Bill Text: CA AB554 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Traffic control devices: flares.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB554 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB554-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 11, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 554

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Introduced by Assembly Member Chen

February 13, 2019

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An act to amend Section 21355 21350 of the Vehicle Code, relating to traffic control.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 554, as amended, Chen. Traffic signs, signals, and markings. control devices: flares.

Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, for highways under its jurisdiction, appropriate signs, signals, and other traffic control devices, as required, and authorizes the department to place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, such appropriate signs, signals, or other traffic control devices as may be authorized, or as may be necessary to properly indicate and carry out specified provisions, or to warn or guide traffic upon the highways.

Existing law authorizes the duly authorized representative of the Department of Transportation or local authorities, including persons contracting to perform construction, maintenance, or repair of a highway, with the approval of the department or local authority and while performing that work, to restrict the use of, and regulate the movement of traffic through or around, the affected area if the traffic would endanger worker safety or interfere with or endanger the movement of traffic through the area. Existing law authorizes traffic to be regulated by warning signs, lights, appropriate control devices, or by a person or persons controlling and directing the flow of traffic.

This bill would prohibit the Department of Transportation or persons contracting with the department for the construction, maintenance, or repair of a highway from using flares as a traffic control device, as defined. The bill would exclude the Department of the California Highway Patrol’s use of flares from this prohibition when it cooperates with the Department of Transportation in the enforcement of the closing, or restriction of use, of any state highway.

Existing law prescribes those traffic signs, signals, and markings that are required or authorized to be installed by the Department of Transportation or a local jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes the department and local jurisdictions to erect stop signs, as specified.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions and delete an absolete provision.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 21350 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

21350.

 (a) The Department of Transportation shall place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, with respect to for highways under its jurisdiction, appropriate signs, signals, and other traffic control devices as required hereunder, and may place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, such appropriate signs, signals, or other traffic control devices as may be authorized hereunder, or as may be necessary properly to properly indicate and to carry out the provisions of this code, or to warn or guide traffic upon the highways. The Department of Transportation may, with the consent of the local authorities, also place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, in or along city streets and county roads, appropriate signs, signals, and other traffic control devices, or may perform, or cause to be performed, such other work on city streets and county roads, as may be necessary or desirable to control, or direct traffic, or to facilitate traffic flow, to or from or on state highways.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), or any other law, the Department of Transportation or persons contracting with the department for the construction, maintenance, or repair of a highway shall not use flares as a temporary traffic control device.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the Department of the California Highway Patrol’s use of flares when cooperating with the Department of Transportation pursuant to Section 127 of the Streets and Highways Code.

(c) As used in this section, “flare” means a pyrotechnic device designed and intended by the manufacturer to be used as an emergency signaling device.

SECTION 1.Section 21355 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

21355.

(a)Stop signs erected under Section 21350, 21351, 21352, or 21354 may be erected either at or near the entrance to an intersection.

(b)The Department of Transportation and local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may erect stop signs at any location so as to control traffic within an intersection.

(c)When a required stop is to apply at the entrance to an intersection from a one-way street with a roadway of 30 feet or more in width, stop signs shall be erected both on the left and the right sides of the one-way street at or near the entrance to the intersection.

(d)Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, stop signs shall not be erected at any entrance to an intersection controlled by official traffic control signals, nor at any railroad grade crossing which is controlled by automatic signals, gates, or other train-actuated control devices except where a stop sign may be necessary to control traffic on intersecting highways adjacent to the grade crossing or when a local authority determines, with the approval of the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Section 21110, that a railroad grade crossing under its jurisdiction presents a danger warranting a stop sign in addition to a train-activated control device.