BILL NUMBER: SB 1345	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 25, 2016
	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 38026.1 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1345, as amended, Berryhill. Vehicles: off-highway vehicle
recreation: County of  Sierra.   Inyo. 
   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.  
extend the operation of these provisions until January 1, 2020, and
would extend the reporting deadline until January 1, 2019. For
purposes of the pilot project described above, the bill would
prohibit a combined-use highway road segment or combination of
adjacent combined-use highway road segments from exceeding 10 miles.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: 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 
Counties   County  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) 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  each   the  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) Prohibit a combined-use highway road segment or combination of
adjacent combined-use highway road segments designated under this
section from exceeding 10 miles.  
   (6) 
    (7)  Include an opportunity for public comment at a
public hearing held by  each   the  county
in order to evaluate the pilot project.
   (c) 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,  each   the 
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  each   the  county'
s  respective  board of supervisors pursuant to this
section.
   (2) This subdivision does not alter the requirements of
subdivision (e).
   (e)  A   The  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,   2019,
 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 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.  
   (h) 
    (g)  (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,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.