off-highway motor vehicle that has been
issued a plate or device to be operated or driven upon a highway
under certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes various public
entities, and the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation,
to designate a highway, or portion thereof, for the combined use of
regular vehicular traffic and off-highway motor vehicles if certain
requirements are met. Existing law prohibits a highway from being
designated for this combined use for a distance of more than 3 miles.
Existing law, until January 1, 2017, authorizes the County of Inyo
to establish a pilot project that would exempt specified
combined-use highways in the unincorporated area in the County of
Inyo from this prohibition to link together existing roads in the
unincorporated portion of the county to existing trails and
trailheads on federal Bureau of Land Management or United States
Forest Service lands in order to provide a unified linkage of trail
systems for off-highway motor vehicles, as prescribed. Existing law
requires the County of Inyo, in consultation with the Department of
the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation, and
the Department of Parks and Recreation, to prepare and submit to the
Legislature a report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot
project by January 1, 2016, as specified.
This bill would expand these provisions to additionally authorize
the County of Sierra to establish a pilot project as described above.
The bill would require the county to prepare and submit to the
Legislature a report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot
project by January 1, 2019. The bill would also extend the operation
of these provisions until January 1, 2020.
The Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960 requires a legislative body, after
determining that a pedestrian mall shall be established and that
there remain any written claims for legal damages because of the
establishment of the proposed mall to direct an action or actions be
brought in superior court, as specified, to resolve those claims.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature in
enacting this act and designating combined-use highways on
unincorporated county roads in the County of Sierra for more than
three miles to link existing roads in the unincorporated portion of
the county to existing trails and trailheads on federal Bureau of
Land Management or United States Forest Service lands in order to
provide a unified system of trails for off-highway motor vehicles. It
is the intent of the Legislature to develop additional data to
better evaluate whether a combined-use highways system is workable in
other counties beyond the County of Inyo. It is further the intent
of the Legislature that no General Fund moneys be expended for the
pilot project established by this act, and the project will be
revenue neutral to the state.
SEC. 2. Section 38026.1 of the Vehicle
Code is amended to read:
38026.1. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), the
County of Inyo Counties of Inyo and Sierra may
each establish a pilot project to designate combined-use
highways on unincorporated county roads in the county for no more
than 10 miles so that the combined-use highways can be used to link
existing off-highway motor vehicle trails and trailheads on federal
Bureau of Land Management or United States Forest Service lands, and
to link off-highway motor vehicle recreational-use areas with
necessary service and lodging facilities, in order to provide a
unified system of trails for off-highway motor vehicles, preserve
traffic safety, improve natural resource protection, reduce
off-highway vehicle trespass on private land, and minimize impacts on
county residents.
(b) The A pilot project
established pursuant to this section shall do all of the
following:
(1) Prescribe a procedure for highway, road, or route selection
and designation. The procedure shall be approved by a vote of a
majority of the Inyo County Board of Supervisors.
each county's respective board of supervisors.
(2) Prescribe a procedure for the county to remove a combined-use
designation, including a designation that is removed as a result of
the conclusion of the pilot program.
(3) In cooperation with the Department of Transportation,
establish uniform specifications and symbols for signs, markers, and
traffic control devices to control off-highway motor vehicles,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Devices to warn of dangerous conditions, obstacles, or
hazards.
(B) Designations of the right-of-way for regular vehicular traffic
and off-highway motor vehicles.
(C) A description of the nature and destination of the off-highway
motor vehicle trail.
(D) Warning signs for pedestrians and motorists of the presence of
off-highway motor vehicle traffic.
(4) Require that off-highway motor vehicles subject to the pilot
project meet the safety requirements of federal and state law
regarding proper drivers' licensing, helmet usage, and the
requirements pursuant to Section 38026.5.
(5) Prohibit off-highway motor vehicles from traveling faster than
35 miles per hour on highways designated under this section.
(6) Include an opportunity for public comment at a public hearing
held by the each county in order to
evaluate the pilot project.
(c) The A pilot project
established pursuant to this section may include use of a
state highway, subject to the approval of the Department of
Transportation, or any crossing of a highway designated pursuant to
Section 38025.
(d) (1) By selecting and designating a highway for combined use
pursuant to this section, the County of Inyo
each county agrees to defend and indemnify the state against
any and all claims, including legal defense and liability arising
from a claim, for any safety-related losses or injuries arising or
resulting from use by off-highway motor vehicles of a highway
designated as a combined-use highway by the Inyo County
Board of Supervisors each county's respective board of
supervisors pursuant to this section.
(2) This subdivision does not alter the requirements of
subdivision (e).
(e) The County of Inyo A county
shall not designate a highway for combined use pursuant to this
section unless the Commissioner of the Department of the California
Highway Patrol finds that designating the highway for combined use
would not create a potential traffic safety hazard.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2016, the County of Inyo, in
consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol,
the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Parks and
Recreation, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a report
evaluating the pilot project, and containing both
all of the following:
(1) A description of the road segments designated to allow
combined use for over three miles, as approved or adopted by a
majority vote of the members of the Inyo County Board of Supervisors.
(2) An evaluation of the overall safety and effectiveness of the
pilot project, including its impact on traffic flows, safety,
off-highway vehicle usage on existing trails, incursions into areas
not designated for off-highway vehicle usage, and nonmotorized
recreation.
(3) A description of the public comments received at a public
hearing held by the county in regards to an evaluation of the pilot
project.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2019, the County of Sierra, in
consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol,
the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Parks and
Recreation, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a report
evaluating the pilot project, and containing all of the following:
(1) A description of the road segments designated to allow
combined use for over three miles, as approved or adopted by a
majority vote of the members of the Sierra County Board of
Supervisors.
(2) An evaluation of the overall safety and effectiveness of the
pilot project, including its impact on traffic flows, safety,
off-highway vehicle usage on existing trails, incursions into areas
not designated for off-highway vehicle usage, and nonmotorized
recreation.
(3) A description of the public comments received at a public
hearing held by the county in regards to an evaluation of the pilot
project.
(g)
(h) (1) A report submitted pursuant to subdivision (f)
or (g) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
(2) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, 2020, and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before
January 1, 2017, 2020, deletes or
extends that date.
SECTION 1. Section 11400 of the Streets and
Highways Code is amended to read:
11400. If following the hearing the legislative body determines
that the pedestrian mall shall be established, and if at that time
there remain any written claims for damages that have not been
allowed pursuant to Section 11310 or that have not been withdrawn,
the legislative body shall direct that an action or actions be
brought in the superior court in the name of the city by the county
counsel, district attorney, or city attorney, as the case may be, or
other attorney designated by the legislative body for a determination
of the damages, if any, to which the claimant may legally be
entitled because of the establishment of the pedestrian mall. The
action shall be in the nature of a proceeding in eminent domain for
the condemnation of the right or rights in real property, the taking
of which by the establishment of the pedestrian mall results in the
damages claimed. Except as may otherwise be provided in this part,
the action and proceeding shall be governed so far as the same may be
made applicable by the provisions relating to proceedings in eminent
domain. Except as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section
1245.210) of Chapter 4 of Title 7 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, in any action the resolution of intention adopted pursuant
to this part and the resolution adopted under Section 11311
conclusively establish the matters referred to in Section 1240.030 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.