BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 166|
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VETO
Bill No: SB 166
Author: Runner (R)
Amended: 6/3/09
Vote: 21
SEN. TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 3/31/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 4/23/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Hollingsworth, Huff,
Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Walters, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ducheny, Harman, Vacancy
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 8/17/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete
McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Walters, Wiggins, Wolk, Wyland,
Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ducheny, Maldonado, Oropeza, Romero,
Wright
CONTINUED
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 7/9/09 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Special occupancy parks: campers
SOURCE : Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
DIGEST : This bill allows occupancy of a camper that is
dismounted from a pick-up truck in a special occupancy park
when approved by park management and specified conditions
are met.
Assembly Amendments require the parks management approve
the dismounted camper for occupancy and specify the
following conditions must be met: (1) the camper is placed
on footing that have minimum ground contact, (2) upon
removal from the vehicle, the camper is lowered to no more
than 12 inches and no less than six inches from the ground,
(3) the camper does not remain in a dismounted state for
more than 30 consecutive days or a period of time
established at the discretion of park management, and (4)
the owner of the camper has a readily available vehicle on
which the camper can be remounted should the camper become
unstable.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, known as the Special Occupancy
Parks Act, regulates the construction, maintenance,
occupancy, use and design of special occupancy parks to
ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of all park
occupants or residents. Special occupancy parks are
privately-owned parks or campgrounds for recreational
vehicles, camping cabins, truck campers, or tents,
including those portions of mobilehome parks dedicated to
recreational vehicles.
Existing law gives the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) the responsibility to adopt regulations
for special occupancy parks and the truck campers in them
that are reasonable and necessary to protect life and
property in the parks and to protect the health and safety
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of occupants.
HCD regulations that implement the Special Occupancy Parks
Act prohibit the occupancy of a dismounted truck camper in
a special occupancy park.
This bill states that it is unlawful in a special occupancy
park to occupy a camper that has been dismounted from a
truck or other vehicle, unless the park management approves
the dismounted camper for occupancy and all of the
following conditions are met:
1.The truck camper is equipped with a permanently mounted
jack on each of its four corners.
2.The truck camper jacks are placed on footings that have a
minimum ground contact of at least eight square inches
and that have a minimum nominal thickness of two inches.
3.Immediately upon removal from the truck or other vehicle,
the truck camper is lowered to no more than 12 inches and
no less than six inches from the ground at its lowest
point and is reasonably level.
4.The truck camper does not remain in the special occupancy
park in a dismounted state for more than 30 consecutive
days or a period of time established at the discretion of
park management, whichever is less.
5.The owner or occupant of the truck camper has a readily
available, operable vehicle on which to remount the truck
camper if the dismounted truck camper becomes unstable.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/9/09)
Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation (co-source)
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (co-source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsors of this bill note
that HCD's existing regulations, which prohibit occupying a
dismounted truck camper in a special occupancy park, are
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out-of-date, treat truck campers in these parks differently
than they are treated in other locations, and are unique to
California.
In the early 1980s, when HCD adopted the regulatory
provision that prohibits a dismounted truck camper from
being occupied in a special occupancy park, truck camper
technology was much different than today. For many years,
truck campers have been designed for occupancy when
dismounted. They are equipped with either mechanical or
hydraulic jacks that are permanently mounted on the four
corners of the camper and are rated at 3000 pound capacity
each. This allows them to safely and securely accommodate
occupancy of a dismounted truck camper that weights between
1500 pounds to 4000 pounds. The author's office and
sponsors argue, therefore, there is no reason to prohibit
occupancy of a truck camper since they are specifically
designed and constructed for occupancy when dismounted.
In addition, the proponents note that allowing the
occupancy of a dismounted camper in a special occupancy
park is consistent with permitted occupancy in other
locations in California. For example, a dismounted camper
is permitted to be occupied on private property and in
state parks. This being the case, there is no
justification for inconsistent laws and regulations
regarding the occupancy of a dismounted camper simply
because of where it is located when dismounted.
Proponents further point out, and HCD confirms, that no
other state has a statute or regulation that prohibits the
occupancy of a dismounted camper.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
"I am returning Senate Bill 166 without my signature.
The Department of Housing and Community Development
has the authority to adopt regulations for special
occupancy parks. Any change in this area in regards
to dismounted campers should be handled via this
process.
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For this reason, I am returning this bill without my
signature."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, 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, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen,
John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Duvall, Jones,
Krekorian, Nava, Vacancy
JJA:cm 1/11/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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