BILL ANALYSIS 1
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SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 636 - Jones Hearing Date:
June 30, 2009 A
As Amended: June 26, 2009 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law permits the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to cancel, revoke, or suspend any operating permit or
certificate upon specified violations.
Current law prohibits a charter-party carrier from engaging in
transportation services, without obtaining a specified
certificate or permit from the CPUC.
Current law provides that whenever the CPUC suspends the
certificate or permit of any charter party carrier for failure
to maintain any vehicle or failure to enroll all drivers in a
specified system, the CPUC shall hold a hearing within a
reasonable time, not to exceed 21 days.
This bill requires the CPUC to permanently revoke the authority
of a charter-party carrier that operates a bus without being
issued the proper permit from the CPUC, knowingly employs a
non-licensed or inappropriately licensed driver, or operates
improperly registered busses. This bill provides a charter
party carrier who has received a notice of refusal or revocation
of its permit the right to a hearing provided that the hearing
is requested in writing within 15 days of receipt of such
notice.
If a person drives a bus for a charter-party carrier without
having been issued the proper driver's license, endorsement, or
certificate, this bill permanently prohibits that person from
driving a bus and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to
revoke and refuse to renew that persons license. This bill
provides a person who has been given a notice of refusal to
receive a driver's license the right to a hearing provided that
the hearing is requested in writing within 15 days of receipt of
such notice.
This bill requires a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer who
stops or inspects a bus of a charter-party carrier, to impound
the bus for 30 days if it is being operating by a non-licensed
driver or being operated without an appropriate license from the
CPUC. The charter party carrier shall have a right to a hearing.
BACKGROUND
The Charter-Party Carriers' Act secures adequate and dependable
transportation by carriers operating upon the highways; full and
unrestricted flow of traffic by motor carriers over the highways
which will adequately meet reasonable public demands by
providing for the regulations for all transportation agencies
with respect to accident indemnity so that adequate and
dependable service by all necessary transportation agencies
shall be maintained and the full use of the highways preserved
to the public; and to promote carrier and public safety through
its safety enforcement regulations.
Charter-party carriers furnish limousines-for-hire or passenger
charter transportation service in motor vehicles. Charter party
carriers provide different sized vehicles to take a scheduled
group of people to another location and/or back. Charter-party
carriers do not include vehicles on a set schedule or between
fixed termini, taxi cabs, car rentals, or city busses.
COMMENTS
1.This bill is in response to a series of incidents by bus
charter companies who have been operating in disregard of the
law. In general the bill is a "one strike and you're out"
approach to bus safety. It is sponsored by the California Bus
Association.
2.The author's office has provided an example of an incident
where a bus driver from a charter-party carrier company had
been in violation of the law by not being properly licensed to
operate his vehicle.
On October 5th, 2008, a charter bus en route from
Sacramento to a gaming facility swerved off the road and
overturned into a ditch, killing 11 people, including the
bus owner, and injured nearly 40 others. Most of the
passengers were elders from Sacramento's Southeast Asian
community.
As stated in a Sacramento Bee article on October 9th, 2008
(Bus driver in Colusa County crash was not properly
licensed), investigations found that "neither the bus nor
the driver?had the legal right to be on the road that
evening." Owners of the bus had legally designated it as
non-operational with the Department of Motor Vehicles in
May 2008, meaning that the vehicle should not have been on
the road. Also, bus driver Quintin Watts did not possess
the required "passenger endorsement" from DMV in order to
be driving the bus, a passenger transportation vehicle
carrying more than 10 people.
3.Are the penalties too harsh for charter-party carriers? - The
California Bus Association (CBA) believe that due to the
number of carriers and drivers without the proper licensing
and certifications, current penalties do not deter carriers
and drivers from continuing to break the law. The bill does
allow for individuals and charter party carriers, who have
received a notice of refusal for either their driver's license
or their permit, to submit a written request for a hearing
within 15 days of receiving a notice.
4.Related Legislation - AB 951 increases the range of fines the
CPUC can impose on charter-party carriers who do not comply
with the laws and CPUC regulations.
5.Double Referral - This bill has been double referred to the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing. Due to time
constraints, if amendments are proposed in Committee these
amendments must be taken in the second Committee.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (73-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (16-0)
Assembly Transportation Committee (13-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(15-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
California Bus Association
Support:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Nations Indian Gaming Association
California Public Utilities Commission
United Iu-Mien Community, Inc.
Oppose:
None on file
Melissa Macias
AB 636 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 30, 2009