BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 2679
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Trans. Com.
VERSION: 6/25/12
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: July 3, 2102
SUBJECT:
Transportation omnibus bill
DESCRIPTION:
This bill makes non-controversial changes to sections of law
relating to transportation.
ANALYSIS:
According to the Legislative Analyst, the cost of producing a
bill in 2001-02 was $17,890. By combining multiple matters into
one bill, the Legislature can make minor changes to law in the
most cost-effective manner.
This bill includes the following provisions:
1.Caltrans claims �Section 1]. Existing law authorizes the
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to pay claims or
damages up to a maximum of $5,000 without approval of the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
(CVCGC). In the past, this threshold has been aligned with
the limit for filing a claim in small claims court. In recent
years, however, the Legislature has increased the small claims
court limit on two occasions while Caltrans' threshold has
not. As a result, many "small claims" that Caltrans could
handle efficiently must be referred to the CVCGC. Referral to
CVCGC frequently leads to the filing of a lawsuit, thereby
necessitating the involvement of Caltrans' legal staff at
substantially increased cost. This bill pegs the threshold
under which Caltrans may pay claims without involving its
attorneys at the small claims court limit. �Submitted by the
Assembly Transportation Committee]
2.Bicycles on capital grounds �Section 2]. Under current law it
a misdemeanor to ride a bike on the sidewalks of the state
capital to access the bike racks near the doors. This bill
AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 2
makes it legal to ride a bike on capital walkways that the
California Highway Patrol has designated as access routes to
bicycle parking, provided that the bicycle is ridden in a
manner that is reasonable and prudent having due regard for
pedestrians, weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the
surface and width of, the area's grounds. �Submitted by the
Senate Transportation and Housing Committee]
3.Updating agency names �Sections 3, 7, 8, and 16]. The former
Imperial Valley Association of Governments is now the Imperial
County Transportation Commission, and the former Los Angeles
County Transportation Commission is now the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). This bill
updates the statutory references to these two agencies.
�Submitted by the Assembly Transportation Committee]
4.Using the term "disabled" �Sections 4-6, 9, 11-15, and 17].
This bill updates the Transportation Development Act to
replace the term "handicapped" with the term "disabled."
�Submitted by the Assembly Transportation Committee]
5.Correcting a drafting error �Section 10]. In 2009, AB 1219
(Evans), Chapter 143, Statutes of 2009, allowed the Solano
Transportation Authority (STA) to file a claim with the
transportation planning agency for up to 2% of local
transportation funds available to the county and city members
of the authority for countywide transit planning and
coordination. AB 1219 erroneously cited STA's allotment as 2%
when, in fact, STA's allotment has been 2.7% since 2004. This
bill corrects this drafting error and aligns the statutory
allotment distribution with current practice. �Submitted by
Solano Transportation Authority]
6.Gas-tax swap cleanup �Sections 18 and 19]. This bill aligns
the adjustment dates of the gasoline and diesel fuel sales tax
prepayment rates with the excise tax rate adjustments for both
gasoline and diesel fuel enacted in the fuel tax swap of AB
105 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 6, Statutes of 2011. The
dates would be changed so that when there are adjustments to
the gasoline and diesel fuel excise tax rates, they would also
be accounted for in the sales tax prepayment rate, thereby
reducing the time and costs associated with adjusting the
rates at two different times for both the Board of
Equalization (BOE) and the affected motor vehicle fuel
suppliers. The bill also allows the BOE to notify fuel
vendors of a new prepayment rate by means other than mail and
makes a clarifying reference to the additional sales tax on
AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 3
diesel fuel set to take effect on July 1, 2011. �Submitted by
Board of Equalization]
7.Highway relinquishments �Sections 20-33]. Current law
relinquishes numerous portions of the state highway systems to
cities and counties. This bill cleans up the relinquishment
statutes to reflect those relinquishments that have already
occurred and those that will not occur. The bill also allows
the California Transportation Commission to relinquish to the
City of Watsonville a portion of State Route 152 within the
city limits upon terms and conditions the commission finds to
be in the best interests of the state. �Submitted by the
Assembly Transportation Committee and City of Watsonville]
8.Schoolbus stops �Sections 34-36]. Current law requires
schoolbus drivers to load or unload pupils only at stops
designated by a school district superintendent. This bill
additionally authorizes private school officials to designate
schoolbus stops. The bill also requires the California
Highway Patrol to approve any stops on highways with speed
limits greater than 25 miles per hour if the stop is not
visible for 500 feet in either direction. �Submitted by
Assemblyman Mike Feuer]
9.Release of impounded vehicles �Section 37]. Current law
allows a peace officer to impound a vehicle if the driver is
unlicensed or driving with a suspended or revoked license. In
order for the vehicle to be released from impound, the
registered owner, or the registered owner's agent, must
present a valid driver's license and proof of current vehicle
registration. It is not clear, however, whether the owner
must present the documents to the law enforcement agency that
caused the impound or to the garage operator. This bill
clarifies that the law enforcement agency must confirm the
validity of the license and registration and authorize the
release of the impounded vehicle. �Submitted by California
Highway Patrol (CHP)]
10. Seatbelt warning for older used vehicles �Section
38]. Current law requires new car dealers to warn the buyers
of older used vehicles (model years 1972-1990) about the lack
of shoulder harnesses attached to the seat belts. The New Car
Dealers Association suggests that this requirement is obsolete
and should be repealed because no new car dealers sell such
vehicles. �Submitted by the New Car Dealers Association]
AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 4
11. Clarifying definitions �Section 39]. This bill
clarifies that a "slide back carrier" is a tow truck and
replace the term "conventional trailer" with "trailer."
�Submitted by California Highway Patrol]
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . The Assembly Housing and Community
Development Committee is authoring this bill as a means of
combining multiple, non-controversial changes to statutes into
one bill, so that the Legislature can make minor amendments in
a cost-effective manner. There is no known opposition to any
item in the bill, and if concerns arise that cannot be
resolved, the provision of concern will be deleted from the
bill.
2.Additional provision . The author will propose an amendment in
committee to add one additional provision requested by the
California Trucking Association relating to rear license
plates. Current law generally requires that rear license
plates be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than 60
inches from the ground. With respect to dump trucks that have
a load-bearing swing arm mechanism that lowers off the rear of
the vehicle, it is not possible to display a license plate
legally in this manner without obstructing the view of the
license plate. To ensure visibility, the amendment allows the
rear license plate on a dump bed motor truck equipped with a
trailing, load bearing swing axle to be mounted more than 12
inches but not more than 107 inches from the ground.
3.Technical amendments :
On page 24, line 20 after the second comma insert
"Rialto,"
On page 27, lines 30-31 strike "in the County of
Riverside"
On page 27, lines 34-35 strike "in the County of
Riverside"
Strike Section 38 relating to seatbelt warnings for
older used vehicles.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 75-0
Appr: 17-0
R&T: 8-0
AB 2679 (TRANS. COM.) Page 5
Trans: 14-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 27, 2012)
SUPPORT: Board of Equalization
OPPOSED: None received.