BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1128|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1128
Author: Furutani (D), et al.
Amended: 7/5/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 9-0, 06/28/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 05/26/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Terminal Island Freeway: special permits
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Department of
Transportation to issue permits allowing vehicles that
exceed the weight limit to travel on a section of State
Highway Route 1.
ANALYSIS : Existing law generally limits vehicles and
vehicle combinations, such as tractor-trailer combinations,
to a gross weight of no more than 80,000 pounds. The
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) or a local
authority, at its discretion, may issue a permit to
transport an oversized or overweight load on highways under
its control.
CONTINUED
AB 1128
Page
2
In addition, existing law authorizes Caltrans to issue a
special permit to the operator of a vehicle that exceeds
the maximum gross weight limits to travel on a specified
3.66 mile section of the Terminal Island Freeway (State
Route (SR) 47 and SR 103) and a 2.1 mile section of SR 1.
Before Caltrans can issue such a permit, both the cities of
Long Beach and Los Angeles must adopt related resolutions
or ordinances allowing these vehicles on specified local
roads. The permitted vehicles must:
Be used to transport intermodal cargo containers
that are moving international commerce.
Not exceed a gross weight of 95,000 pounds.
Meet weight limits that Caltrans determines.
Vehicles for which Caltrans issues a permit may not
transport hazardous materials, must display a
Caltrans-issued indicia indicating its permitted status,
and must carry a copy of the permit at all times, which the
operator must furnish upon request from an employee of
Caltrans or the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
This bill extends by 0.3 miles the portion of SR 1 for
which Caltrans may issue these overweight permits, provided
that the City of Carson adopts a related resolution or
ordinance permitting these vehicles to travel on local
roads as well. This would allow a permitted overweight
vehicle travel on a 2.4 section of SR 1. Specifies the
bill does not allow an applicant or permit holder to
operate a vehicle that exceeds the weight limit outside the
designated corridor.
Comments
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles rank among the
busiest port facilities in the world and no other
commercial facility in Southern California produces more
vehicular traffic congestion. In light of these
significant traffic congestion issues, the City of Long
Beach requested a weight exemption on specified state
highways near the port. AB 2438 (Karnette), Chapter 1037,
Statutes of 1993, granted that exemption for a limited
time, and SB 2072 (Karnette), Chapter 229, Statutes of
CONTINUED
AB 1128
Page
3
2002, made it permanent. The port contended when AB 2438
was pending that the situation at the ports necessitated
allowing heavier vehicles to use state highways and local
roads to enhance the growth and efficiency of both ports.
The City of Long Beach further asserted then that without
this exemption cargo could be diverted to other ports.
The exemption that AB 2438 created allows vehicles carrying
overweight cargo containers to travel on a combined 5.8
miles of the Terminal Island Freeway and SR 1 (the Pacific
Coast Highway) to reach warehouse facilities around the
Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles, and Terminal
Island. Shippers store goods that come through the ports
of Los Angeles and Long Beach at these nearby warehouses,
which trucks reach via the current overweight corridor, but
the proponents note that warehouses outside of this route
are not fully utilized.
The author introduced this legislation to allow overweight
vehicles carrying port cargo to use additional roadway
segments in and around the City of Carson to reach these
underused warehouses. To accomplish this, this bill would
authorize Caltrans to increase the distance that overweight
vehicles can travel on a relatively small section of State
Highway Route 1, upon the adoption of an ordinance or
resolution by the City of Carson designating the related
local routes within that city.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/11/11)
California Association of Port Authorities
Carson Chamber of Commerce
City of Carson
City of Los Angeles
Desert Express
FCL Logistics, LTD.
International Warehouse Logistics Association
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn
Los Angeles County Business Federation
CONTINUED
AB 1128
Page
4
Price Transfer, Inc.
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce
The Port of Los Angeles
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 05/26/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Cedillo, Davis, Gorell, Jones
JJA:nl 8/11/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED