BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 463
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Tran
VERSION: 4/22/09
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 16, 2009
SUBJECT:
Transportation of hazardous materials
DESCRIPTION:
This bill allows the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to issue a
license to a transporter of hazardous materials after the
licensee has failed an inspection, provided that the licensee
has corrected the reason for the failure.
ANALYSIS:
Motor carriers transport property, except for household goods,
for hire in trucks, tractor-trailers, or other similar vehicles.
Motor carriers that transport hazardous materials must have a
CHP-issued license. Existing law requires that CHP inspect at
each of the motor carrier's terminals the vehicles, the vehicle
maintenance records, and the driver records at least every 25
months. The motor carrier must file an application and pay
specified fees to schedule this inspection.
AB 1612 (Nava), Chapter 514, Statutes of 2007, amended state law
governing the licensing of motor carriers that transport
hazardous materials to:
Prohibit CHP from issuing a license to a motor carrier to
transport hazardous materials unless the motor carrier has
already received a satisfactory onsite inspection of its
vehicles, maintenance records, and driver records at each of
its terminals from which it is transporting hazardous
materials.
Require CHP to provide for a temporary license to transport
hazardous materials for motor carriers for which CHP has not
AB 463 (TRAN) Page 2
issued an unsatisfactory rating based on an inspection within
the previous three years in order that
Express the intent of the Legislature that a motor carrier's
license to transport hazardous materials not be "unreasonably
hindered" as a result of CHP's verification and issuance
process.
CHP recently adopted regulations implementing the provisions of
AB 1612. These regulations provide that a copy of a completed
application and evidence of the accompanying fee for a license
constitute a temporary license, provided that CHP has inspected
the motor carrier and has not issued an unsatisfactory rating in
the previous three years. The regulations further preclude CHP
from issuing a new or initial license to transport hazardous
materials for three years following an unsatisfactory rating
from a inspection.
This bill declares that existing law does not prevent CHP from
issuing a new or initial license to transport hazardous
materials to a motor carrier even if within the previous three
years CHP has issued that motor carrier an unsatisfactory rating
as a result of an inspection, provided that the motor carrier
has corrected the unsatisfactory rating.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . In response to an April 29, 2007 accident at the
MacArthur Maze in Alameda County in which a tanker truck
filled with gasoline crashed, caught on fire, and destroyed
part of the freeway, the Legislature passed and the Governor
signed AB 1612, which strengthened the inspection and
licensing requirements for motor carriers transporting
hazardous materials.
AB 1612 specifically prohibits CHP from issuing a license to a
motor carrier to transport hazardous materials unless it has
already received a satisfactory rating from an onsite
inspection. That bill also required CHP to establish rules and
regulations to provide for a temporary license to transport
hazardous materials for any motor carrier for which CHP had
not issued an unsatisfactory rating from an inspection within
the previous three years. Nonetheless, CHP recently adopted
regulations that preclude a motor carrier from applying for a
new original license to transport hazardous materials for
three years following an unsatisfactory rating from an
AB 463 (TRAN) Page 3
inspection.
The proponents assert that "AB 1612 said nothing about
prohibiting the issuance of a new license to a motor carrier
if it was found to have an unsatisfactory rating within the
last three years. That standard applies to temporary
licenses." AB 1612 included provisions for temporary licenses
in order to address the expected backlog of inspections as
CHP's workload increased with the enactment of that bill.
According to the sponsor, the Southern California Contractors
Association, CHP's regulations and its interpretation of AB
1612 create a problem by prohibiting issuance of a hazardous
materials license, temporary or otherwise, to a motor carrier
if that carrier had had an unsatisfactory rating in the past
three years. As an example, the sponsor cites the example of a
member contractor who operates a fuel truck to re-fuel its
heavy equipment and who received an unsatisfactory rating on
its fuel trucking operation before its hazardous materials
transportation license expired. After that license expired,
the contractor corrected the unsatisfactory rating and then
re-applied for a new original license. CHP denied this
application, even though CHP had re-inspected and found the
contractor in compliance.
The sponsor proposed this bill to ensure that a motor carrier
that has an expired license and has corrected an
unsatisfactory rating is able to apply for and receive a new
license to haul hazardous materials.
2.The bill is permissive . This bill states that existing law
governing CHP's licensing of motor carriers that transport
hazardous materials does not prevent CHP from issuing a new or
initial license to a motor carrier that has failed an
inspection in the past three years but corrected the reason
for the failure. The bill does not, as the introduced version
did, require CHP to issue a license to such an applicant. The
bill, therefore, does not override CHP's existing regulations,
which prevent CHP from issuing a license in this circumstance.
3.CHP position . CHP indicates that it is neutral on the bill and
believes that the bill preserves CHP's authority to license
only those motor carriers that can safely transport hazardous
materials.
Assembly Votes:
AB 463 (TRAN) Page 4
Floor: 73 - 0
Appr: 16 - 0
Trans: 13 - 0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 10, 2009)
SUPPORT: Southern California Contractors Association
(sponsor)
California Chapter of the American Fence
Contractors' Association
California Fence Contractors' Association
Engineering Contractors' Association
Flasher/Barricade Association
Marin Builders' Association
OPPOSED: None received.