Vehicles: brokers of construction trucking services: surety bonds.

(1) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to regulate the safe operation of specified vehicles, including commercial motor vehicles and trailer and semitrailer commercial vehicle combinations owned and operated by motor carriers. Existing law also requires every motor carrier of property to comply with specified safety, permit, and liability insurance regulations and to pay the fees required by these provisions. Existing law prohibits a broker of construction trucking services, as defined, from furnishing construction transportation services to a construction project unless it has secured a surety bond of not less than $15,000 executed by an admitted surety insurer. This bill would require a broker of construction trucking services to annually provide written evidence of the broker's valid surety bond to a 3rd-party nonprofit organization that is related to the industry and regularly maintains a published database of bonded brokers or to post a current copy of the surety bond on the broker's Internet Web site. The bill would also prohibit a 3rd-party nonprofit organization from charging a broker for posting evidence of a valid surety bond or from limiting the posting of the bond only to the organization's members. The bill also would prohibit a broker of construction trucking services from hiring, or otherwise engaging the services of, a motor carrier of property to furnish construction transportation services unless the broker provides, prior to the commencement of work each calendar year, written evidence of the broker's valid surety bond to any person that hires, or otherwise engages the services of, the broker to furnish construction transportation services and also to the hired motor carrier of property. Because a violation of these provisions would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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.