BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 201|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 201
Author: Oropeza (D)
Amended: 5/19/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 7-4, 5/12/09
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley,
Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Harman, Hollingsworth
SUBJECT : Impoundment of taxicabs
SOURCE : City of Los Angeles
DIGEST : This bill establishes a $1250 penalty on the
legal owner of a bandit taxicab that releases that taxi to
a registered owner who is not licensed to operate a taxi.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law authorizes local authorities to license and
regulate the operation of vehicles for hire and drivers of
passenger vehicles for hire. A local authority must adopt
either an ordinance or resolution to establish requirements
for licensing these vehicles and drivers.
Existing law requires a magistrate, when presented with
sufficient evidence by a peace officer or a designated
local transportation officer, to issue an order authorizing
the peace officer or transportation officer to impound, for
CONTINUED
SB 201
Page
2
not more than 30 days, a taxicab or other vehicle for hire
that is in violation of local licensing requirements.
Existing law requires the impounding agency to notify the
legal owner of the impoundment and to release the vehicle
to that legal owner without permission from the magistrate
and prior to the end of the 30 days, if:
The legal owner is not the registered owner but is a motor
vehicle dealer, financial institution, or other person
holding a financial interest in the vehicle;
The legal owner or his/her agent pays all towing and
storage fees related to the impoundment of the vehicle; and
the legal owner or his/her agent presents documents showing
proof legal of ownership of the vehicle.
The legal owner, however, may not release the vehicle to
the registered owner until the termination of the
impoundment period. In addition, the legal owner may not
relinquish the vehicle to the registered owner until the
registered owner presents a valid driver's license and an
operator's license that is in compliance with the licensing
requirements of the local authority.
This bill:
1. Imposes a penalty of $1,250 on the legal owner to whom
an impounded taxicab is released, if that legal owner.
A. Releases the taxicab to a registered owner,
his/her agent, or the person in possession of the
vehicle at the time of the impoundment prior to the
end of the impoundment period.
B. Releases the taxicab to a person who is not in
possession of a valid driver's license and a valid
operator's license.
2. Clarifies that a vehicle shall not be released from
impoundment at any time when it is found that the
vehicle was stolen or seized inappropriately, except
upon presentation of the registered owner's currently
valid license to operate the vehicle under the local
CONTINUED
SB 201
Page
3
authority's licensing requirements and proof of current
vehicle registration, or upon order of the magistrate.
Comments
To operate in Los Angeles, taxicabs must have a permit from
the city. To receive a permit, drivers must undergo
background checks, meet insurance requirements, have their
vehicles inspected, and meet certain customer service
standards. In addition, taxicab companies must ensure that
their fleets contain a certain percentage of
wheelchair-accessible vehicles as well as a certain number
of low-emission vehicles. A franchise fee must also be
paid to the city for the permit. Illegal taxicabs, also
known as bandit taxis, do not meet these public safety and
customer service requirements.
A growing number of arrests . The City of Los Angeles
Department of Transportation (LADOT) has a unit for taxicab
enforcement to ensure that all taxicabs and drivers are
properly permitted. According to the LADOT, in the ten
years from 1997 through 2006, its investigators made an
average of 315 bandit taxi arrests per year. As a result
of the Los Angeles Police Department joining the effort to
reduce the number of bandit taxis operating in the city,
that number more than quadrupled in 2008 to 1,427 arrests.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/18/09)
City of Los Angeles (source)
Taxicab Paratransit Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor,
the City of Los Angeles, there are a number of bad actors
who knowingly allow their vehicles to be used as bandit
taxis. These bad actors remain the legal owners of the
vehicles, but register or loan them to others, who then
drive them as bandit taxis. When a bandit taxi driver is
caught and the vehicle impounded, the legal owner retrieves
his/her vehicle from the impound lot prior to the end of
CONTINUED
SB 201
Page
4
the 30-day impoundment period. Once the vehicle is
released to the legal owner, the legal owner then returns
the vehicle to the registered owner or other person who was
operating it illegally. Thus, the vehicle once again
operates as a bandit taxi. The bill attempts to stop this
revolving door for bandit taxis by imposing a fine on the
legal owners who return the bandit taxi to operation.
JJA:do 5/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED