BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2245
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 5, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 2245 (Hill) - As Amended:  April 21, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                               
          TransportationVote:8-4

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill prohibits a vehicle from being equipped with an  
          aftermarket horn louder than 110 decibels.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Local costs of enforcement are not reimbursable.

           COMMENTS

          1)Background  . Existing law requires any motor vehicle operating  
            on a highway to be equipped with a horn in good working order  
            and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions  
            from a distance of not less than 200 feet, and prohibits the  
            horn from emitting an unreasonably loud or harsh sound.

           2)Rationale.   In response to complaints about what was thought  
            to be excessive train noise in his San Mateo County district,  
            the author reports that he has been working with the US  
            Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration  
            (FRA), local governments, constituents, and the railroad  
            industry.  FRA recently conducted a study on freight train  
            horns in the cities of South San Francisco, Burlingame, and  
            San Mateo at his request.  The study concluded that the train  
            horns are sounding within the legally prescribed decibel limit  
            at each grade separation.  However, FRA staff informed the  
            author that aftermarket car horns had been identified as a  
            possible factor leading to these complaints.

            The current standard for noise from a car horn is that it may  
            not be unreasonably loud or harsh. The proposed decibel limit  








                                                                  AB 2245
                                                                 Page  2

            would be consistent with federal regulations for train horns,  
            as well as the decibel level that is typical for the average  
            horn on a new car.  Aftermarket horns are purported to be as  
            loud as 170 decibels. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081