BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 463|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 463
Author: Tran (R)
Amended: 4/22/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SEN.TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/16/09
AYES: Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lowenthal
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0 (Consent), 5/14/09 - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Transportation of hazardous materials
SOURCE : Southern California Contractors Association
DIGEST : This bill allows the California Highway Patrol
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 California Highway Patrol
(CHP) issued license. Existing law requires that the CHP
inspect at each of the motor carrier's terminals the
CONTINUED
AB 463
Page
2
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:
1.Prohibit the 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.
2.Require the CHP to provide for a temporary license to
transport hazardous materials for motor carriers for
which the CHP has not issued an unsatisfactory rating
based on an inspection within the previous three years.
3.Express the intent of the Legislature that a motor
carrier's license to transport hazardous materials not be
"unreasonably hindered" as a result of the CHP's
verification and issuance process.
The 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 the CHP has inspected the motor
carrier and has not issued an unsatisfactory rating in the
previous three years. The regulations further preclude the
CHP from issuing a new or initial license to transport
hazardous materials for three years following an
unsatisfactory rating from an inspection.
This bill declares that existing law does not prevent the
CHP from issuing a new or initial license to transport
hazardous materials to a motor carrier even if within the
previous three years the 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.
AB 463
Page
3
Comments
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 the 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 the CHP to
establish rules and regulations to provide for a temporary
license to transport hazardous materials for any motor
carrier for which the 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 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 the CHP's workload increased with the
enactment of that bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/09)
Southern California Contractors Association (source)
California Chapter of the American Fence Contractors'
Association
California Fence Contractors' Association
Engineering and Utility Contractors Association
Engineering Contractors' Association
AB 463
Page
4
Flasher/Barricade Association
Marin Builders' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the sponsor, the
Southern California Contractors Association, the 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. The CHP denied this application, even
though the 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Fuentes, Gaines, Garrick,
Saldana, Smyth, Bass
AB 463
Page
5
JJA:cm 6/30/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****