BILL NUMBER: AB 1257 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 210
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 4, 1997
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 4, 1997
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 17, 1997
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 11, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member House
FEBRUARY 28, 1997
An act to amend Section 34501.12 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1257, House. Vehicles: commercial vehicles: inspections:
weight limit.
(1) Existing law requires the Department of the California Highway
Patrol to inspect, at least every 25 months, every terminal, as
defined, of any motor carrier who, at any time, operates any of
specified commercial vehicles. A motor carrier is required to
schedule an inspection with the department for those vehicles, as
prescribed. As used in that law, commercial vehicles are described
as combinations of vehicles where the gross vehicle weight limit of
the towing vehicle exceeds 10,100 pounds. Existing law authorizes
the department to establish and implement an incentive program to
encourage truck terminal operators to attain continuous satisfactory
compliance ratings.
This bill would revise the description of combinations of vehicles
to include a towing vehicle with a gross vehicle weight limit of
10,000 pounds, rather than 10,100 pounds, not including a pickup
truck. Because this would expand the scope of an existing
requirement, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also modify
the incentive program specified above by, among other things,
conditioning certain parts of that program on the agreement by the
motor carrier to accept random, unannounced inspections by the
department.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 34501.12 of the Vehicle Code is amended to
read:
34501.12. (a) Notwithstanding Section 408, as used in this
section and Sections 34505.5 and 34505.6, "motor carrier" means the
registered owner of any vehicle described in subdivision (a), (b),
(e), (f), or (g) of Section 34500, except in the following
circumstances:
(1) The registered owner leases the vehicle to another person for
a term of more than four months. If the lease is for more than four
months, the lessee is the motor carrier.
(2) The registered owner operates the vehicle exclusively under
the authority and direction of another person. If the operation is
exclusively under the authority and direction of another person, that
other person may assume the responsibilities as the motor carrier.
If not so assumed, the registered owner is the motor carrier. A
person who assumes the motor carrier responsibilities of another
pursuant to subdivision (b) shall provide to that other person whose
motor carrier responsibility is so assumed, a completed copy of a
department form documenting that assumption, stating the period for
which responsibility is assumed, and signed by an agent of the
assuming person. A legible copy shall be carried in each vehicle or
combination of vehicles operated on the highway during the period for
which responsibility is assumed. That copy shall be presented upon
request by any authorized employee of the department. The original
completed departmental form documenting the assumption shall be
provided to the department within 30 days of the assumption. If the
assumption of responsibility is terminated, the person who had
assumed responsibility shall so notify the department in writing
within 30 days of the termination.
(b) (1) A motor carrier may combine two or more terminals for
purposes of the inspection required by subdivision (d) subject to all
of the following conditions:
(A) The carrier identifies to the department, in writing, each
terminal proposed to be included in the combination of terminals for
purposes of this subdivision prior to an inspection of the designated
terminal pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B) The carrier provides the department, prior to the inspection
of the designated terminal pursuant to subdivision (d) a written
listing of all its vehicles of a type subject to subdivision (a),
(b), (e), (f), or (g) of Section 34500 which are based at each of the
terminals combined for purposes of this subdivision. The listing
shall specify the number of vehicles of each type at each terminal.
(C) The carrier provides to the department at the designated
terminal during the inspection all maintenance records and driver
records and a representative sample of vehicles based at each of the
terminals included within the combination of terminals.
(2) If the carrier fails to provide the maintenance records,
driver records, and representative sample of vehicles pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), the department shall assign the
carrier an unsatisfactory terminal rating and require a reinspection
to be conducted pursuant to subdivision (h).
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the
meanings given:
(A) "Driver records" includes pull notice system records, driver
proficiency records, and driver timekeeping records.
(B) "Maintenance records" includes all required maintenance,
lubrication, and repair records and drivers' daily vehicle condition
reports.
(C) "Representative sample" means the following, applied
separately to the carrier's fleet of motortrucks and truck tractors
and its fleet of trailers:
Representative
Fleet Size Sample
1 or 2 All
3 to 8 3
9 to 15 4
16 to 25 6
26 to 50 9
51 to 90 14
91 or more 20
(c) Each motor carrier who, in this state, directs the operation
of, or maintains, any vehicle of a type described in subdivision (a)
shall designate one or more terminals, as defined in Section 34515,
in this state where vehicles can be inspected by the department
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 34501 and
where vehicle inspection and maintenance records and driver records
will be made available for inspection.
(d) The department shall inspect, at least every 25 months, every
terminal, as defined in Section 34515, of any motor carrier who, at
any time, operates any vehicle described in subdivision (a).
As used in this section and in Sections 34505.5 and 34505.6,
subdivision (f) of Section 34500 includes only those combinations
where the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the towing vehicle
exceeds 10,000 pounds, but does not include a pickup truck, and
subdivision (g) of Section 34500 includes only those vehicles
transporting hazardous material for which the display of placards is
required pursuant to Section 27903, a license is required pursuant to
Section 32000.5, or for which hazardous waste hauler registration is
required pursuant to Section 25163 of the Health and Safety Code.
Historical vehicles, as described in Section 5004, vehicles which
display special identification plates in accordance with Section
5011, implements of husbandry, as defined in Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 36000) of Division 16, and vehicles owned or operated by
an agency of the federal government are not subject to this section
or to Sections 34505.5 and 34505.6.
(e) (1) It is the responsibility of the motor carrier to schedule
with the department the inspection required by subdivision (d). The
motor carrier shall submit an application form supplied by the
department, accompanied by the required fee. The fee, which is
nonrefundable, is four hundred dollars ($400) per terminal, except in
the case of an owner-operator, as defined in Section 3557 of the
Public Utilities Code, or a nonregulated motor carrier who owns,
leases, or otherwise operates not more than one heavy power unit and
not more than three towed vehicles described in subdivision (a), (b),
(e), (f), or (g) of Section 34500, for which the fee shall be one
hundred dollars ($100). Federal, state, and local public entities
are exempt from the fee requirements of this section.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the inspection term for
each inspected terminal of a motor carrier shall expire 25 months
from the date the terminal receives a satisfactory compliance rating,
as specified in subdivision (h). Applications and fees for
subsequent inspections shall be submitted not earlier than nine
months and not later than seven months before the expiration of the
motor carrier's then current inspection term. If the motor carrier
has submitted the inspection application and the required
accompanying fees, but the department is unable to complete the
inspection within the 25-month inspection period, then no additional
fee shall be required for the inspection requested in the original
application.
(3) All fees collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be
deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation
Fund. An amount equal to the fees collected shall be available for
appropriation by the Legislature from the Motor Vehicle Account to
the department for the purpose of conducting truck terminal
inspections and for the additional roadside safety inspections
required by Section 34514.
(4) To avoid the scheduling of a renewal terminal inspection
pursuant to this section during a carrier's seasonal peak business
periods, the current inspection term of a terminal that has paid all
required fees and has been rated satisfactory in its last inspection
may be reduced by not more than nine months if a written request is
submitted by the carrier to the department at least four months prior
to the desired inspection month, or at the time of payment of
renewal inspection fees in compliance with paragraph (2), whichever
date is earlier. A motor carrier may request this adjustment of the
inspection term during any inspection cycle. A request made pursuant
to this paragraph shall not result in a fee proration and does not
relieve the carrier from the requirements of paragraph (2).
(f) It is unlawful for a motor carrier to operate any vehicle
subject to this section without having submitted an inspection
application and the required fees to the department as required by
subdivision (e) or (h).
(g) On and after July 1, 1992, it is unlawful for any motor
carrier to operate any vehicle subject to this section after
submitting an inspection application to the department, without the
inspection described in subdivision (d) having been performed and a
safety compliance report having been issued to the motor carrier
within the 25-month inspection period or within 60 days immediately
preceding the inspection period.
(h) (1) Any inspected terminal that receives an unsatisfactory
compliance rating shall be reinspected within 120 days after the
issuance of the unsatisfactory compliance rating.
(2) A terminal's first required reinspection under this
subdivision shall be without charge unless one or more of the
following is established:
(A) The motor carrier's operation presented an imminent danger to
public safety.
(B) The motor carrier was not in compliance with the requirement
to enroll all drivers in the pull notice program pursuant to Section
1808.1.
(C) The motor carrier failed to provide all required records and
vehicles for a consolidated inspection pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3) If the unsatisfactory rating was assigned for any of the
reasons set forth in paragraph (2), the carrier shall submit the
required fee as provided in paragraph (4).
(4) Applications for reinspection pursuant to paragraph (3) or for
second and subsequent consecutive reinspections under this
subdivision shall be accompanied by the fee specified in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (e) and shall be filed within 60 days of issuance
of the unsatisfactory compliance rating. The reinspection fee is
nonrefundable.
(5) When a motor carrier's Public Utilities Commission operating
authority is suspended as a result of an unsatisfactory compliance
rating, the department shall conduct no reinspection until requested
to do so by the Public Utilities Commission.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department make
its best efforts to inspect terminals within the resources provided.
In the interest of the state, the Commissioner of the California
Highway Patrol may extend for a period not to exceed six months the
inspection terms beginning prior to July 1, 1990.
(j) To encourage truck terminal operators to attain continuous
satisfactory compliance ratings, the department may establish and
implement an incentive program consisting of the following:
(1) After the second consecutive satisfactory compliance rating
assigned as a result of an inspection conducted pursuant to
subdivision (d), and after each consecutive satisfactory compliance
rating thereafter, an appropriate certificate, denoting the number of
consecutive satisfactory ratings, shall be awarded to the terminal,
unless the terminal has received an unsatisfactory compliance rating
as a result of any inspection conducted in the interim between the
consecutive inspections conducted under subdivision (d). The
certificate authorized under this paragraph shall not be awarded for
performance in the administrative review authorized under paragraph
(2). However, the certificate shall include a reference to any
administrative reviews conducted during the period of consecutive
satisfactory ratings.
(2) Unless the department's evaluation of the motor carrier's
safety record indicates a declining level of compliance, a terminal
that has attained two consecutive satisfactory compliance ratings
assigned following inspections conducted pursuant to subdivision (d)
is eligible for an administrative review in lieu of the next required
inspection, unless the terminal has received an unsatisfactory
compliance rating as a result of any inspection conducted in the
interim between the consecutive inspections conducted under
subdivision (d). An administrative review shall consist of all of
the following:
(A) A signed request by a terminal management representative
requesting the administrative review in lieu of the required
inspection containing a promise to continue to maintain a
satisfactory level of compliance for the next 25-month inspection
term.
(B) A review with a terminal management representative of the
carrier's record as contained in the department's files. If a
terminal has been authorized a second consecutive administrative
review, the review required under this subparagraph is optional, and
may be omitted at the carrier's request.
(C) Absent any cogent reasons to the contrary, upon completion of
subparagraphs (A) and (B), the safety compliance rating assigned
during the last required inspection shall be extended for 25 months.
(3) Not more than two administrative reviews may be conducted
consecutively. At the completion of the 25-month inspection term
following a second administrative review, a terminal inspection shall
be conducted pursuant to subdivision (d). If this inspection
results in a satisfactory compliance rating, the terminal shall again
be eligible for an administrative review in lieu of the next
required inspection. If the succession of satisfactory ratings is
interrupted by any rating of other than satisfactory, irrespective of
the reason for the inspection, the terminal shall again attain two
consecutive satisfactory ratings to become eligible for an
administrative review.
(4) As a condition for receiving the administrative reviews
authorized under this subdivision in lieu of inspections, and in
order to ensure that compliance levels remain satisfactory, the motor
carrier shall agree to accept random, unannounced inspections by the
department.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.