BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2644
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 2644 (Fuller) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
SUBJECT : Vehicles: Pickup truck weight fee exclusion
SUMMARY : Excludes from the definition of a commercial vehicle
any pickup truck that is not used for the transportation of
property for hire, compensation, or profit. Exempts pickup
trucks from commercial weight fees.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a pickup truck as a motor truck of unladen weight of
less than 8,001 pounds, which is equipped with an open box bed
not exceeding nine feet in length.
2)Defines a commercial vehicle as any vehicle "designed, used,
or maintained primarily for the transportation of property."
Because pickup trucks are clearly designed primarily to
transport property, all pickup trucks are commercial vehicles.
3)Provides that registered owners of commercial vehicles of less
than 10,000 pounds unladen weight, pay an unladen weight fee
in addition to the vehicle registration and license fees
required for passenger vehicles. The unladen weight fee for
pickup trucks range from $8 for those of less than 3,000
pounds to $257 for one of 8,000 pounds. The California
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) collects these fees and
issues pickup trucks commercial vehicle license plates.
(Heavier commercial vehicles pay a gross vehicle weight fee.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : The author believes that vehicle owners
should pay commercial vehicle fees only when using a vehicle for
commercial purposes. The author notes that the weight fee is
based solely on the design of the vehicle and its weight; it
does not matter whether or not a vehicle is being used for
AB 2644
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commercial purposes, only that it could potentially be used for
such purposes. Further, the author contends that this is
patently unfair to California's pickup truck owners, who are
primarily private citizens who do not use their vehicles for
commercial profit.
Purpose of weight fees : The state imposes vehicle weight fees
on commercial vehicles to account for the additional damage
these vehicles and their loads cause to the state's streets and
highways. Revenues from vehicle weight fees are deposited into
the State Highway Account, and their expenditures are restricted
under Article XIX of the California Constitution to plan,
construct, improve, maintain, and operate public streets and
highways and to plan, construct, and improve rail and transit
tracks and related fixed facilities.
Exempting pickup trucks for personal use from paying weight fees
would reduce revenue to the State Highway Account by perhaps
tens of millions of dollars.
Enforcement an issue : According to DMV, prior to the early
1970s, pickup truck owners could display passenger plates if
they declared that that their trucks would be used only to carry
personal items. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports
that this resulted in enforcement problems, as CHP and other law
enforcement agencies interpreted that to mean the pickup truck
would carry groceries, golf clubs, and other personal items.
Conflicts arose when law enforcement pulled over a pickup truck
driver who was hauling a load of bricks or lumber, which the
driver indicated was for personal use, but sometimes turned out
to be for a business purpose. This bill raises the same sort of
enforcement problems encountered earlier. The author may wish
to clarify how pickup truck owners would declare that the
vehicle will be used for commercial purposes and how the
exemption of pickup trucks from the definition of commercial
vehicle would be enforced.
Replacement plates : There are approximately five million pickup
trucks registered in California. If this bill becomes law and
the majority of those pickup trucks are re-registered as
passenger vehicles, then DMV will have to reissue their license
plates so that the vehicles can display passenger plates rather
than commercial license plates. This could result in a
significant undertaking for DMV.
AB 2644
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Related bill : This bill is similar to SB 422 (Ashburn) 2007
that failed passage in the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee (5-5 vote).
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093