BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 45
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
AB 45 (Hill) - As Amended: March 29, 2011
SUBJECT : Charter-party carriers: alcoholic beverages: open
containers.
SUMMARY : Expands the provisions concerning under-age drinking
to apply to drivers of charter-party carriers, with certain
exemptions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the application of the alcoholic beverage provisions
concerning passengers under the age of 21 years by applying
those requirements to the driver of any vehicle used as a
charter-party carrier.
2)Makes the third or subsequent violation of the open container
prohibition a misdemeanor against the driver of any vehicle
used as a charter-party carrier.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Article XII of the California Constitution:
a. Establishes private corporations and persons that
own, operate, control, or manage a line, plant, or system
for the transportation of people or property, and common
carriers, as public utilities subject to control by the
Legislature.
b. Allows the California Public Utilities Commission
(PUC) to fix rates and establish rules for the
transportation of passengers and property by
transportation companies.
2)The Public Utilities Code:
a. Requires the PUC to ensure that every charter-party
carrier of passengers operates on a prearranged basis
within the state.
b. Requires the driver of any limousine for hire
operated by a charter-party carrier of passengers under a
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valid certificate or permit to comply with certain
requirements relating to alcohol beverages, including:
i. ascertaining whether any passenger is
under the age of 21 years,
ii. reading to the passenger a statement that
the consumption of any alcoholic beverage in the
vehicle is unlawful,
iii. requiring the minor passenger to sign the
statement and if minor is found to be, or to have
been, consuming any alcoholic beverage during the
course of the ride, the driver shall immediately
terminate the contract of hire and return passenger
to the point of origin.
c. Subjects the carrier to specified penalties, based
on the number of offenses for conviction of a driver, or
any officer, director, agent or employee of the carrier
that prohibits storage of an opened container of an
alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, it took the loss of Brett
Studebaker, a 19-year old San Mateo resident to expose loopholes
in state law regarding under-age drinking in the party bus
industry.
On the evening of February 5, 2010, Brett Studebaker, a nineteen
year old teenager boarded a charter bus to celebrate a friend's
birthday. According to the lawsuit filed by his family, the
charter bus dropped the passengers off at their cars at
approximately 2:00 a.m. after several hours of heavy alcohol
consumption. Unfortunately, Brett lost his life less than an
hour later when he crashed his vehicle into a sound wall and
another vehicle on Highway 101 near San Mateo. It was later
determined by officials that Brett's blood alcohol level was
more than three times the legal limit for an adult of drinking
age.
1)Background : Charter-party carriers are rented as an entire
vehicle and transport
passengers on a prearranged basis. A charter-party carrier is
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also referred to as a party bus, charter bus and limousine.
Charter-party carriers are regulated by the CPUC pursuant to the
Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act (Public Utilities Code
Section 5351). Carriers operate under one or more of the
various types of permits and certificates issued by the CPUC.
There are three categories of certificates (designated Class A,
B, and C) and three categories of permits (designated P, S, and
Z). The certificates and permits authorize different kinds of
transportation services or limit the size of the vehicle that
may be operated. Approximately 5,600 carriers hold one or more
certificates and permits.
2)Issue : Limousines were not regulated by the PUC until the
proliferation of limousines
companies in the late 1980s began to lead to serious drug and
alcohol abuse on limousine rides by minor. Similar to
limousines, charter buses are the new place for under-age
teenagers to drink. Some of these buses have the reputation for
promoting drinking parties on wheels, and there is no consistent
set of regulations promulgated to ensure that drivers are
checking the passenger's photo identification.
3)PUC enforcement authority : The PUC is the agency responsible
for licensing limousine
operators by issuing them a charter-party carrier permit or
certificate. Limousine operators and other charter-party
carriers are required to participate in the DMV Employer Pull
Notice System, which is a program for the carrier-employer to
monitor the driving records of its drivers. If a driver is
pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer (CHP) for
violating the open container law, that information is supposed
to be given to the PUC by the courts. This information sharing
allows the PUC to issue administrative citations and with fines
against charter-party carriers for violations of the law or PUC
rules and regulations.
For instance, if a limousine driver is pulled over by a law
enforcement officer and is found to have passengers under 21
years of age drinking inside of the vehicle, the driver can then
be charged with an open container violation. The PUC does not
have the authority to impose penalties against the driver. The
carrier (i.e. company) is held responsible for any violations
committed by its drivers. For a first offense, the PUC may
impose a civil penalty no greater than two thousand dollars
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($2,000) upon the carrier. For a second offense, the PUC may
impose a civil penalty no greater than two thousand dollars upon
the carrier or suspend the carrier's permit for not more than 30
days, or both. For a third offense, the PUC shall revoke the
carrier's permit. These provisions and penalties also apply to
a limousine driver or a carrier officer, director, agent or
employee who is convicted of having an open container of an
alcoholic beverage in the vehicle when a minor passenger is
being transported.
According to the PUC, in recent years staff has not received any
notices from the courts of a violation of the open container
prohibition by a limousine driver or a company official.
4)Close the loophole : This bill extends to all charter-party
carrier vehicles the protections
against under-age drinking of alcoholic beverages that currently
apply only to limousines. For a first offense, the PUC may
impose a civil penalty no greater than two thousand dollars
($2,000) upon the carrier. For a second offense, the PUC may
impose a civil penalty no greater than two thousand dollars
($2,000) upon the carrier, or suspend the carrier's permit for
no more than 30 days, or both. On a third offense, the PUC
shall revoke the carrier's permit. A third or subsequent
offense would subject the driver to misdemeanor criminal charges
which would be enforceable by the appropriate law enforcement
agency.
5)Statistical data : While there is no statistical data
available at this time, there is antidotal
evidence that may substantiate the need for greater regulatory
oversight. According to a news article published in the Los
Angeles Times in March 2011, the Los Angeles Police Department
formed a task force over the last year to address the growing
problems with party buses. The task force has received
cooperation from many of the club operators who turn away
partiers who have engaged in excessive drinking or appear
under-age.
Additionally, PUC staff has been participating in vehicle
inspections, including vehicles operated as party buses, with
other law enforcement agencies where under-age drinking or other
alcohol related incidents occur. These include inspections
conducted periodically by the Hollywood Strike Force and
surrounding areas and by the San Diego Area Law Enforcement Task
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Force in the Pacific Beach and Mission Beach areas of San Diego,
where large numbers of university students are attracted to the
lively nightlife. Any violations by a charter-party carrier
that are observed by the staff are dealt with subsequently by
the issuance of a citation or warning notice.
6)Unintended consequences : While the focus of the author's
concern seems to be party buses,
charter-party buses that are used for other purposes would be
subject to the same requirements. For example, buses chartered
by a school to transport pupils on field trips when they are
usually accompanied by faculty or other school staff, or school
buses used to conduct round-trip sightseeing services when minor
passengers are on board who usually are under the supervision of
a parent would be impacted by the language in this bill.
Therefore, the author and this committee may wish to amend the
bill to allow an exemption for certain youth group bus
activities .
7)Technical amendments : Revise Section 5384.5(c) to refer to the
"carrier's certificate or permit" since the carrier could be
operating under either type of charter-party authority.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) (as proposed to be
amended)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Opposition
California Bus Association (CBA) (unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083