BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2659
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2659 (Blumenfield)
As Amended June 6, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 10, 2012) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 9, 2012) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |14-0 |(August 20, 2012) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|(Trans.) | | | | |
| | | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: INS .
SUMMARY : Allows licensed drivers of military commercial vehicles
to qualify for a California Commercial driver's license without
undergoing a California driving skills test.
The Senate amendments delete all prior contents of the bill and
instead allow the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to waive the
driving skills test otherwise required under federal law for a
commercial motor vehicle driver with military commercial motor
vehicle experience who is licensed with the United States Armed
Forces at the time of his or her application for a commercial
driver's license, and whose driving record in combination with his
or her driving experience meets, at a minimum, the conditions
required under federal law.
EXISTING LAW requires an applicant for a commercial driver's
license (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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill dealt with unemployment
insurance benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
AB 2659
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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., driving under the influence
(DUI) or leaving the scene of an accident); more than one
conviction 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
two 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 share skills similar to
commercial drivers. At the same time, the author contends, the
transport industry reports a shortage of truck drivers. This bill
attempts to address these two problems by permitting DMV to adopt
the federal waiver standards for the CDL skills test. According to
the author, 15 other states have adopted the federal standards,
including New York, Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
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 safe manner.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0005210
AB 2659
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