BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1318|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 1318
Author: Senate Transportation and Housing Committee
Amended: 4/14/10
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/20/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Kehoe,
Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : 2010 transportation omnibus bill
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes non-controversial changes to
sections of law relating to transportation and housing.
ANALYSIS : This bill includes the following provisions:
1. Repeal an outdated section . Current law requires the
California Transportation Commission to report to the
Legislature on or before February 1, 1999, and on or
before February 1, 2001, assessing the relative success
of the provisions of SB 45 (Kopp), Chapter 622, Statutes
of 1997, in achieving the Legislature's intent for
reform of the state transportation improvement program,
and assessing program delivery, expenditure of funds at
both regional and statewide levels, and program
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performance. This section also sets out various
requirements for the 1998 State Transportation
Improvement Program (STIP). These dates have long
passed, and the 1998 STIP has long since been
superseded. This bill repeals this outdated section.
2. San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) reporting
requirements . In 2002 and 2003, the Legislature enacted
bills (SB 1703 [Peace], Chapter 743, Statutes of 2002
and AB 361 [Kehoe], Chapter 508, Statutes of 2003) that
consolidated various transit agencies in San Diego
County and required SANDAG to report on the
consolidation. The consolidation is now complete and
SANDAG would like to stop sending the reports to save
money. This bill repeals this reporting requirement.
3. Definition of "utility trailer" . The Vehicle Code used
to contain a definition of "utility trailer". That
definition was inadvertently deleted in 2001, creating
ambiguity elsewhere in the Vehicle Code where the term
is used. The Department of the California Highway
Patrol (CHP) has received numerous requests from
enforcement personnel and the public for a definition,
because this term is used in various statutes. For
example, Section 34601 of the Vehicle Code provides an
exemption from the definition of "commercial motor
vehicle" for certain motor trucks towing a utility
trailer. In addition, the term is used in conjunction
with other safety related statutes relating to trailer
brake requirements, motor carrier permit requirements,
applicability of safety inspection programs, and
registration. This bill adds a definition of "utility
trailer" to the Vehicle Code.
4. Out of service orders . AB 3049 (Assembly Transportation
Committee), Chapter 952, Statutes of 2004, amended
Section 2800 of the Vehicle Code to allow enforcement
officers to take enforcement action against a driver or
motor carrier that violated any Out-Of-Service (OOS)
order issued in compliance with federal regulations.
This section was amended again by AB 3011 (Benoit),
Chapter 288, Statutes of 2006, to include OOS orders
issued by foreign jurisdictions. However, a last minute
amendment re-instated Sections 395.13 (Authority to
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Declare Drivers Out of Service) and 396.9 (Inspection of
Motor Vehicles and Intermodal Equipment in Operations)
of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This
limited law enforcement's ability to take appropriate
enforcement action against a driver or motor carrier for
violating only hours of service and
inspection/maintenance requirements. California law
enforcement currently cannot take appropriate
enforcement action for violating OOS orders for driver's
license, operating authority, insurance, and
registration requirements. Under federal regulations
California must have and enforce laws and/or regulations
applicable to drivers of commercial motor vehicles and
their employers, which meet the minimum federal
requirements. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) audits California every three
years, and the federal government may withhold highway
funding if California is found in non-compliance. In
addition, the state could be de-certified from issuing,
renewing, upgrading, or transferring commercial driver
licenses. The November 2008 Commercial Driver License
audit conducted by FMCSA contained a finding against the
state concerning limited OOS language in Section 2800 of
the Vehicle Code. This bill allows law enforcement to
enforce out-of-service orders for a greater range of
offenses.
5. License plate mounting . There is no requirement under
current law for license plates to be mounted parallel to
the ground with the characters upright. Motorcycles
frequently have license plates displayed sideways or
perpendicular to the intended display position. This
bill requires license plates to be mounted parallel with
the ground so that the characters are upright.
6. Regulations for the transport of hazardous materials .
As a signatory to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
(CVSA), the Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
adopts federal regulation relating to the transport of
hazardous material. Caltrans is currently working from
outdated federal regulations adopted on October 1, 1999,
and is therefore out of compliance with the CVSA
requirements and cannot legally require a driver to
present a federal "Safety Permit" (Hazardous Material
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License). Caltrans commercial enforcement personnel
must know the October 1, 1999 regulations and the
current federal Hazardous Material regulations, so that
enforcement personnel do not cite a 1999 violation which
no longer exists. Additionally, enforcement personnel
cannot cite for a violation that was not in the 1999
federal regulations; they can only document the
violation in the body of an inspection report. This
bill requires Caltrans to enforce the current version of
federal regulations relating to the transport of
hazardous materials.
7. Correcting a cross-reference relating to ambulance
drivers . Current law establishes the pull-notice
system, which provides the employer of a driver who
drives a specified type of vehicle, including hazardous
materials and passenger vehicles, with a report showing
the driver's current public record and any subsequent
convictions, driver's license revocations, failures to
appear, accidents, driver's license suspensions,
driver's license revocations, or any other actions taken
against the driving privilege. With respect to
ambulance drivers, current law cross-references the
incorrect section. This bill corrects the mistaken
cross-reference.
8. Correcting a cross-reference relating to transport of
radioactive materials . Current law prohibits a person
from knowingly directing the operation of a vehicle
transporting fissile class III shipments or large
quantity radioactive materials by an individual who does
not possess a license of the appropriate class with a
radioactive materials driver's certificate, authorizing
that transportation, attached to the licenses. This
section currently references an incorrect federal
regulation. This bill corrects this cross-reference.
9. Cross-referencing a definition . Current law references
the wrong paragraph and subsection within the statute
that requires the driver of specified vehicles to stop
before crossing a railroad grade crossing. This bill
corrects the erroneous cross-reference.
10. Reorganizing headlamp law . In California's current
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headlamp law, paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is the
equipment requirement, a correctable violation.
Paragraph (2) is the operation requirement, a moving
violation. A technical problem exists with the DMV's
computer system. That system does not discern code
sections beyond the sixth character. The use of
paragraphs (1) and (2) in subdivision (a) of this
section requires the use of seven characters. This bill
reorganizes the existing provisions so that paragraphs
are not used in any of the subdivisions.
11. Reorganizing vehicle lighting law . Current law,
pertaining to the unlawful sale and use of vehicle
lighting equipment and safety glazing material is
classified as a correctable violation. However, the act
of selling unlawful equipment cannot be corrected and
should, therefore, not be a correctable violation. This
bill divides the current section into two subdivisions.
Subdivision (a) would pertain to the sale, or offer for
sale, of specified prohibited items for use upon, or as
part of the equipment of, a vehicle. This subdivision
would not be correctable. Subdivision (b) would pertain
to the use of the same prohibited items upon, or as part
of the equipment of, a vehicle. The provisions of this
subdivision would remain correctable.
12. Airbrake pressure gauges . Current law requires airbrake
gauges to be visible to the driver at all times.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require that the
airbrake pressure gauge be readily visible to a person
when seated in the driving position. The standard does
not require the gauge to be visible to the driver at all
times. Therefore, state law is in conflict with the
federal standard. This bill conforms state law to the
federal standard.
13. Commercial motor vehicle load securement . This bill
makes minor, conforming language changes pertaining to
commercial motor vehicle load securement.
14. Foreign motor carriers . Current law provides
regulations for foreign motor carriers. Specifically,
the law provides specific prohibitions applicable to
those foreign motor carriers required to have a
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certificate of registration issued by the United States
Department of Transportation (USDOT). The current
language does not correctly cite the regulations for
Mexican motor carriers which are part of the USDOT's
demonstration project. This bill includes the
appropriate sections for referencing Mexican motor
carriers.
15. Disabled parking placards . Current law requires that
drivers using a disabled parking placard suspend the
placard from the rearview mirror or, if there is no
rearview mirror, display it on the dashboard. In some
new luxury cars, Volvos being one example, have sharply
angled and tinted glass behind the rearview mirror,
making it difficult for a parking enforcement officer to
see a placard suspended from the mirror and subjecting
drivers to erroneous citations. To address this
problem, some of these manufacturers have installed a
clear plastic clip along the driver's side of the front
window, and their owner's manuals suggest that the
driver should place any disabled placard in that clip to
make it clearly visible to parking enforcement officers,
but current law does not recognize this manner as a
legal placement of the placard. This bill allows a
driver to display a disabled placard by inserting it in
a clip installed by the manufacturer for that purpose.
16. Clarifying change to the Alameda-Contra Costa (AC)
Transit board compensation provisions . In 2007, AC
Transit sponsored AB 490 (Hancock), Chapter 213,
Statutes of 2007, which increased the compensation level
for board members from $500 per month to $1,000 per
month if specified attendance requirements are met.
This bill was intended to mirror the law which governs
the compensation for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board
members. BART and AC Transit are the only transit
districts in California with independently elected
boards. Unfortunately, AC Transit has discovered that
its section requires attendance at all scheduled
meetings, not just scheduled regular meetings as the
BART's law refers to. At times, it is necessary to
schedule special board meetings to address emergencies
or other urgent issues. The omission of the word
"regular" in AC Transit's section has resulted in board
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members being penalized for missing a special meeting
that is scheduled at time when the board member is
unable to attend. This bill allows AC Transit board
members to receive their monthly stipends for attending
all scheduled regular meetings.
17. Transportation Development Act (TDA) expenditures by the
Imperial County Transportation Commission . In 2009, the
Legislature enacted SB 607 (Ducheny), Chapter 56,
creating the Imperial County Transportation Commission
(ICTC). As currently written, the law allows ICTC to
use up to three percent of the TDA revenue to which it
is entitled for carrying out its responsibilities. ICTC
would like to limit the expenditure of the three percent
funds to its planning and programming responsibilities.
This limitation is similar to that imposed by statute on
the other county transportation commissions in Southern
California. This bill limits ICTC to spending three
percent of TDA revenues on planning and programming
responsibilities.
18. Bicycles passing on the right . The central principle
governing one road user overtaking another is to always
pass on the left, when safe and as permitted. Some
exceptions to this rule in current statute refer only to
a "driver of a motor vehicle." This language can be
interpreted to mean that bicycle traffic does not enjoy
exceptions to the general prohibition of passing on the
right, even for safe, reasonable and otherwise legal
movements. Given that the Vehicle Code establishes the
general equivalence of rights and responsibilities for
drivers and bicyclists, it is appropriate to clarify the
ability of bicyclists to pass on the right in specified
situations. This bill clarifies that bicyclists may
pass on the right under the same conditions as
motorists.
19. Map name change . California's speed trap law refers to
"federal aid system maps." According to Caltrans, the
general public and CHP are confused over where these
maps are available. These maps are obsolete and have
been replaced by the California Road System maps. This
bill updates the reference to the map.
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20. Relinquishment clean-up . Each route in the State
Highway System (SHS) is specifically identified and
described in statute. Frequently, local jurisdictions
seek to acquire portions of state highway within their
jurisdiction in order to install traffic calming
features or to make other design changes that are
inconsistent with SHS standards. Typically, Caltrans
will agree to relinquish a portion of state highway to a
local jurisdiction, provided that the segment of highway
does not serve as a primary role in supporting
interregional travel.
Once Caltrans and the local agency agree on terms of the
relinquishment, the agreement must be approved by the
California Transportation Commission (CTC) before it can
be finalized. Once the agreement receives CTC approval,
it can be recorded. Following the recording of the
relinquishment, the route description in the Streets and
Highways Code needs to be amended and to include
standard boiler plate language. Some old relinquishment
statutes do not conform to the standard format. This
bill cleans up a number of old relinquishment statutes
so that they conform to the standard format.
21. Obsolete code reference elimination . Section 21669.6 of
the Public Utilities Code includes a reference to a
section that no longer exists. This bill deletes the
obsolete cross reference.
22. Social security number security change . Current law
requires contractors to submit payroll records to
Caltrans that include employees' full social security
numbers. This bill requires contractors to provide only
the last four digits of employees' social security
numbers.
23. Technical amendments to the TDA . The TDA currently
refers to the Los Angeles County Transportation
Commission, which has been superseded by the Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This bill
updates these references in the TDA.
Comments
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Purpose of the bill . The Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee is authoring this bill as a means of combining
multiple, non-controversial changes to statutes into one
bill, so that the Legislature can make minor amendments in
a cost-effective manner. Consistent with the committee
policy on committee omnibus bills, there is no known
opposition to any item in the bill, and if concerns arise
that cannot be resolved, the provision of concern will be
deleted from the bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
JJA:mw 5/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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