BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1361
Author: Portantino (D), et al
Amended: 7/9/09 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/16/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 7/6/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Price, Runner,
Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Oropeza
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/21/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Commercial vehicles ban: State Route 2
SOURCE : City of La Ca?ada Flintridge
DIGEST : This bill bans large commercial vehicles on a
segment of State Route 2 in Los Angeles County and the City
of La Ca?ada Flintridge, except as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law designates the California state
highway system through a description of segments of the
state's regional and interregional roads that are owned and
operated by the Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
Existing state law establishes maximum length, width, and
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weight limits for a variety of vehicles and vehicle
combinations on the state's roads, as follows:
1. The total length of a combination of vehicles (tractor
and two trailers) is limited to 65 feet.
2. Vehicle width is limited to 102 inches.
3. Combinations of vehicles may not exceed a total weight
of 80,000 pounds, while lower maximum weights apply for
certain vehicles based on their number of axles and the
stances between axles.
Caltrans may close segments of highways to long or heavy
vehicles if those highways cannot safely accommodate
vehicles of a given length or weight based on the design of
the highway. When Caltrans could not ban large vehicles on
highways because of the design of the highway, the
Legislature has sometimes either enacted a ban or provided
authority for a ban. For example, existing law bans trucks
over 9,000 pounds on Interstate Route 580 (I-580) between
Oakland and San Leandro, and it permits Caltrans and the
Santa Clara County to ban vehicles over 9,000 pounds on
State Route (SR) 85 between Cupertino and San Jose.
This bill:
1. Bans commercial vehicles with three or more axles or a
gross vehicle weight of five tons (10,000 pounds) or
more on the segment of SR 2 between Interstate 210 in
the City of La Ca?ada Flintridge and County Route N4
(Big Pine Highway) in the County of Los Angeles.
2. Exempts the following vehicles from this ban:
A. Authorized emergency vehicles.
B. Vehicles operated by publicly or privately owned
public utility.
C. Vehicles operated by a government agency.
D. A transit bus servicing facilities accessible
only from that segment of SR 2.
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E. A tow truck providing assistance to a vehicle
accessible only from that segment of SR 2.
F. A commercial vehicle that is making deliveries
to or from, or servicing property, that is located
within the city limits of La Ca?ada Flintridge or
is accessible only from this portion of SR 2.
G. A commercial vehicle involved in a motion
picture, commercial. or television production
conducting activities in areas that are accessible
only from this portion of SR 2.
3. Requires Caltrans to erect signs to give notice of the
ban at each end of this segment of SR 2 and any other
points Caltrans deems necessary.
4. Imposes a penalty of $1,000 or a specified greater
amount based on the weight of the vehicle for violating
the ban.
Background
Purpose . The author's office points out that the portion
of SR 2 that runs through Angeles National Forrest and into
La Ca?ada Flintridge is a winding highway with grades as
steep as seven percent in some locations. Some assert that
these road conditions have contributed to accidents on this
segment of highway since at least 1951. As an example, the
author's office cites an April 2005 accident in which a
dump truck lost its brakes on SR2 and careened into the
protective retaining wall just in front of a popular
restaurant in La Ca?ada Flintridge. In another instance,
in September 2008 a truck slammed into seven cars in the
parking lot of the same restaurant after its brakes failed.
In April of this year, yet another run-away truck slammed
into cars and eventually into a bookstore, taking the lives
of a father and daughter. The truck driver in that
accident was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter and
felony reckless driving.
After those deaths both the city and Caltrans agreed to
place a 90-day ban, which expires in July, on commercial
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trucks along the mountainous portion of SR 2 in order to
provide the Legislature time to pass a more permanent
solution. This bill is that permanent solution.
The author's office asserts that it is only a matter of
time before the driver of another large truck, who is
unaware of the dangers of SR 2, wears down his or her
vehicle's brakes and causes another accident. The author is
carrying this bill to make "long overdue preventative
measures to protect the citizens of La Ca?ada Flintridge
and its visitors from another similar incident."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/9/09)
City of La Ca?ada Flintridge (source)
California Contract Cities Association
City of Lakewood
City of Palm Desert
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Duvall, Fong, Nielsen,
Saldana
JJA:do 7/9/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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