BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 2438
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lowenthal
VERSION: 3/28/14
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 10, 2014
SUBJECT:
Firefighting equipment: driver's licenses: trainer
requirements
DESCRIPTION:
This bill allows an individual who is training a firefighter how
to use firefighting equipment (e.g., to drive a fire engine) to
possess a class C license with a firefighter endorsement,
provided he or she meets all other statutory requirements.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law prescribes different classes of driver's licenses
for different types of vehicles.
Class C: The most common license, a Class C driver's license,
is issued to drivers of passenger vehicles and pickup trucks
with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of up to 26,000
pounds.
Class B: A Class B license covers all vehicles covered by
Class C, as well as a vehicle with three or more axles
weighing more than 6,000 pounds; a bus; a farm labor vehicle;
a single vehicle with three or more axles or a GVWR of more
than 26,000 pounds, towing another vehicle with a GVWR of
maximum 10,000 pounds; and a house car over 40 feet in length.
Class A: A Class A license covers all vehicles covered by
Class B and C, as well as a combination of vehicles, if a
vehicle being towed has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds; a
vehicle towing more than one vehicle; and a trailer bus.
Existing law establishes requirements to obtain a driver's
license as follows:
Class C: The applicant must be at least 18 years old (if
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under 18, the applicant must complete the provisional driver's
license program). The applicant must complete an application,
provide a thumbprint, have his or her picture taken, provide a
social security number and verification of birth date and
legal presence, pass an eye exam, pass a traffic laws and
signs test, pass a drive test, and pay a $33 application fee.
If the applicant fails the drive test, he or she can re-test
for a $6 fee. A Class C license is good for five years; the
renewal fee is $33.
Commercial driver's license (Class A or B): The applicant
must be at least 21 years old if he or she will be driving
across state lines, 18 years old if driving only within
California. In addition to completing Class C license
requirements, the applicant must pass a drive test, including
a pre-trip inspection and a skills and driving test; submit a
medical examination report form (the exam costs roughly $100);
complete a 10-Year History Record Check Form; and pay a $70
application fee. If the applicant fails the drive test, he or
she can re-test for a $30 fee. A commercial driver's license
is good for five years, with a renewal fee of $41, but the
applicant must submit a new medical report form every two
years.
Firefighter endorsement: To receive a firefighter
endorsement, a driver must complete the Class C license
requirements, submit proof of employment and training,
complete a health questionnaire form, and pay a $27
application fee. The applicant must also complete Fire
Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A training or fire department
training that meets or exceeds National Fire Protection
Association or State Fire Marshal standards; prepares the
applicant to safely operate appropriate department fire
equipment; includes at least 16 hours of classroom
instruction; and includes at least 14 hours of supervised
behind-the-wheel training. The firefighter endorsement is
timed to expire with the license, and there is no renewal fee,
but the applicant must submit a new health questionnaire form
every two years.
Existing law provides that in order to operate fire equipment,
an individual must possess:
A restricted Class A license with a firefighter endorsement, a
non-commercial Class B license with a firefighter endorsement,
or a Class C license with a firefighter endorsement; or
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A Class A or Class B license appropriate to the size and
configuration of the firefighting equipment he or she will
operate (a firefighter endorsement is not also required).
Existing law provides that in order to conduct driver training
for fire equipment, an individual must:
Be registered with the State Fire Marshal to instruct a Fire
Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A course; or
Possess at least five years of fire service experience as an
emergency vehicle operator, three of which must be at the rank
of engineer or higher; possess a valid California Class A or
Class B license or a Class A or B license restricted to the
operation of firefighting equipment; and be certified as a
qualified training instructor or training officer by the state
of California, the federal government, or a county training
officers' association.
This bill provides that if an individual meets all other
statutory requirements, he or she may possess a Class C license
with a firefighter endorsement, rather than a Class A or Class B
license, in order to conduct firefighter driver training.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author states that fire departments are
increasingly choosing not to have designated training staff
and are instead broadly applying the term "trainer" to any
firefighter who may at some point in the course of their
career train their colleagues. The author asserts that in
light of these circumstances, the existing law requirement of
a higher licensure standard for training presents an
unnecessary burden for firefighters and their departments.
2.Background . Until recently, state law required a firefighter
to obtain a commercial driver's license (Class A or Class B,
as appropriate) in order to operate firefighting equipment.
To obtain a commercial license, an applicant must pass a
written exam and a behind-the-wheel driving test in the
appropriate type of vehicle. An applicant must take the
written exam through the state Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV), but may take the behind-the-wheel exam either through
DMV or through a third-party tester authorized under DMV's
Employer Tester Program (ETP). ETP allows transportation
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firms, including qualified fire departments, to administer
DMV-approved driving tests for their employees seeking
commercial driver's licenses.
By 2010, DMV began significantly tightening ETP requirements
pursuant to broad changes in federal commercial licensing
regulations. Fire departments argued that they would no
longer be able to conduct their own ETP programs but would
instead be forced to send their employees to one of DMV's
commercial drive test facilities. This would make it more
difficult for firefighters - particularly in rural areas - to
get their driver's licenses.
Accordingly, AB 1648 (Jeffries), Chapter 360, Statutes of
2010, moved firefighter licenses out of the commercial
driver's license program. Instead of requiring a commercial
driver's license to operate fire equipment, AB 1648 allows a
Class C license with a firefighter endorsement. AB 1648
specified, however, that a trainer must possess a Class A or B
license, or a Class A or B license restricted to the operation
of firefighting equipment. AB 1648 was the product of
extensive negotiations between this committee, stakeholders,
and DMV. This committee focused on ensuring that training
undertaken by local fire departments met DMV standards. To
help address this concern, the final version of AB 1648
included the requirement for trainers to hold a commercial
license. The committee may wish to consider the fact that by
removing the requirement for trainers to hold a commercial
driver's license, this bill would partially undo the
settlement negotiated by this committee four years ago.
The sponsor of this bill, the California Professional
Firefighters, states that "the current broad application of
trainer-related licensing requirements ? flies contrary to the
spirit and intent of AB 1648, which was to promote a more
streamlined process for the issuance and use of firefighter
driver's licenses." The sponsor states that this bill would
rectify that problem.
3.How much streamlining is enough ? By removing the requirement
for firefighters to obtain a commercial license to operate
fire equipment, AB 1648 of 2010 exempted firefighters from the
medical examination report required for a commercial license.
Subsequently, AB 1567 (Jeffries), Chapter 111, Statutes of
2012, eliminated the requirement to submit a medical
examination report to obtain a firefighter endorsement,
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replacing it with a self-certified health questionnaire form.
By allowing a trainer to possess a Class C license with a
firefighter endorsement instead of a commercial driver's
license, this bill would enable a trainer, in addition to a
trainee, to submit a self-certified health questionnaire form.
The committee understands, however, that firefighters undergo
regular physical exams and evaluations. For example,
firefighters must take an annual physical and fit test in
order to wear their self-contained breathing apparatus or
respirators, and most if not all professional fire departments
in the state require their employees to take an annual
physical.
4.Should trainers be held to a higher standard ? To obtain a
commercial driver's license, an applicant must, among other
requirements, pass a drive test conducted at a DMV field
office or ETP site. To obtain a firefighter endorsement, an
applicant must, among other requirements, complete Fire
Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A training or similar fire
department training. This training is a 40-hour course that
includes both classroom instruction and hands-on driving
exercises. While this bill would not reduce these training
requirements, it would enable fire departments to "train the
trainers" onsite rather than sending employees to a DMV field
office to take the drive test. The committee may wish to
consider whether allowing a trainer to be trained by a
coworker onsite maintains the same safety standard as
requiring a drive test by a DMV examiner at a DMV field
office.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 75-0
Trans: 15-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 4,
2014.)
SUPPORT: California Professional Firefighters (sponsor)
California Fire Chiefs Association
Catherine C. Capriles, Deputy Fire Chief of
Training and Support
Services, Palo Alto Fire Department
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Palo Alto Professional Firefighters, Local 1319
United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Local
112
Chris Woodard, Battalion Chief, Palo Alto Fire
Department
OPPOSED: None received.