Charter-party carriers of passengers: driver background checks.

The Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Transportation, administered by the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security, is responsible for carrying out measures to ensure aviation security, including hiring, training, and retention of personnel for the security screening of passengers and baggage and conducting background checks for individuals with access to secure areas of airports regularly serving an air carrier holding a certificate issued by the Secretary of Transportation. Individuals with specified criminal backgrounds or other factors as determined by the under secretary, are disqualified from employment with an air carrier or airport operator, where they will have access to secured areas. The under secretary is required to adopt measures to improve secured-area access control, including working with airport operators to strengthen access control points in secured areas, including air traffic control operations areas, maintenance areas, crew lounges, baggage handling areas, concessions, and catering delivery areas. The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities, and authorizes the Legislature, unlimited by the other provisions of the California Constitution, to confer additional authority and jurisdiction upon the commission, that is cognate and germane to the regulation of public utilities. Charter-party carriers of passengers are subject to the jurisdiction and control of the commission under the Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act. The act requires a charter-party carrier of passengers to obtain from the commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity require the operation or a permit issued by the commission, and to operate within the state on a prearranged basis, as defined. The act prohibits the commission from issuing or renewing a permit unless the applicant has met specified requirements, including the submission of specified filing fees. Existing law prohibits the governing body of any airport from imposing any vehicle safety, licensing, or insurance requirements on charter-party carriers operating limousines that are more burdensome than those imposed by the commission, but authorizes the governing board to require a charter-party carrier operating limousines to obtain an airport permit for operating authority at the airport, and to adopt and enforce reasonable and nondiscriminatory local airport rules, regulations, and ordinances pertaining to access, use of streets and roads, parking, traffic control, passenger transfers, trip fees, and occupancy, and the use of buildings and facilities, that are applicable to charter-party carriers operating limousines on airport property. This bill would require the commission to adopt rules for criminal history background checks of drivers, or applicants to be a driver, for a charter-party carrier of passengers that provides passenger transportation to and from any airport regularly serving an air carrier holding a certificate issued by the United States Secretary of Transportation (commercial airport) and would disqualify persons convicted of specified crimes from being drivers. The bill would require that the rules adopted by the commission do the following: (1) require that each driver, and each applicant who is offered employment as a driver, of a charter-party carrier providing passenger transportation to and from a commercial airport submit fingerprints and other pertinent information for the purpose of obtaining criminal history information, (2) require that a charter-party carrier of passengers only employ as drivers those individuals that have successfully completed the criminal history background investigation, (3) require the charter-party carrier of passengers provide an identification credential to each employee, or applicant that becomes an employee, that successfully completes the criminal background investigation process, and (4) require all drivers that are employed by a charter-party carrier of passengers to carry identification credentials at all times on airport property. The bill would require any applicant for certification or a permit to operate as a charter-party carrier of passengers to certify that its drivers have successfully completed a criminal history background check and have been issued an identification credential in accordance with the above-described requirements. The bill would prohibit the governing body of any airport from imposing requirements on charter-party carriers providing transportation to and from the airport regarding criminal background checks on drivers, but would authorize the governing body to request a list of all drivers to whom identification credentials have been issued. Under existing law, a violation of the Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act or an order or direction of the commission pursuant to the act is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.