BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1361
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 20, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                  AB 1361 (Portantino) - As Amended:  May 13, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                               
          TransportationVote:13-0

          Urgency:     Yes                  State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill prohibits commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle  
          weight exceeding five tons from operateing on State Route 2 (SR  
          2), between Interstate Route 210 (I-210) in the City of La  
          Canada Flintridge and County Route N4 ( Big Pine Highway) in Los  
          Angeles County. The bill also:

          1)Exempts from this prohibition, under specified circumstances,  
            emergency vehicles, vehicles operated by public utilities and  
            Caltrans, transit busses, tow trucks, commercial vehicles  
            servicing property in La Canada Flintridge, and commercial  
            vehicles involved in a motion picture or television production  
            activities adjacent to prohibited sections of SR 2. 

          2)Provides for a fine of $1,000 per violation, which would be  
            used to improve the safety of the applicable segment of SR 2. 

          3)Requires Caltrans to post signs at each end of the portion of  
            SR 2 for which the truck ban applies.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor one time costs to Caltrans (special funds) to post signs  
          at each end of the truck ban.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . Existing law authorizes truck bans (for vehicles  
            over 9,000 pounds) on SR 85 in Santa Clara County and I-580 in  
            Oakland.  The ban on SR 85 does not apply to road maintenance  
            and emergency vehicles, buses, and recreational vehicles.  The  








                                                                  AB 1361
                                                                  Page  2

            ban on I-580 does not apply to buses or paratransit vehicles.

           2)Rationale  . This bill is intended to address unsafe conditions  
            on a stretch of SR-2, known as the Angeles Crest Highway.  
            According to the author's office, the route is used by  
            travelers as a shortcut between the Antelope Valley and the  
            Los Angeles basin. The highway is a winding mountain road with  
            steep grades and a final straightaway that terminates at an  
            intersection. On April 1, 2009 a major accident occurred at  
            the terminal intersection that killed a father and his 12-year  
            old daughter, and injured 12 others.  The author cites  
            newspaper accounts indicating that this area has a history of  
            similar accidents and that local officials had earlier  
            appealed to Caltrans for a truck ban on the same portion of SR  
            2. 
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081