Bill Text: CA SB1534 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Vehicles: video event recorders: taxicabs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-14 - Re-referred to Com. on JUD. [SB1534 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB1534-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1534	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 15, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 1, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Harman

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend  Section 53075.5 of the Government Code, and
to amend  Section 26708 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1534, as amended, Harman. Vehicles: video event recorders.
   Existing law prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle with
an object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or
applied upon the windshield or side or rear windows, or upon the
vehicle that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the
windshield or side windows. Existing law provides that the above
prohibition does not apply to, among other things, a video event
recorder with the capability of monitoring driver performance to
improve driver safety. 
   Existing law requires a city or county to protect the public
health, safety, and welfare by adopting an ordinance or resolution
with regard to taxicab transportation service rendered in vehicles
that are operated within the jurisdiction of the city or county.

   This bill would additionally exempt from that prohibition a video
recorder that is installed  , as specified,  in a licenced
taxicab  for purposes of routine video monitoring, as defined
  pursuant to a city or county ordinance or resolution
if certain requirements are met  .
   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 53075.5 of the   
 Government Code   is amended to read: 
   53075.5.  (a) Notwithstanding Chapter 8 (commencing with Section
5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code,  every
  a  city or county shall protect the public
health, safety, and welfare by adopting an ordinance or resolution
 in   with  regard to taxicab
transportation service rendered in vehicles designed for carrying not
more than eight persons, excluding the driver,  which is
  that are  operated within the jurisdiction of the
city or county.
   (b)  Each   A  city or county shall
provide for, but is not limited to providing for,  all of 
the following:
   (1) A policy for entry into the business of providing taxicab
transportation service. The policy shall include, but need not be
limited to, all of the following provisions:
   (A) Employment, or an offer of employment, as a taxicab driver in
the jurisdiction, including compliance with all of the requirements
of the program adopted pursuant to paragraph (3), shall be a
condition of issuance of a driver's permit.
   (B) The driver's permit shall become void upon termination of
employment.
   (C) The driver's permit shall state the name of the employer.
   (D) The employer shall notify the city or county upon termination
of employment.
   (E) The driver shall return the permit to the city or county upon
termination of employment.
   (2) The establishment or registration of rates for the provision
of taxicab transportation service.
   (3) (A) A mandatory controlled substance and alcohol testing
certification program. The program shall include, but need not be
limited to, all of the following requirements:
   (i) Drivers shall test negative for each of the controlled
substances specified in Part 40 (commencing with Section 40.1) of
Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations,  before
  prior to  employment. Drivers shall test negative
for these controlled substances and for alcohol as a condition of
permit renewal or, if no periodic permit renewals are required, at
 such other times as   any other time that 
the city or county shall designate. As used in this section, a
negative test for alcohol means an alcohol screening test showing a
breath alcohol concentration of less than 0.02 percent.
   (ii) Procedures shall be substantially  the same  as 
those  in Part 40 (commencing with Section 40.1) of Title 49 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, except that the driver shall show a
valid California driver's license at the time and place of testing,
and except as provided otherwise in this section. Requirements for
rehabilitation and for return-to-duty and followup testing and other
requirements, except as provided otherwise in this section, shall be
substantially  the same  as  those  in Part 382
(commencing with Section 382.101) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
   (iii) A test in one jurisdiction shall be accepted as meeting the
same requirement in any other jurisdiction. Any negative test result
shall be accepted for one year as meeting a requirement for periodic
permit renewal testing or any other periodic testing in that
jurisdiction or any other jurisdiction, if the driver has not tested
positive subsequent to a negative result. However, an earlier
negative result shall not be accepted as meeting the pre-employment
testing requirement for any subsequent employment, or any testing
requirements under the program other than periodic testing.
   (iv) In the case of a self-employed independent driver, the test
results shall be reported directly to the city or county, which shall
notify the taxicab leasing company of record, if any, of positive
results. In all other cases, the results shall be reported directly
to the employing transportation operator, who may be required to
notify the city or county of positive results.
   (v) All test results are confidential and shall not be released
without the consent of the driver, except as authorized or required
by law.
   (vi) Self-employed independent drivers shall be responsible for
compliance with, and shall pay all costs of, this program with regard
to themselves. Employing transportation operators shall be
responsible for compliance with, and shall pay all costs of, this
program with respect to their employees and potential employees,
except that an operator may require employees who test positive to
pay the costs of rehabilitation and of return-to-duty and followup
testing.
   (vii) Upon the request of a driver applying for a permit, the city
or county shall give the driver a list of the consortia certified
pursuant to Part 382 (commencing with Section 382.101) of Title 49 of
the Code of Federal Regulations that the city or county knows offer
tests in or near the jurisdiction.
   (B) No evidence derived from a positive test result pursuant to
the program shall be admissible in a criminal prosecution concerning
unlawful possession, sale  ,  or distribution of controlled
substances. 
   (c) The ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to subdivision
(a) may require the placement of video recorders in taxicabs that
meet the requirements of paragraph (14) of subdivision (b) of Section
26708 of the Vehicle Code if all of the following requirements are
met:  
   (1) The video recorder does not record audio.  
   (2) Only law enforcement agency personnel, as part of a criminal
investigation or for other public safety purposes, may review the
resulting video recordings.  
   (3) An employee or independent contractor driver shall be able to
disable the video recorder in the taxicab that he or she is operating
and shall be able to request and receive, free of charge, copies of
recordings made during his or her operation of that taxicab.

   (4) A taxicab in which video recording occurs shall have posted,
in at least two conspicuous locations, one on the inside and the
other on the outside of the vehicle, a notice to the passenger that
he or she is being video recorded.  
   (5) Video recordings that are not part of an on-going criminal
investigation shall be destroyed within 90 days of the date that a
recording was made.  
   (c) Each 
    (d)     A  city or county may levy
service charges, fees, or assessments in an amount sufficient to pay
for the costs of carrying out an ordinance or resolution adopted
 in   with  regard to taxicab
transportation services pursuant to this section. 
   (d) Nothing in this 
    (e)     This  section 
prohibits   does not prohibit  a city or county
from adopting additional requirements for a taxicab to operate in its
jurisdiction. 
   (e) 
    (f)  For purposes of this section, "employment" includes
self-employment as an independent driver.
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 26708 of
the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
   26708.  (a) (1) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle with an
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
   (2) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle with an object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon
the vehicle that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view
through the windshield or side windows.
   (3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.
   (b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
   (1) Rearview mirrors.
   (2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors that are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.
   (3) Signs, stickers, or other materials that are displayed in a
seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest
removed from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials that are
displayed in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the rear
window farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other
materials that are displayed in a five-inch square in the lower
corner of the windshield nearest the driver.
   (4) Side windows that are to the rear of the driver.
   (5) Direction, destination, or terminus signs upon a passenger
common carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not
interfere with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.
   (6) Rear window wiper motor.
   (7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.
   (8) The rear window or windows, if the motor vehicle is equipped
with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the
vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the
highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to
the rear of the vehicle.
   (9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite
the driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and that
occupies an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner
toward the rear of that window and that provides the driver with a
wide-angle view through the lens.
   (10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section
26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's
front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in
his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed
physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from
the sun due to a medical condition, or has in his or her possession
a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist
certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a
visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not
be used during darkness.
   (11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that
is not greater than five inches square, if the device provides
either of the following:
   (A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped
with the device.
   (B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on
public or private roads or facilities.
   (12) A portable Global Positioning System (GPS), which may be
mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield
farthest removed from the driver or in a five-inch square in the
lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of
an airbag deployment zone, if the system is used only for
door-to-door navigation while the motor vehicle is being operated.
   (13) (A) A video event recorder with the capability of monitoring
driver performance to improve driver safety, which may be mounted in
a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest
removed from the driver, in a five-inch square in the lower corner of
the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag
deployment zone, or in a five-inch square mounted to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of the windshield. As used in this
section, "video event recorder" means a video recorder that
continuously records in a digital loop, recording audio, video, and
G-force levels, but saves video only when triggered by an unusual
motion or crash or when operated by the driver to monitor driver
performance.
   (B) A vehicle equipped with a video event recorder shall have a
notice posted in a visible location which states that a passenger's
conversation may be recorded.
   (C) Video event recorders shall store no more than 30 seconds
before and after a triggering event.
   (D) The registered owner or lessee of the vehicle may disable the
device.
   (E) The data recorded to the device is the property of the
registered owner or lessee of the vehicle.
   (F) When a person is driving for hire as an employee in a vehicle
with a video event recorder, the person's employer shall provide
unedited copies of the recordings upon the request of the employee or
the employee's representative. These copies shall be provided free
of charge to the employee and within five days of the request.
   (14)  (A)    A video recorder
that is installed in a licenced taxicab  for purposes of
routine video monitoring.   pursuant to subdivision (c)
of Section 53075.5 of the Government Code, and shall be mounted in
any of   the following locations: 
    (A)     In a seven-inch square in the lower
corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver. 
    (B)     In a five-inch square in the lower
corn   er of the windshield nearest to the driver and
outside of an airbag deployment zone.  
   (C) In a five-inch square mounted to the center uppermost portion
of the interior of the windshield.  
   (B) For purposes of this paragraph the following definitions shall
apply:  
   (i) "Routine video monitoring" has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 53160 of the Government Code, but with
regard to a taxicab, instead of a special district. 

   (ii) "Video recorder" means a device that continuously records, in
a digital loop, audio and video. 
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be
installed, affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the
windshield if the following conditions apply:
   (1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above
the undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point five inches
in front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its
rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.
   (2) The material is not red or amber in color.
   (3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other
lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through
the windshield.
   (4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into
the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any
greater extent than the windshield without the material.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and
transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the
front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the
front seat if the following conditions are met:
   (1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88
percent.
   (2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49
C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance
of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as
specified in that federal standard.
   (3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the
ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful
ultraviolet A rays.
   (4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the
vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying
that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of
this subdivision and the certificate identifies the installing
company and the material's manufacturer by full name and street
address, or, if the material was installed by the vehicle owner, a
certificate signed by the material's manufacturer certifying that the
windows with the material installed according to manufacturer's
instructions meet the requirements of this subdivision and the
certificate identifies the material's manufacturer by full name and
street address.
   (5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or
bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be
removed or replaced.