Bill Text: CA SB273 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Farm vehicles: registration exemptions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-03 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB273 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB273-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 273 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Gaines
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
An act to amend Section 36101 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
farm vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 273, as introduced, Gaines. Farm vehicles: registration
exemptions.
Existing law exempts specified farm vehicles from registration if
they have and display an identification plate, including a cotton
module mover and a vehicle equipped with a water tank owned by a
farmer and used exclusively to service his or her own implements of
husbandry.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that
provision.
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 36101 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
36101. The following farm vehicles are exempt from registration,
if they have and display an identification plate as specified in
Section 5014, and the vehicles shall not be deemed to be implements
of husbandry and they shall be subject to all equipment and device
requirements as if registered:
(a) A motor vehicle of a size so as to require a permit under
Section 35780 owned and operated by a farmer, designed and used
exclusively for carrying, or returning empty from carrying, feed and
seed products of farming, and used on a highway between one part of a
farm to another part of that farm or from one farm to another farm.
(b) A vehicle equipped with a water tank owned by a farmer and
used exclusively to service his or her own implements of husbandry.
(c) A water tank truck that is owned by a farmer, not operated for
compensation, and used extensively in the conduct of agricultural
operations, when used exclusively (1) for sprinkling water on dirt
roads providing access to agricultural fields or (2) transportation
of water for irrigation of crops or trees.
(d) (1) A cotton module mover, as defined in Section 36012.
(2) In order to maintain the exemption from registration granted
under this subdivision for a truck tractor, when combined with a
semitrailer, the owner of that truck tractor shall not operate it
during the exemption period in any manner other than as a cotton
module mover, as defined in Section 36012, and shall do all of the
following:
(A) Register the vehicle with the department before operating it
as a commercial motor vehicle.
(B) Apply to the department on a yearly basis for any renewal of
the exemption from registration.
(3) Exemption from registration under this subdivision does not
exempt a truck tractor, when combined with a semitrailer, operating
as a cotton module mover pursuant to Section 36012 and
, nor does it exempt this subdivision from the
applicable safety requirements of this code or any regulation adopted
pursuant to any statute, including, but not limited to, equipment
standards, driver licensing requirements, maximum driving and on-duty
hours provisions, log book requirements, drug and alcohol testing,
maintenance of vehicles, and any driver or vehicle standards
specified in Division 14.8 (commencing with Section 34500).
(4) Truck tractors exempt from registration under this subdivision
are subject to the fees imposed under Sections 9250, 9250.8, and
9250.13, and to any other vehicle fees that are imposed by statute on
or after January 1, 1998, that are deposited in the Motor Vehicle
Account.
(e) A trailer that is equipped with a plenum chamber for the
drying of agricultural commodities.
(f) Except as provided in subdivision (j) of Section 36005, a trap
wagon, as defined in Section 36016, that is equipped with a fuel
tank or tanks. The fuel tank or tanks shall not exceed 3,000 gallons
total capacity.
(g) A forklift truck, operated by a farmer not for compensation.
For purposes of this section, a hay-squeeze shall be deemed a
forklift.
(h) A truck tractor or truck tractor and semitrailer combination
specified in this subdivision that is owned by a farmer and operated
on the highways only incidental to a farming operation and not for
compensation. This subdivision applies only to truck tractors with a
manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 pounds that
are equipped with all-wheel drive and off-highway traction tires on
all wheels, and only to semitrailers used in combination with that
truck tractor and exclusively in the production or harvesting of
melons. The vehicles specified in this subdivision shall not be
operated in excess of 25 miles per hour on the highways.
The Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol may, by
regulation, prohibit the vehicles specified in this subdivision from
operating on specific routes. These vehicles shall not be operated
laden on the highway for more than two miles from the point of origin
and shall not be operated for more than 30 miles unladen on the
highway from the point of origin. These vehicles shall not be
operated for more than 15 miles unladen on the highway from the point
of origin , unless accompanied by an escort
vehicle to the front , and an escort vehicle to
the rear.
(i) (1 ) A motor vehicle
specifically designed for, and used exclusively in, an agricultural
operation for purposes of carrying, or returning empty from carrying,
silage that is operated by a farmer, an employee of the farmer, or a
contracted employee of the farmer between one part of a farm to
another part of that farm or from one farm to another farm, on a
highway for a distance not to exceed 20 miles from the point of
origin of the trip. This subdivision does not include a vehicle that
is used for the transportation of silage for retail sales.
For
(2) For the purposes of this
subdivision, "silage" includes field corn, sorghum, grass, legumes,
cereals, or cereal mixes, either green or mature, converted into feed
for livestock.
