BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1720
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1720 (Bloom)
As Amended June 10, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(May 8, 2014) |SENATE: |35-0 |(July 3, 2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Extends for one year, until January 1, 2016, an
existing statutory exemption to the 20,500-pound-per-axle weight
limit for transit buses for a transit system that is procuring a
new bus that is of the same or lesser weight than the bus it is
replacing, or for a transit system that is incorporating a new
fleet class into its inventory, if the governing board makes
certain findings. The bill additionally clarifies that the
interim procurement procedures apply to buses of a gross weight
of 20,500 pounds over any single axle, not a total bus weight of
20,500 pounds.
The Senate amendments broaden the existing statutory exemption
by additionally authorizing a transit system, until January 1,
2016, to procure buses exceeding the weight limit if it is
expanding a fleet class.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Generally limits the gross weight on any one axle for vehicles
that travel on public streets, roads, and highways to 20,000
pounds, but provides that buses of any type may impose a gross
axle weight of up to 20,500 pounds.
2)Under federal law, prohibits California from enforcing a
weight limit of under 24,000 pounds per axle for buses
traveling on the federal Eisenhower Interstate Highway System.
3)Exempts transit buses procured through a solicitation process
that was issued before January 1, 2013, from existing
statutory limits on bus weights.
4)Allows, until January 1, 2015, a publicly owned and operated
transit system or an operator of a transit system under
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contract with a publicly owned and operated transit system to
do the following:
a) Replace existing buses that exceed the current weight
limits with a new model of the same or lower weight.
b) Procure and operate a new bus in excess of the current
weight limits in order to incorporate a new fleet class
into its inventory, if the governing board adopts a finding
at a public hearing that the change is necessary to address
a need to serve a new or existing market pursuant to its
most recently adopted short-range transit plan, or to meet
federal, state, or regional statutory or regulatory
requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Since 1975, state law has prohibited the gross weight
on any single axle of a transit bus from exceeding 20,500
pounds. Due to numerous state and federal mandates, including
Americans with Disability Act requirements and mandated
emissions reduction equipment, transit buses today often exceed
that weight, especially when carrying a large number of
passengers. According to the sponsor, the California Transit
Association, as many as half of the transit buses in California
operating at peak commute times may exceed the state weight
limit of 20,500 pounds per axle. However, during non-peak
times, this percentage drops significantly due to lower
ridership loads.
Several years ago, some local police departments began citing
transit buses for violating the weight limit. Merely relying on
the current procedures in state law for overweight vehicles -
paying fines resulting from citations or paying fees and
administering thousands of annual overweight vehicle permits on
a city-by-city basis - would be costly and time consuming for
transit agencies and other local governments statewide.
Moreover, such an approach would continue to ignore the
underlying problem: the Vehicle Code limit was created more
than 35 years ago and simply did not contemplate today's
operating environments or legal and regulatory requirements.
However, simply increasing the weight limit for transit buses is
not as easy as it might sound because for cities and counties,
more weight equals greater wear and tear on local streets and
roads.
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AB 1706 (Eng), Chapter 771, Statutes of 2012, offered a
short-term solution to the bus axle weight issue by exempting
all existing transit buses from the state weight limit. The
bill additionally allowed for procurement of new buses exceeded
the weight limit if they were replacing existing overweight
buses or if the transit operator was introducing a new fleet
class. The procurement provisions are scheduled to sunset at the
end of the year. AB 1760's temporary fix to the bus axle weight
issue came about after stakeholders - including cities,
counties, transit agencies, and representatives from various
state departments and agencies - put considerable effort into
finding a permanent solution to the issue without coming to
agreement.
The federal Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), an arm
of the Transportation Research Board backed by the National
Academy of Sciences, is currently overseeing a detailed national
study on the bus axle weight issue, which has been a subject of
concern not just in California but nationwide. The final report
will be completed in the next few months. The panel overseeing
the work of the contractor selected to do the study includes
representatives from national association of cities, counties,
public transit agencies, bus suppliers, public works engineers,
and state transportation officials. The report is expected to
be the most comprehensive look at the issue to date and is
expected to provide a wealth of data and information that will
be helpful in crafting a long-term solution for California.
Once the TCRP study is released, California stakeholders will
reconvene with the goal of crafting a long-term solution to the
issue that works for all parties. In the meantime, this bill
extends the procurement provisions of AB 1706 for an additional
year and also expands the provisions to allow a transit system
to procure buses exceeding the weight limit if they are
expanding a fleet class. The purpose of the bill is to provide
adequate time for stakeholders to work out a permanent solution
while ensuring that transit operators can continue to procure
buses.
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0004055
AB 1720
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