Bill Text: CA AB652 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Vehicles: vehicle length limitation.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 369, Statutes of 2009. [AB652 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB652-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 652	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 15, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 27, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 29, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2009

   An act to add Section 35400.7 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 652, as amended, Skinner. Vehicles: vehicle length limitation.
   Existing law imposes a 40-foot limitation on the length of
vehicles that may be operated on the highways, with specified
exemptions. Existing law exempts from this limitation an articulated
bus or trolley and a bus, except a school bus, that is operated by a
public agency or passenger stage corporation that is used in a
transit system if it is equipped with a folding device attached to
the front of the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment, and does not extend more than
36 inches from the front of the body of the bus or trolley when
fully deployed. In addition, existing law prohibits a bicycle that is
transported on the above-described device from having the bicycle
handlebars extend more than 42 inches from the front of the vehicle.
   This bill would authorize the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
District to install folding devices attached to the front of its
buses that are designed and used exclusively for transporting
bicycles as long as those devices meet certain requirements,
including, but not limited to, extending not more than 40 inches from
the front of the bus when fully deployed, and that the handlebars of
the bicycles being transported extend not more than 46 inches from
the front of the bus. The bill would require that if Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit District installs the bicycle racks, it would be
required to report to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and
the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing on or before
December 31, 2014, regarding safety issues and mobility improvements.

   This bill would also require the district, prior to installing a
folding device on a bus that is 45 feet in length, to establish a
route review committee, as specified, in order to determine, by
unanimous vote  of the voting members  , which routes
proposed by the district are suitable for the safe operation of a
45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack.
   The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 35400.7 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
   35400.7.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 35400, the Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit District created pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with
Section 24501) of Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code may
install a folding device attached to the front of a bus that is
designed and used exclusively for transporting bicycles if the
following conditions are met:
   (1) The device does not extend more than 40 inches from the front
body of the bus when fully deployed.
   (2) The device, including all bicycles transported thereon, is
mounted in a manner that does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment.
   (3) The handlebars of a bicycle that is transported on a device
described in this subdivision does not extend more than 46 inches
from the front of the bus.
   (b) (1) The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall establish
a route review committee prior to the installation of the initial
folding device, pursuant to subdivision (a), on a bus that is 45 feet
in length. The purpose of the committee is to ensure the safe
operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
   (2) The committee established pursuant to this subdivision shall
perform an initial review of the routes on which the district
proposes to operate a 45-foot bus equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack. The review shall include a field review of the proposed
routes.
   (3) By unanimous vote of all  the   voting
 members, the committee shall make a determination of the routes
that are suitable for the safe operation of a 45-foot bus that is
equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack.
   (4) The members of the committee shall be selected not more than
30 days after receipt of the district proposal to equip a 45-foot bus
with a front-mounted bicycle rack and shall be comprised of the
following members:
   (A) One member from the district who shall be appointed by the
district's general manager  and who shall be a voting member of
the committee  .
   (B) One member who is a traffic engineer  who is 
 ,  employed and selected by the district  and who
shall be a voting member of the committee  .
   (C) One member appointed by the labor organization that is the
exclusive representative of the bus drivers of the district. If there
is no exclusive representative of the bus drivers, a bus driver
member shall be chosen by a majority vote of the bus drivers employed
by the district.  This member shall be a voting member of the
committee.  
   (D) One member appointed by the governing board who shall be a
representative of the bicycling community and who shall reside in the
district. This member shall be a nonvoting member of the committee.

   (c) If a folding device is installed pursuant to subdivision (a),
the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall submit a report to
the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on
Transportation and Housing on or before December 31, 2014. The report
shall include a summary of any incidents where the size of the
folding devices was a factor, and a summary of the mobility
improvements these folding devices provide.
  SEC. 2.  Due to the unique circumstances of a large number of
bicycle riders using buses operated by the Alameda-Contra Costa
Transit District and the need to determine whether there are safety
considerations in having 40-inch bicycle racks on the front of its
buses, it is necessary that, and the Legislature finds and declares
that, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning
of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.