Amended in Assembly June 20, 2016

Amended in Senate April 25, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1345

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 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 begin delete the Department of end delete 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 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 begin delete or combination of adjacent combined-use highway road segments from exceeding 10 miles. end delete begin insert from exceeding 10 miles, except as specified. end insert

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 to develop additional data to better evaluate whether a
combined-use highways system is workable in begin delete other counties
beyond end delete 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 may 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 the county’s 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)  begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert Prohibit a combined-use highway road segment begin delete or
combination of adjacent combined-use highway road segments end delete
designated under this section from exceeding 10 miles.

begin insert

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), two or more
combined-use highway road segments may share a common
starting point or ending point and may partially overlap as long
as the resulting network of the highway road segments does not
include more than three distinct locations of shared starting or
ending points, or both.

end insert

(7) Include an opportunity for public comment at a public
hearing held by 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, 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 the county’s board of supervisors pursuant to this section.

(2) This subdivision does not alter the requirements of
subdivision (e).

(e) 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, 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) (1) A report submitted pursuant to subdivision (f) 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.