ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE
ON
TRANSPORTATION
SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION
2003-2004
HONORABLE JENNY OROPEZA
HONORABLE JOHN A. DUTRA
CHAIRS
Members
Honorable Guy Houston, Vice Chair Honorable John Longville
Honorable Patricia Bates Honorable Dennis Mountjoy
*Honorable Patty Berg*Honorable George Nakano
Honorable John Benoit*Honorable Nicole Parra
Honorable Wilma Chan Honorable Fran Pavley
*Honorable Judy Chu Honorable Simon Salinas
Honorable Christine Kehoe Honorable Joe Simitian
Honorable Jay La Suer*Honorable Todd Spitzer
*Honorable Tim Leslie
Honorable Carole Liu
Committee Staff
Andrew Antwih, Chief Consultant
Howard Posner, Principal Consultant
Frances Chacon, Senior Consultant
Gus Khouri, Senior Consultant
*Ryan Spencer, Consultant
*Joe Furtado, Consultant
Denise Plants, Committee Secretary
Sylvia Cervantes, Committee Secretary
Note: Honorable Jenny Oropeza was appointed Chair in 2004 and the Committee was reduced at that time to 13 members.
* Signifies 2003 Members and Staff.
INTRODUCTION
This report contains summaries of bills that were referred to, and considered by, the Assembly Transportation Committee during 2003- 2004 Session. Bills that were passed by the Legislature and became law are shown with the chapter number; bills that were vetoed by the Governor or that otherwise failed to become law are so noted.
Some bills could have been appropriately placed in several subject categories; an effort was made to place each bill under the most appropriate subject heading.
Acronyms for various agencies used in this report are as follows:
Air Resources Board (ARB)
Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
California Highway Patrol (CHP)
California Transportation Commission (CTC)
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
State Highway Route (Route)
The term “Urgency” indicates the measures took effect immediately on becoming law, while most of the legislation is effective the following January 1, unless a different particular date is specified.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abandoned Vehicles, Parking, Towing ...... 4
Aeronautics ...... 6
Air Quality ...... 7
Bus Safety ...... 12
Driver Licensing ...... 13
Highways and Bridges ...... 18
Mass Transportation and Railroads ...... 26
Off-Highway Vehicles...... 28
Rules of the Road ...... 29
Transportation Agencies...... 34
Transportation Financing ...... 37
Trucks ...... 43
Vehicle and Vessel Registration and Licensing ...... 45
Vehicles and Vessel Safety Requirements ...... 49
Miscellaneous ...... 51
Appendix – List of 2003-2004 Bills
ABANDONED VEHICLES, PARKING, TOWING
AB 327 (Runner) Allows a local court to assess a $100 penalty for specified violations of disabled parking placards. Requires the penalty revenues to be used specifically to enforce existing laws relative to disabled parking. Chapter 555, Statutes of 2003
AB 478 (Ridley-Thomas) Provides that the amount of time a public agency may wait after sending a notice to the vehicle's owner prior to disposing of a suspected abandoned vehicle is 15 days. Increases to $500 the maximum dollar value of a vehicle that may qualify for disposal. Chapter 67, Statutes of 2003
AB 559 (Harman) Would have authorized the release of confidential DMV residence information, under specified requirements, for the purpose of collection of unpaid parking fees by private parking entities. Died in Senate Transportation Committee
AB 616 (Vargas) Authorizes an officer, employee, or public agency directing storage of an impounded vehicle to notify the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System of the vehicle identification number and certain specified information. Allows the notification to be made by electronic means. Chapter 622, Statutes of 2003
AB 625 (Spitzer) Would have provided that if towed vehicles impounded during special events were not released within one to two hours of demand, the storage facility may not collect fees; and would have required local agencies to notify tow truck and storage operators of special events. Died in the Senate Transportation Committee
AB 789 (Mountjoy) Would have required cities' and counties' abandoned vehicle abatement ordinances to exempt vehicles stored under certain circumstances from provisions allowing the local agency to remove the vehicles as a public nuisance. Died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 792 (Yee) Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that certain statutory provisions relating to the towing of vehicles promote the safety and welfare of the public. Chapter 212, Statutes of 2003
AB 1014 (Canciamilla) Requires the Department of Boating and Waterways to create an advisory committee to study ways to prevent the abandonment of boats. Chapter 357, Statutes of 2003
AB 1138 (Frommer) Requires any person using a special identification license plate issued to disabled veterans or persons with disabilities to present a certification form that substantiates his or her eligibility to possess the plate, when requested to do so by a peace officer or a person authorized to enforce parking laws. Requires the medical professional who certifies a person's qualifying disability to provide a full description of that person's illness or disability to DMV. Allows a peace officer to confiscate any special license plate being used for parking purposes by a person other than the person to whom DMV issued the plate. Chapter 363, Statutes of 2004
AB 1675 (Longville) Prohibits, until January 1, 2007, access for attorneys to confidential DMV records for the purpose of collecting fees or delinquent charges by a private parking facility. Chapter 649, Statutes of 2003
AB 1847 (Koretz) Allows a trained volunteer of a state or local law enforcement agency who is engaged in directing traffic or enforcing parking laws and regulations to remove a vehicle under a limited number of the same circumstances. Chapter 371, Statutes of 2004
AB 1947 (Strickland) Would have authorized a person who is in the third trimester of pregnancy to apply to the DMV for the issuance of a temporary placard for the purpose of obtaining specified parking privileges. Died in Assembly Transportation Committee
SB 247 (Murray) Makes permanent a DMV program providing residence address information to accredited California institutions of higher education when that information is used solely for the purpose of enforcing parking restrictions. Chapter 410, Statutes of 2003
SB 1725 (Knight) Requires a medical professional, certifying a person's disability for the purpose of obtaining a disabled person's license plate, to provide to DMV a full description of the illness or disability. Requires a disabled person or disabled veteran with special license plates to present to a peace officer or parking enforcement officer, upon request, a certificate substantiating his or her eligibility for those plates. Requires DMV, upon request by a parking enforcement agency, to make available any information contained in a physician's certificate submitted to DMV as part of an application for a disabled person's special license plate. Authorizes local authorities to establish review boards or panels to review information contained in applications for special parking privileges for persons residing within the jurisdiction of the local authority. Chapter 404, Statutes of 2004
AERONAUTICS
AB 77 (La Suer) Would have prohibited the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, in siting any international airport, from displacing or interfering with any existing aerial fire fighting location. Died in Assembly Local Government Committee
AB 332 (Mullin) Requires a local agency which overrides a decision made by an airport land use commission to provide notice of its proposed decision to the commission and Caltrans and to include in its published decision responses by the airport land use commission and Caltrans. Chapter 351, Statutes of 2003
AB 2284 (Plescia) Would have deleted the date by which the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the port are required to transfer and assign all contracts related to the location and development of an airport in the County of San Diego to the authority. Would have established the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority as a local entity of regional government with jurisdiction throughout the County of San Diego, and required that the authority adopt a comprehensive airport land use plan for that county and coordinate the airport planning of public agencies on or before June 3, 2005. Died in Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 2430 (Wiggins) Removes hot air balloon owners from the jurisdiction of the PUC and instead places them under the jurisdiction of local governments, as specified, requires specified levels of liability insurance, and sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2009. Chapter 881, Statutes of 2004
AB 2676 (Nakano) Allows a county board of supervisors or a city council to delegate its responsibility for approval of a plan for construction of new helicopter landing and take off areas to the county or city planning agency. Chapter 521, Statutes of 2004
AJR 10 (Garcia) Requests that the United States (U.S.) Congress designate the Imperial County Airport as an International Port of Entry and requests that the Imperial County Board of Supervisors take specific actions to facilitate this request. Resolution Chapter 79 Statutes of 2003
HR 33 (Runner) Declares the Assembly's support for selection of Site 9 at the Palmdale Regional Airport as the location for final assembly of the 7E7 jetliner, a new aircraft to be manufactured by the Boeing Company, and encourages the company to bring this important project to California. Adopted by the Assembly, 2003
AIR QUALITY
AB 219 (Reyes) Would have deleted the exemption for diesel powered vehicles from Smog Check requirements. Requires every heavy-duty diesel motor vehicle to be inspected for excessive smoke emissions annually. Died in Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 775 (Parra) As considered by the Committee, the bill defined "extensive marketing research," for the purposes of a Department of Consumer Affairs public information program regarding the Smog Check program, to include information provided by any statewide association of test and repair station owners. The bill was subsequently amended to extend the sunset date on the Safe Routes to Schools program. Died in Senate Transportation Committee
AB 923 (Firebaugh) Increases to $6 the surcharge limit that air districts may impose on motor vehicle registrations in order to provide funds for emission reduction programs. Requires the districts to utilize the revenues resulting from $2 of the surcharge to reduce air through the Carl Moyer Program, the purchase of equipment for previously unregulated agricultural sources, the new purchase of schoolbuses, and an accelerated vehicle retirement or repair program. Prohibit air districts from funding projects after the compliance date mandating emission reductions in any statute, regulation, or legally binding document. Expands the types of emissions covered by the Moyer Program to include additionally emissions of particulate matter and reactive organic gases. Increases the $1 California tire fee to $1.75 per tire and requires the increased revenues to be used by ARB and air districts to mitigate or remediate air pollution caused by the decomposition of tires in the state. Allows expenditures from revenues generated by the bill for previously unregulated agricultural sources of air pollution for a minimum of three years from the date of adoption of an applicable rule or standard, whichever is later, provided ARB has determined the rule or standard complies with relevant requirements, after which period of time, such new purchases, repowers, or add-ons of equipment may not be funded pursuant to the bill. Chapter 707, Statutes of 2004
AB 927 (Campbell) Would have required the ARB to establish statewide guidelines for the production and licensing of hydrogen fuel cell refueling stations in the state. Died in Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 1009 (Pavley) See Trucks
AB 1063 (Firebaugh) Would have authorized the South Coast Air Quality Management District, to the extent permissible under federal law, to require retrofit controls on any motor vehicle, nonroad engine, or nonroad vehicle that operates substantially in that district. In the case of motor vehicles, the regulations could not be implemented prior to January 1, 2007. Requires the District, on or after January 1, 2006, to adopt mitigation fees on ports, marine terminals, shipping companies, and/or railroads, unless the EPA has adopted regulations that meet the district's emission reduction targets. Failed passage in Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 1316 (Parra) Would have required the ARB to conduct a study evaluating the benefit to air quality that would result from requiring all air quality management districts and air pollution control districts located along the state's coastline between the Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area to participate in Smog Check II. Died in Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 1394 (Levine) Makes eligible for Carl Moyer funding a dual transaction project that combines the emission reductions achieved from both of the following transactions: a) The purchase of a new very low-or zero-emission eligible vehicle; and b) The replacement of an old engine or vehicle with a newer (used, but not brand new) engine or vehicle certified to be cleaner than the one being replaced. Chapter 627, Statutes of 2004
AB 1966 (Campbell) Would have required the ARB, in collaboration with Caltrans, the Public Utilities Commission and the Energy Commission, to adopt regulations establishing statewide guidelines for the production and licensing of hydrogen fuel cell refueling stations. Died in Senate Energy, Utilities and Commerce Committee
AB 1971 (Lowenthal) Clarifies that citations for violating engine idling restrictions may include a unique identifier, such as the cargo container number, in lieu of the truck license plate number. Clarifies that existing statutory restrictions on this subject apply to both engine idling and truck queuing. Chapter 580, Statutes of 2004
AB 2042 (Lowenthal) Would haverequired the South Coast Air Quality Management District to establish a baseline for air quality for the ports of Los Angles and Long Beach. Requires the District, the ARB, and the Ports to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to implement emission-control measures related to operations at each of the Ports. If a MOA is not entered into by September 1, 2005, the ports would be required to develop a baseline for air quality for each port. Vetoed by Governor
AB 2128 (Jackson) Redirects revenues from $2 of the $6 annual smog abatement fee into the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account to provide financial incentives to vehicle owners to voluntarily retire older, higher-polluting vehicles and to purchase partial electric or zero-emission vehicles. Chapter 703, Statutes of 2004
AB 2424 (La Malfa) Would haveallowed the resale of retired vehicles and their parts to the public and requires any ARB administrative guidelines to be consistent with legislative intent. Allows vehicles that are acquired for their collector interest to not meet emission standards if they are to be used solely as a source for repair parts. Died in Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 2644 (Oropeza) Would have prohibited school buses from idling more than five minutes in any one-hour period or any commercial vehicle within a school zone from idling more than five minutes in any one-hour period. Vetoed by Governor
AB 2683 (Lieber) Repeals the rolling exemption from Smog Check and Smog Check II requirements for vehicles more than 30 model years old and replaces it with an exemption for vehicles manufactured prior to the 1976 model year. Chapter 704, Statutes of 2004
AB 2899 (Shirley Horton) Would haveallowed any person selling finished blends containing 20% biodiesel to display on the dispensing apparatus in a conspicuous place a sign stating "Biodiesel Blend 20." Prohibits any person from selling at retail to the general public any biodiesel fuel B21 to B100 from any place of business unless there is displayed in a conspicuous place on the dispensing apparatus at least one sign stating the specific volume concentration of biodiesel. Requires development of a voluntary carbon dioxide labeling program for petroleum, biodiesel, and finished fuel blends containing biodiesel. Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 2906 (Nation) Would have required the ARB, not later than January 1, 2007, to rename the smog index label as an "air pollution label" and to require the label to include, for 2009 and subsequent model year motor vehicles, the emissions of global warming gases from passenger cars and light-duty trucks for the same model year, including vehicle operation and upstream emissions. Died in Senate Transportation Committee
AB 2953 (Canciamilla) As considered by the committee, the bill would have allowed air pollution control districts to adopt Carl Moyer Program eligibility criteria for equipment to control agricultural sources of air pollution in areas that are designated as serious nonattainment for particulate matter or ozone, until January 1, 2010. The bill was subsequently amended to make Assembly Member Matthews the author and to authorize the expenditure of Carl Moyer funds for sources of air pollution until the compliance date of any local, state, or federal statute, rule or regulation related to reduction in air emissions from that source. Died in Senate Environmental Quality
AB 3104 (Firebaugh) Would have imposed a fee, in an unspecified amount, on motor vehicle fuels and diesel fuel in California, the revenue from which is allocated to local air districts to fund priority projects designed to mitigate the harm caused by use of gasoline, diesel and other motor vehicle fuels in those districts. Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee
AJR 50 (Pavley) Requests the federal government to recognize California's progress in the development of hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles, and to provide funding for those activities in California. Resolution Chapter 99, Statutes of 2004
AJR 72 (Frommer) Memorializes the federal EPA to review and reconsider California's request for an administrative waiver from the gasoline oxygenate additive requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. Resolution Chapter 131, Statutes of 2004
AJR 74 (Pavley) Memorializes the President and Congress to take legislative action to allow single-occupant hybrid electric vehicles that achieve a fuel economy highway rating of at least 45-miles per gallon to travel in the state's high occupancy vehicle lanes. Resolution Chapter 113, Statutes of 2004
AJR 89 (Oropeza) Would have memorialized Congress and the President to increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards by at least one and one-half miles per gallon each year until total average fuel economy for the new light-duty motor vehicle fleet sold in California is double today's average. Died in Senate Energy, Utilities and Commerce Committee
AJR 90 (Oropeza) Would have requested the federal Environmental Protection Agency to consider adopting California's gasoline and diesel fuel standards as national fuel standards. Died in Senate Transportation Committee