BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2338|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2338
Author: Conway (R)
Amended: 5/28/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, DeSaulnier, Harman, Pavley,
Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ashburn, Kehoe, Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 8/2/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Ashburn, Corbett, Emmerson, Price,
Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Leno, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicles: off-highway vehicle recreation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the County of Inyo to
designate segments of its county roads that are greater
than three miles in length for combined use by cars and
off-highway vehicles.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits an off-highway motor
vehicle (OHV) from being driven upon any public highway or
street, except to cross a highway or when a highway is
closed due to snow. Existing law, however, also allows a
CONTINUED
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local authority, the federal government, or the Department
of Parks and Recreation to permit both OHVs and motor
vehicles on road segments of up to three miles in length
under its jurisdiction, if:
1. A segment connects OHV trails, connects an OHV
recreational use area and necessary services, or
connects an OHV recreational use area to lodging
facilities.
2. The local authority finds that the road segment is
designed and constructed to safely permit the use of
regular vehicular traffic and the driving of OHVs.
3. The Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol (CHP)
declares that allowing combined use on a given road
segment would not create a potential traffic safety
hazard.
4. The local authority adopts a resolution or ordinance
authorizing the combined use and prescribing rules and
regulations governing that combined use.
5. The local authority erects signs on and along the road
indicating combined use.
Drivers of OHVs that are operated on the road pursuant to a
local authority's combined use authorization must comply
with all provisions of the California Vehicle Code,
including possessing a valid driver's license, obeying
speed laws, possessing evidence of insurance, and wearing a
helmet while on a motorcycle. In no case, however, may an
OHV be operated on a road after dark.
This bill:
1. Makes finding and declarations about Inyo County to
emphasize its vast size and small population.
2. Declares the Legislature's intent to allow combined use
of county roads segments that are longer than three
miles in Inyo County to link existing OHV trails and OHV
trailheads on federal lands.
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3. Exempts a county road segment located in an
unincorporated are of the County of Inyo from the limit
that it be no more than three miles in length in order
to be designated for combined use. The Commissioner of
the CHP may deem that a particular designation of longer
than three miles would create a potential traffic safety
hazard and thereby override this exemption.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
CHP: roadway studies unknown
costs, likely less than $100 Special*
* Motor Vehicle Account
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/10)
Big Pine Civic Club
Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau
Inyo County
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office points out
that the vast majority of Inyo County is national parks and
other publicly owned land with only 1.6 percent of the
county in private ownership. The author's office
introduced this bill to create a better linked trail system
there that will assist land managers in keeping OHVs out of
places where their use cannot be tolerated and provide an
economic base to the economy of the small communities
within that county. The author's office asserts that the
OHV trails for this linked system currently exist so no new
infrastructure is necessary. Inyo County could enjoy many
positive impacts if it had more flexibility on combined use
highway restrictions.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
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4
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland,
Vacancy
JJA:do 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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