BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
636 (Jones)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: 07/16/2009
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: EU&C 11-0; T&H 8-3
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 636 would place the following restrictions and
requirements on charter-party carriers of passengers and bus
drivers:
Impose a five-year suspension from driving any kind of
passenger bus if a person drives a charter bus without having
the appropriate driver's license, endorsement, or certificate
to operate such a vehicle.
Require the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to permanently
revoke a permit to operate as a charter-party carrier if the
business operates a bus without CPUC certification, operates a
bus while its permit is suspended, knowingly employs a driver
who is not properly licensed and certified to operate a bus,
or has one or more buses improperly registered with the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Require the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to impound the bus
of a charter-party carrier for 30 days when a bus driver
operates the vehicle without the proper licensure and
certification from CPUC and DMV.
Require CPUC to hold an expedited hearing, upon request, to
appeal the decision to permanently revoke a charter-party
carrier's permit to operate.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
PUC minor and absorbable costs Special*
DMV programming up to $200
Special**
____________
* CPUC Transportation Reimbursement Account
**Motor Vehicle Account
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
This bill is intended to provide a "one-strike" enforcement
approach for charter-party carriers and their bus drivers that
operate without proper permits, licensure, and certification.
There have been several high profile charter bus accidents
recently, resulting in numerous fatalities and injuries, and
involving drivers and buses that did not have the appropriate
licenses, endorsements, or permits to operate charter-party
carriers of passengers.
AB 636 would require CPUC to conduct appeal hearings for charter
carriers whose authority to operate has been permanently
revoked, if the charter-party carrier submits a written request
for hearing within 15 days of permit revocation notification by
CPUC. The hearing must be held within 21 days and the
revocation of a permit to operate may only be rescinded if the
carrier proves it was not in violation of the bill's
prohibitions and the basis for refusal or revocation was factual
error.
Page 2
AB 636 (Jones)
CPUC issued nearly 5,000 suspension notices to charter-party
carriers in 2008, many of which operate buses (vehicles seating
more than 10). Most of the suspensions involved failure to
maintain insurance on file and failure to pay or underpayment of
regulatory fees, but some suspensions are for minor statutory
violations such as failure to file timely reports or issuance of
bad checks. Under this bill, a charter-party carrier who was
found to be operating a bus with a suspended permit would be
permanently barred from receiving a permit to operate or
certificate from CPUC, even if the suspension was triggered by a
minor administrative error. Any charter carrier that received a
permanent suspension would likely seek an appeal hearing. CPUC
anticipates that a high volume of expedited hearings could take
place as a result of this bill. The actual number of appeal
hearings is unknown, but the increased workload could require up
to 2 new full-time staff at the CPUC at a total annual cost of
$232,884 (one Administrative Law Judge to conduct hearings and
one Associate Transportation Representative to assist in the
presentation of evidence).
This bill would require DMV to refuse to issue or renew, or to
suspend or revoke the passenger vehicle endorsement of a person
convicted of driving a bus for a charter-party carrier without
proper licensure, pursuant to Public Utilities Code (PUC)
section 5387 (b). Violations of the PUC, however, are not among
those reported to DMV by the courts for purposes of suspending
or revoking driving privileges. In order to provide adequate
notification to DMV that a person's passenger vehicle
endorsement should be suspended, staff recommends an amendment
to Vehicle Code section 1803 to add a violation of subdivision
(b) of Section 5387 of the Public Utilities Code to those that
are reported to DMV.
DMV would incur programming costs of approximately $200,000 as a
result of this bill. Specifically, DMV would need to program
its systems to recognize the violation reported by the courts
and suspend or deny a driver's passenger endorsement for five
years. Ongoing DMV costs would be negligible.
CHP would have absorbable costs related to impounding buses.
These provisions are consistent with impound provisions
elsewhere in law. A registered owner is ultimately responsible
for all vehicle towing and storage costs, which are recovered
when the vehicle is released from impound.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS would amend Vehicle Code section 1803 as
noted above to ensure that DMV is notified by the courts of
violations requiring the suspension of a passenger vehicle
endorsement. The amendments would also narrow the provisions
that require a permanent revocation by clarifying that permanent
revocation due to operating with a suspended permit only applies
if a charter-party carrier has been cited with three or more
liability insurance violations within a two-year period and
those who are cited during a period of liability insurance
lapse. The amendments would also include contingent enactment
language with AB 951 (Lieu), pertaining to charter-party
carriers.