Vehicles: driver's license requirements: farming exemption.

(1) Existing law provides that a person with a class C license may operate a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles of 26,000 pounds or less when it is operated by a farmer, an employee of a farmer, or an instructor credentialed in agriculture as part of a specified instructional program, it is used exclusively in the conduct of agricultural operations, and it is not used in the capacity of a for-hire carrier or for compensation. This bill would additionally authorize a class C licenseholder to operate, until January 1, 2018, a combination of vehicles with a specified gross combination weight rating and gross vehicle weight rating that meets specified operating conditions, including being operated by a farmer or an employee of a farmer and being operated within 150 miles of a farm. (2) Existing law excludes certain vehicles from the definition of a commercial motor vehicle for purposes of the Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act. This bill would exclude, from that act, until January 1, 2018, a pickup truck, as defined, or a vehicle that has a flatbed of less than 9 feet and meets certain conditions regarding its weight rating and operation. The bill would also exclude until January 1, 2018, a combination of vehicles with a specified weight rating that meets certain conditions regarding the weight rating and operation of those vehicles. (3) The bill would require the Department of the California Highway Patrol to submit a report, by January 1, 2017, to the Legislature, that evaluates the exemptions provided by the bill and recommends as to whether those exemptions should be continued. The bill would repeal the report requirement on January 1, 2021.