BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2659
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Date of Hearing: August 20, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 2659 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: June 6, 2012
SUBJECT : Commercial driver's licenses
SUMMARY : Allows the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to waive
the commercial driver's license (CDL) drive test for applicants
with military experience as truck drivers. Specifically, this
bill : Allows the driving skills test to be waived for a
commercial motor vehicle driver with military commercial motor
vehicle experience who is currently licensed with the United
States Armed Forces at the time of his or her application for a
CDL, and whose driving record in combination with his or her
driving experience meets, at a minimum, the conditions required
by federal regulations.
EXISTING LAW : Requires an applicant for a CDL to pass a written
and driving test for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle
that complies with the minimum federal standards established by
the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Existing law requires a person to have a valid CDL of
the appropriate class in order to operate a commercial vehicle
in the state. DMV issues a CDL to an applicant only after he or
she passes written and driving skills tests and meets other
requirements depending on the particular type of vehicle the
applicant seeks to operate.
Federal regulations outline specific skills and knowledge a
person must demonstrate before he or she is eligible for a CDL.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the federal
agency responsible for commercial vehicle oversight, recently
amended its regulations to allow states to waive this skills
test for an applicant possessing a military commercial vehicle
license and who certifies that within the two-year period
immediately prior to applying, he or she has not had: a license
suspended or revoked; a conviction for major offenses (e.g., DUI
or leaving the scene of an accident); more than one conviction
AB 2659
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for serious traffic violations (e.g., excessive speeding or
reckless driving); or any conviction arising in connection with
a traffic accident, nor any record of an accident in which he or
she was at fault. Additionally the applicant must be, or have
been within the prior 90 days, regularly employed in a military
position requiring operation of a commercial vehicle for at
least the prior 2 years.
According to the author, recent veterans represent a
disproportionate number of the country's unemployed population.
Further, research suggests that many of these recent veterans
were military transport operators, and therefore possess skills
similar to commercial drivers. At the same time, the transport
industry reports a shortage of truck drivers. This bill
attempts to address these two problems by permitting DMV to
implement the federal waiver for the CDL skills test. According
to the author, 15 other states have adopted the federal
standards. With a high veteran unemployment rate and a labor
shortage in the trucking industry, the author believes this bill
benefits the state by allowing qualified veterans to obtain a
commercial driver's license in a timely and responsible manner.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Chamber of Commerce
California Distributors Association
California Grocers Association
California Independent Grocers Association
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Retailers Association
California State Commanders Veterans Council
California Trucking Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Operation Gratitude
United Chambers of the San Fernando Valley
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Opposition
None on file
AB 2659
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Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093