BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 734
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 8/27/09
Vote: 21
SEN. TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/28/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 5/18/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff,
Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Walters, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Florez, Romero, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 09/01/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : General transportation clean-up
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes several clean-up, clarifying,
and non-controversial changes related to transportation
law.
CONTINUED
SB 734
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2
Assembly Amendments delete provisions of the bill which
clarified that any interest earned on the investment of
funds from the Local Streets and Road Improvement,
Congestion Relief, and Traffic Safety Account, as
established by Proposition 1B of 2006, must be used for
transportation facilities, and an obsolete deadline for
adopting State Transportation Improvement Program
guidelines. In addition, the amendments add provisions to
the bill which confirm the existing statutory
interpretation and practice of the Department of Motor
Vehicles that the registration of a vehicle owned by a
nonprofit public benefit corporation that administers a
countywide coordinated paratransit plan is exempt from
vehicle registration fees.
ANALYSIS :
This bill:
1.Conforms state law to federal law by clarifying that
drivers employed by public utilities are exempt from
hours-of-service regulations that apply to the movement
of vehicles engaged in intrastate commerce.
2.Establishes statutory definitions of "bicycle path" and
"bicycle path crossing" to clarify the types of
facilities that bicycles are permitted to use.
3.Removes obsolete language in a statutory provision
regarding driving violation points.
4.Clarifies that state law does not prohibit bicycles from
operating on sidewalks and crosswalks, where permitted by
local ordinance.
5.Clarifies that a driver's obligation to stop at an
intersection which has traffic signals that are
inoperative applies regardless of the reason that the
signals are inoperative.
6.Adds a missing cross-reference in the statute prohibiting
a person from parking in a space designated for a
disabled person to the statute requiring state agencies
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to provide one parking space for a disabled person for
every 25 parking spaces it provides.
7.Clarifies the time period during which a person may
request an initial review of a parking violation notice.
8.Requires an agency issuing parking citations to provide
notice of the availability of penalty waivers prior to
receiving a request for an administrative hearing
appealing the citation.
9.Confirms the existing statutory interpretation and
practice of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that
the registration of a vehicle owned by a nonprofit public
benefit corporation that administers a countywide
coordinated paratransit plan is exempt from vehicle
registration fees.
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.
Prior Legislation
Most of these provisions were also contained in SB 432
(Lowenthal), 2007-08 Session. The bill was passed by the
Legislature but vetoed by the Governor with the following
message:
"The historic delay in passing the 2008-09 State Budget
has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk
at the end of the year's legislative session. Given
the delay, I am only signing bills that are the highest
priority in California. This bill does not meet that
standard and I cannot sign it at this time."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
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Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, 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: Buchanan, Vacancy
JJA:cm 9/2/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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