Vehicles: motor carriers: inspection of terminals program.

Existing law establishes the Biennial Inspection of Terminals Program (BIT) to ensure the safe operation of certain vehicles by a motor carrier through the inspection of these vehicles at the motor carrier's terminal by the Department of the California Highway Patrol. Existing law defines a motor carrier, for this purpose, as the registered owner of, and in some cases the lessee or person exclusively authorizing and directing the operation of, specified vehicles. Existing law requires, within 30 days of establishing a terminal, a motor carrier to schedule an inspection by submitting to the department an application for a terminal inspection accompanied by the payment of a fee the amount of which is based on the number of vehicles in a terminal or the "terminal fleet size." Existing law requires the department to inspect every terminal at least once every 25 months and defines a terminal as the location or locations designated by the motor carrier where subject vehicles and specific records are available for inspection. This bill would revise and recast these provisions as the Basic Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program. The bill would define motor carrier for this purpose as the registered owner, lessee, licensee, or bailee of specified vehicles. The bill would make it unlawful to operate a new terminal unless an inspection is conducted within the first 18 months of operation. The bill would instead authorize the department to conduct terminal inspections at any time. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2015, to implement a performance-based truck terminal inspection priority system similar to that used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that would require the department to place an inspection priority on motor carrier terminals never previously inspected by the department. Nonpriority terminals would not be required to be inspected less than 4 years since their last inspection. The bill would require a motor carrier to make vehicles and records available for inspection upon request by the department and to pay a carrier inspection fee, the amount to be based on the size of the motor carrier's fleet. The bill would impose a penalty for failure to pay the fee. The bill would make other technical and conforming changes to the BIT program.