BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 165
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lowenthal
VERSION: 4/14/09
Analysis by: Jennifer Gress FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 28, 2009
SUBJECT:
General transportation clean-up
DESCRIPTION:
This bill makes several clean-up, clarifying, and
non-controversial changes to law.
ANALYSIS:
According to the Legislative Analyst, the cost of producing a
bill in 2001-02 was $17,890. By combining multiple matters into
one bill, the Legislature can make minor changes to law in a
more cost-effective manner than authoring multiple bills to
address each provision separately.
This bill includes the following provisions. The sponsor of
each provision is noted in brackets.
Section 1: Specifies that the sale of surplus properties in the
State Highway Route (SR) 84 corridor, as provided by SB 791
(Corbett), Chapter 705, Statutes of 2008, applies only to
nonresidential properties. SB 791 allows local governments and
the local transportation planning agency in Alameda County to
develop and submit to the California Transportation Commission
for approval a local alternative transportation improvement
program (LATIP) for surplus properties owned by the Department
of Transportation (Caltrans) in the SR 84 corridor that is
separate from the LATIP for the SR 238 corridor. The author and
the Western Center on Law and Poverty agreed that the SR 84
LATIP regarding the sale of excess properties should only apply
to "non-residential" properties, but it was too late in the
SB 165 (LOWENTHAL) Page 2
session last year to clarify the bill with an amendment. The
provision in this bill therefore clarifies that the SR 84 LATIP
allowed by SB 791 only applies to non-residential properties.
[SOURCE: Office of Senator Corbett]
Section 2: Makes a technical change to correct a reference to
the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account. [SOURCE:
Department of Consumer Affairs]
Section 3: Deletes obsolete language regarding the July 1,
2008 operative date for the laws governing the use of wireless
communications devices while operating a motor vehicle.
[SOURCE: Office of Senator Simitian]
Section 4: Clarifies that the driver of any vehicle approaching
an intersection that has an inoperative official traffic control
signal must stop, regardless of the reason why the signal has
become inoperative. Existing law states that the requirement to
stop applies when a signal becomes inoperative because of
battery failure, which implies that the requirement only applies
in those situations. By deleting the reference to battery
failure, the bill clarifies that a driver must stop at any
intersection that has an inoperative signal, regardless of the
reason for its inoperation. [SOURCE: Office of Assembly Member
Torlakson]
COMMENTS:
Purpose . The purpose of this bill is to combine multiple,
non-controversial changes to statutes into one bill so that the
Legislature may make minor amendments in a cost-effective
manner.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 22, 2009)
SUPPORT: None received.
OPPOSED: None received.