AB 1720, as introduced, Bloom. Vehicles: bus gross weight.
Existing law generally prohibits a publicly owned or operated transit system from procuring a transit bus whose weight on any single axle exceeds 20,500 pounds. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, exempts from this prohibition a transit system that is procuring a new bus that is of the same or lesser weight than the bus it is replacing, or if it is incorporating a new fleet class into its inventory and its governing board makes certain findings.
This bill would extend the operation of those exceptions until January 1, 2016.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 35554 of the Vehicle Code, as amended
2by Section 3 of Chapter 771 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended
3to read:
(a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 35550, the gross
5weight on any one axle of a bus shall not exceed 20,500 pounds.
P2 1(2) A transit bus procured through a solicitation process
2pursuant to which a solicitation was issued before January 1, 2013,
3orbegin delete thoughend deletebegin insert throughend insert a solicitation process pursuant to subdivision
4(d) is not subject to this subdivision.
5(b) A transit bus is not subject to Section 35550.
6(c) A transit bus shall not operate
on the Dwight D. Eisenhower
7System of Interstate and Defense Highways in excess of the weight
8limitation for transit buses specified in federal law.
9(d) (1) A publicly owned or operated transit system or an
10operator of a transit system under contract with a publicly owned
11or operated transit system shall not procure, through a solicitation
12process pursuant to which a solicitation is issued on or after January
131, 2013, a transit bus whosebegin insert grossend insert weight on any single axle
14exceeds 20,500 pounds except as follows:
15(A) It may procure and operate a new busbegin delete exceedingend deletebegin insert whose
16gross weightend insertbegin insert
exceedsend insert 20,500 poundsbegin insert on any single axleend insert that is of
17the same or lesserbegin insert grossend insert weightbegin insert per axleend insert than the bus it is replacing.
18(B) It may procure and operate a new transit busbegin delete exceedingend delete
19begin insert whose gross weightend insertbegin insert exceedsend insert 20,500 poundsbegin insert
on any single axleend insert in
20order to incorporate a new fleet class into its inventory if its
21governing board adopts a finding at a public hearing that the fleet
22class expansion or change in fleet classes is necessary to address
23a need to serve a new or existing market pursuant to its most
24recently adopted short-range transit plan, or to meet a federal, state,
25or regional statutory or regulatory requirement, and includes a
26consideration of vehicle needs and fleet size.
27(2) If the governing board of the publicly owned or operated
28transit system holds a public hearing to consider a procurement
29made pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the
30board shall provide written notice to those cities and counties on
31whose roads the bus would travel of the public hearing at which
32this procurement is to be considered and shall place in the public
33record any comment of concern the board receives about the
34procurement.
35(3) For purposes of this subdivision “fleet class” means a group
36of transit buses designated by a publicly owned or operated transit
37system or an operator under contract with a publicly owned or
38operated transit system that owns those transit buses, if the transit
39buses have a combination of two or more of the following similar
40defining characteristics:
P3 1(A) Length.
2(B) Seating capacity.
3(C) Number of axles.
4(D) Fuel or power system.
5(E) Width.
6(F) Structure.
7(G) Equipment package.
8(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,begin delete 2015end delete
9begin insert 2016end insert, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
10that is enacted before January 1,begin delete 2015end deletebegin insert 2016end insert, deletes or extends
11that date.
Section 35554 of the Vehicle Code, as added by
13Section 4 of Chapter 771 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to
14read:
(a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 35550, the gross
16weight on any one axle of a bus shall not exceed 20,500 pounds.
17(2) A transit bus procured through a solicitation process pursuant
18to which a solicitation was issued before January 1, 2013, is not
19subject to this subdivision.
20(b) A transit bus is not subject to Section 35550.
21(c) This section shall become operative on January 1,begin delete 2015end delete
22begin insert 2016end insert.
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