BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2058
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 2058 (Pan) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012
SUBJECT : Intermodal marine terminals: posting of truck
insurance requirements
SUMMARY : Requires truck insurance requirements to be posted by
intermodal marine terminal operators at the California ports.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to truck operations
at intermodal marine terminals.
2)Requires an intermodal marine terminal operator (terminal
operator) that imposes certain financial responsibility (i.e.
insurance) requirements on an intermodal motor carrier (truck)
pursuant to the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities
Access Agreement, or with respect to hazardous substances, to
post a notice to that effect at its gate and online on the
terminal's website.
3)Prohibits the terminal from imposing other financial
responsibility requirements except as may be required by
federal law.
4)Prohibits a terminal from restricting access by trucks to its
terminal under specified circumstances.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Imposes certain limitations on charges that may be imposed by
terminal operators on truckers relative to transactions
involving cargo shipped by intermodal transport.
2)Establishes minimum insurance coverage for truckers at
$750,000 for the transport of general commodities
(non-hazardous) and $1 million to $5 million for the transport
of hazardous cargo, depending on the classification.
3)Under federal law, pursuant to the Federal Aviation
Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (F4A), basically
prohibits any state from enacting a law relating to rates,
AB 2058
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routes, or services of any intermodal all-cargo air carrier
when it is transporting property, pieces, parcels, or packages
between states or within a state by aircraft or motor vehicle
(whether or not such property has had or will have a prior or
subsequent air movement).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : California's intermodal container port facilities
serve as the gateway for international commerce and generate
significant stimuli to the California economy. With this
benefit comes the reality that our ports, despite a focus on
safety, can never be completely free of accidents. Trucks and
other cargo handling equipment operate in tight quarters with
workers present; frequently in close proximity with dangerous
substances present at the terminals. The potential for serious
accidents around this equipment and these materials will always
be present, despite terminals taking numerous safety
precautions.
The author contends that the $750,000 insurance coverage minimum
in current federal and state law is based on trucks in typical
on-road situations and has not been increased in years. He also
contends that the minimum insurance requirements are inadequate
for trucks operating at California's port facilities. National
equipment interchange agreements, where carriers share and
interchange shipping equipment, have $1 million minimum
insurance requirements as well his understanding that many
trucks are insured at a much higher level than the statutory
minimum.
The Pacific Marine Shipping Association, the sponsors of this
bill, indicate that higher truck insurance coverage is necessary
at the port terminals because they operate in a much more
challenging environment than on the open road and around
multiple hazardous materials, thereby posing significant risks
to both the truckers and terminal workers. They contend that
when an unfortunate accident involving hazardous materials
occurs at the ports, "an underinsured truck places both the
trucker and the marine terminal operator at risk of significant
exposure to a lawsuit."
However, writing in opposition to the bill, the California
Trucking Association (CTA) contends that the federal law (F4A)
regulates and establishes uniform regulations for the truckers
AB 2058
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so that individual states and local governments do not create
their own rules, resulting in a patchwork regulatory framework
leading to inefficient commerce at the interstate, intrastate,
and international levels. They further indicate that AB 2058
violates the restrictions of F4A by allowing marine terminal
operators to impose higher insurance requirements on all
carriers accessing the port terminal. Their contention is that
federal law already requires motor carriers of hazardous
materials to carry higher levels of insurance than the minimum
required of carriers who haul general freight.
Author's Amendments : The author will be amending the bill to
remove the provision for the posting of notices pertaining to
the minimum insurance requirements of truckers regarding the
transportation of hazardous materials. With this change, the
opponents of this bill (CTA) contend the most egregious portion
of the bill (pertaining to hazardous waste transport) will be
removed and are willing to continue discussions relative to the
posting of truck minimum insurance requirements at California's
intermodal port terminals.
Related bill : SB 719 (Vargas), of 2011, a similar bill, that
would have required the California Department of Motor Vehicles
to adopt regulations pertaining to trucker minimum insurance
requirements. That bill was held in the Senate Transportation
and Housing Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pacific Marine Shipping Association (sponsor)
Opposition
California Trucking Association
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093