BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2188|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2188
Author: Bonnie Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 8/20/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/19/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/10/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Commercial drivers license
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill brings the states commercial drivers
license (CDLs) program into compliance with federal CDLs.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/12 add double-jointing
language with
SB 1310 (Simitian) and AB 2659 (Blumenfield).
ANALYSIS : Federal law provides standards for the safety
of commercial motor vehicles and truck drivers through
regulations that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) promulgates. FMCSA requires states
to be substantially compliant with federal regulations and
CONTINUED
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conducts periodic audits of state statutes in order to
ensure compliance. If FMCSA determines during its audit
process that a state is not in substantial compliance, the
state is at risk of decertification, which means the state
can no longer issue or renew CDLs. Further, a decertified
state may lose federal-aid highway funds and other federal
grants. Due to recent changes in FMCSA regulations, an
audit of California's CDL program found minor amendments
the state needs to make in order to bring California law
into compliance with those regulations.
This bill:
1. Brings the state's CDL program into compliance with
federal CDL regulations by making the following changes:
A. Specifically prohibiting a driver of a vehicle
designed to either transport 16 or more passengers
or transport hazardous materials from failing or
refusing to comply with a lawful out-of-service
order issued by the California Highway Patrol.
B. As of December 31, 2014, eliminating the
requirement that a driver with a CDL carry a
medical examiner's certificate if the driver
submitted the required medical information in
accordance with federal regulations.
C. Explicitly allowing the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) to accept a federal waiver of one or
more physical qualification standards, such as for
vision or diabetes, when issuing a CDL.
D. Allowing DMV to issue a restricted passenger car
or motorcycle driver's license to a CDL holder who
was not operating a commercial vehicle when
arrested for driving under the influence, enabling
the CDL holder to drive in limited ways while his
CDL is suspended.
E. Defining the act of driving a commercial vehicle
while using an electronic wireless communication
device to write, send, or read a text-based
communication as a serious traffic violation, which
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means it can result in the disqualification of the
commercial driving privilege.
F. Exempting from all CDL requirements and
sanctions, when operating motor vehicles for
military purposes, active duty members of the US
Armed Forces, members of military reserves,
National Guard members when on active duty, and
active duty personnel of the US Coast Guard.
G. Requiring DMV to impose a suspension,
revocation, or disqualification action on any
person's commercial driving privilege upon
receiving notification of an administrative action
or conviction of that person in another US state,
Puerto Rico, or Canada for violations that would
result in such action.
2. Contains double-jointing language with SB 1310
(Simitian) and AB 2659 (Blumenfield).
Comments
According to the author' s office, this bill makes
conforming changes to the state's CDL program to ensure
continued compliance with federal law. The state's failure
to conform to the federal regulations could result in
federal sanctions and the potential loss of up to hundreds
of millions of federal tax dollars for transportation
purposes. The author's office contends that this bill is
limited in scope to these non-controversial changes in
order to ensure passage of the bill and eliminate the risk
of the state's decertification by the federal government.
Out-of-service orders . Under existing law, it is unlawful
to fail or refuse to comply with a lawful out-of-service
order issued by an authorized enforcement officer. An
out-of-service order is a declaration that a driver,
commercial motor vehicle, or motor carrier operation can no
longer operate until the driver or vehicle owner addresses
some particular violation. For example, officers issue
most of these orders at truck weigh stations, and the
orders are generally related to minor infractions such as
excessive load weight or violation of driver rest
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requirements. In these cases, the officer takes the
commercial vehicle out of service at the truck weigh
station, and either the truck or the driver (depending on
the violation) is not allowed to leave the station and
continue down the road until the issue is addressed.
According to the federal audit, the out-of-service changes
this bill makes are necessary in order to enable law
enforcement to differentiate between various out-of-service
offenses, which in turn enable DMV to impose enhanced
penalties when federal regulations require them.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/10/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Pan, Perea,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Fletcher, Furutani, Jeffries,
Norby, Olsen, V. Manuel P�rez
JJA:d:m:d 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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