BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2058
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2058 (Pan)
As Amended April 18, 2012
Majority vote
TRANSPORTATION 11-0
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|Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, | | |
| |Achadjian, Blumenfield, | | |
| |Bonilla, Buchanan, Eng, | | |
| |Ma, Galgiani, Miller, | | |
| |Portantino, Solorio | | |
| | | | |
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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 to post a notice to that effect at its gate
and online on the terminal's Web site.
3)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)Prohibits, under federal law, pursuant to the Federal Aviation
AB 2058
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Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (F4A), any state from
enacting a law relating to rates, 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 : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
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."
AB 2058
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However, writing in opposition to the bill, the California
Trucking Association (CTA) contends that F4A regulates and
establishes uniform regulations for the truckers 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 this bill
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.
Related bill: SB 719 (Vargas) of 2011, a similar bill, 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0003336