BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 165|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 165
          Author:   Lowenthal (D)
          Amended:  4/14/09
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE  :  9-1, 4/28/09
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe,  
            Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
          NOES:  Hollingsworth
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Oropeza

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    General transportation cleanup

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes several cleanup, clarifying, and  
          non-controversial changes to the law relating to  
          transportation.

           ANALYSIS  :    This bill includes the following provisions:

           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  
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          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  
          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.

           Section 2

           Makes a technical change to correct a reference to the High  
          Polluter Repair or Removal Account.  

           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.  

           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.  

           Comments
           
          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  







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          cost-effective manner.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          JJA:mw  5/11/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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