BILL ANALYSIS
AB 670
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 670 (Bill Berryhill) - As Introduced: February 25, 2009
SUBJECT : High-occupancy vehicles: veterans and active duty
members
SUMMARY : Permits a veteran or active duty member of the United
States Armed Forces to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes,
regardless of occupancy level. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the vehicle to displays an insigne, approved by the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), indicating
that the vehicle is owned by a veteran.
2)Provides that this bill does not relieve the driver of the
vehicle from the duty to drive with regard for safety nor
protect the driver from the consequences of an arbitrary
exercise of this privilege.
3)Specifies that these provisions apply only if the Caltrans
Director determines that the application will not subject the
state to a reduction in federal aid for highways.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes Caltrans and local authorities, with respect to
highways under the respective jurisdictions, to permit
preferential use of highway lanes for HOVs, under specific
conditions.
2)Permits motorcycles, low- and zero-emission vehicles, buses,
bus maintenance vehicle (when responding to an existing
emergency or breakdown), or paratransit vehicles to use HOV
lanes, regardless of occupancy level. Exceptions for mass
transit and paratransit vehicles only apply if the Caltrans
Director determines that application of the exception will not
result in reduced federal aid for highways.
3)Declares the intent of the Legislature to stimulate and
encourage the development of ways and means of relieving
traffic congestion on California highways and, at the same
time, to encourage individual citizens to pool their vehicular
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resources and thereby conserve fuel and lessen emission of air
pollutants.
1)Existing federal law, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU), gave states the option of allowing three
specific vehicle classes to travel on HOV lanes, exempt from
the posted vehicle occupancy requirements:
a) Out-of-service public transportation vehicles; (2)
b) High-occupancy toll vehicles; and,
c) Low emission and energy-efficient vehicles (such as
hybrids).
In addition, SAFETEA-LU provides procedures that states must use
to restrict motorcycle and bicycle operations on HOV
facilities. Absent these exceptions, federal law requires HOV
lanes to have occupancy levels of at least two occupants (2+).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, there are approximately 2.2
million veterans and 160,000 active duty personnel living in
California and, "These honorable men and women have placed their
lives and their liberty on the line to protect the lives and
liberties of all Californians, a sacrifice the state often takes
for granted. In this time of war and increased international
hostility, it is important that the selfless service our
veterans have provided to us is not forgotten.
"AB 670 would thank California's veterans and active duty
members of the military for their service by allowing them to
travel in HOV lanes irrespective of the time of day or number of
passengers in their vehicles...We owe our armed forces a debt of
gratitude for their service to our state and our nation, and
this bill is a unique way of demonstrating California's
collective appreciation."
The author explains that, under this bill, a veteran or active
duty military member would need to obtain a special sticker,
presumably from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), to be
displayed on the vehicle for this purpose, similar to the
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current process allowing drivers of hybrid and low-emission
vehicles to do the same. Conceptually, the driver would be
required to present evidence of his or her current or former
military service to the DMV-such as a military-issued
identification card or military discharge papers-in order to
obtain the sticker. The vehicle could then be driven in an
HOV lane when otherwise prohibited but only if the veteran or
current member of the military is behind the wheel.
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), "The
primary purpose of an HOV lane is to increase the total number
of people moved through a congested corridor by offering two
kinds of incentives: a savings in travel time and a reliable and
predictable travel time. Because HOV lanes carry vehicles with a
higher number of occupants, they may move significantly more
people during congested periods, even when the number of
vehicles that use the HOV lane is lower than on the adjoining
general-purpose lanes. In general, carpoolers, vanpoolers, and
transit users are the primary beneficiaries of HOV lanes."
Also, federal legislation, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of
1991, specifically encourage states to consider, and implement,
if feasible, HOV lanes in areas experiencing air quality or
traffic congestion problems. In fact, HOV lanes have been used
as a viable alternative and, in most cases is the only
alternative, that meets the federal air quality conformity
standards for capacity-increasing projects in metropolitan
areas.
There are roughly 1,500 miles of HOV lanes in California with an
additional 1,000 miles either programmed or planned.
Committee concerns:
1)California's HOV lanes are already congested. This bill could
add over 2 million vehicles to already congested HOV lanes.
This would certainly result in complete breakdown of HOV lanes
across the state, enough so, in fact, that even traditional
remedies, such as increasing vehicle occupancy levels to 3+ or
higher or prohibiting access to HOV lanes for hybrid cars
would likely not be sufficient to mitigate the impact of these
additional vehicles.
2)Furthermore, FHWA put Caltrans on notice in June of 2007 that
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California needs to take steps to decrease congestion in the
state's HOV lanes or risk the loss of federal funding. This
bill would almost certainly result in the loss of that
funding. How much and in what form is uncertain. FHWA has
several means by which they can sanction states such as
withholding federal transportation construction funds and
requiring repayment equal to the amount of federal investment
in HOV lanes (which is usually 90% of the cost to build the
lanes).
3)Allowing veterans and active duty military personnel to use
HOV lanes regardless of occupancy levels would put California
out of compliance with federal law, which requires 2+
occupancy levels, with limited exceptions. Although the bill
includes provisions that make it applicable only if the
director of Caltrans determines that the application will not
subject the state to a reduction in the federal aid for
highways, there are several intermediary steps Caltrans would
be compelled to consider prior to such a determination being
made. These intermediary steps could include increasing
occupancy levels for carpoolers (from 2+ to 3+ or even 4+),
disallowing hybrid vehicles from access to the lanes, and
prohibiting access to the lanes for paratransit and transit
maintenance vehicles.
4)Enforcement is a critical element to the successful operation
of an HOV facility. The purpose of an HOV enforcement program
is to ensure that operating requirements, including
vehicle-occupancy levels, are maintained to protect HOV
travel-time savings, to discourage unauthorized vehicles, and
to maintain a safe operating environment. Visible and
effective enforcement promotes fairness and maintains the
integrity of the HOV facility to help gain acceptance of the
project among users and non-users. Adding two million
potentially single-occupant drivers to the HOV system will
wreak havoc on HOV enforcement to the detriment of the system.
5)Where does it stop ? Certainly, the men and women in our armed
forces merit our gratitude for their service to our state and
our nation. However, access to HOV lanes is not a practical
means with which to express that gratitude. Further, granting
such access would set an unfortunate precedent whereby others
would want to include other, deserving groups in the access
exception, further degrading the HOV system.
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Related legislation : AB 497 (Block) grants similar HOV
privileges to physicians traveling on their way to an
emergency. That bill is scheduled to be heard in Assembly
Transportation on April 20th.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Legion, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition
None file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093