BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2660|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2660
Author: Solorio (D)
Amended: 4/9/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM. : 8-0, 6/26/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/26/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicles: side window tinting
SOURCE : Peace Officers Research Association of
California
DIGEST : This bill allows a public agency to own and
operate a law enforcement vehicle on which tinting or
glazing materials covers the front side windows.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits a person from driving
any motor vehicle with any object or material placed,
displayed, installed, affixed, or applied upon the
windshield or the side windows adjacent to the driver.
(This prohibition also applies to the rear window of any
vehicle that is not equipped with both left and right side
mirrors.) Existing law makes exceptions for the following:
Rearview mirrors.
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Sunvisors that are not mounted on the windshield glass.
Electronic toll communication devices (e.g., FasTrak
transponders) or video event recorders affixed to the
center uppermost portion of the interior of the
windshield within an area that is not greater than five
inches square.
Transparent material applied to the top most portion of
the windshield (i.e., tinting).
Stickers (e.g., parking decals), global positioning
systems, and video event recorders that are placed or
mounted on the windshield in the seven-inch square in
the lower corner farthest removed from the driver or in
the five-inch square in the lower corner nearest the
driver but outside of the airbag deployment zone.
This bill permits a federal, state, or local agency that
employs peace officers to tint, cover, or otherwise block
the side or rear windows of a vehicle it owns and operates
for use by peace officers it employs.
Comments
Purpose . The author introduced this bill to allow law
enforcement vehicles to use window tinting on their front
side windows. He notes that difficulties now arise when a
police officer pulls over someone for illegal window
tinting and that someone is identified as an undercover
police officer. The arresting police officer may be
required to give the other officer a ticket because the law
does not exempt police officers from the tinting
prohibition. The police department then has to spend time
and money going to the prosecutor or the court to get the
traffic ticket dismissed or the agency has to pay the fine.
This process wastes critical and limited public safety
resources on a technicality leading to a traffic ticket
that could be avoided with a change in the law, which this
bill makes.
Traffic safety concerns . Existing law's prohibition on
affixing any object or material to a vehicle's side front
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windows exists because of the importance good visibility
plays in ensuring traffic safety. Visibility is important
both for the driver and for those outside of the vehicle.
Diminished visibility for the driver, especially during the
hours of darkness, makes collisions more likely.
Diminished visibility through a vehicle's side windows
eliminates the ability for other drivers, pedestrians, and
bicyclists to have eye contact confirmation that the driver
sees them, especially at intersections and crosswalks.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/12)
Peace Officers Research Association of California (source)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/26/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Furutani, Halderman, Harkey,
Jones
JJA:k 6/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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