Transportation.

(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. Existing law exempts certain activities from CEQA, including a project for the institution or increase of passenger or commuter services on rail or highway rights-of-way already in use, including modernization of existing stations and parking facilities. This bill would define the term "highway" for these purposes. (2) Existing law requires that on July 1 of each succeeding year, the prepayment rate of the retail sales tax per gallon for aircraft jet fuel, rounded to the nearest $0.005, be established by the State Board of Equalization based upon 80% of the combined state and local sales tax rate, as specified, on the arithmetic average selling price, excluding sales and state excise taxes, as determined by the board. Existing law requires the board to make its determination of the rate no later than March 1 of the year prior to the effective date of the new rate. Existing law requires that immediately upon making its determination and setting of the rate, the board must each year, no later than May 1, notify every supplier, wholesaler, and retailer of aircraft jet fuel. Existing law permits the board to readjust the rate in the event the price of aircraft jet fuel decreases or increases, and the established rate results in prepayments that consistently exceed or are significantly lower than the retailers' sales tax liability. This bill would revise the provision that requires the board to make its determination of the rate no later than March 1 of the year prior to the effective date of the new rate, and instead would require this determination to be made no later than March 1 of the same year as the effective date of the new rate. The bill would make other conforming changes. (3) Existing law gives the Department of Transportation full possession and control of all state highways. Existing law describes the authorized routes in the state highway system and establishes a process for adoption of a highway on an authorized route by the California Transportation Commission. Existing law authorizes the commission to relinquish certain state highway segments to local agencies. This bill would authorize the commission to relinquish portions of State Highway Routes 68, 74, and 86 to local agencies under certain conditions. This bill would also authorize the commission to relinquish a portion of State Highway Route 25 in the City of Hollister to that city prior to relocation of that route to a proposed new easterly bypass alignment, under certain conditions, and would thereafter require the commission to adopt the new bypass alignment into the state highway system, as specified. This bill would revise the descriptions of certain authorized state highway routes to reflect implementation of previously authorized relinquishments. This bill would repeal an existing requirement that the City of Auburn ensure the continuity of traffic flow, including any traffic signal progression, on a former portion of State Highway Route 49 previously relinquished to it. The bill would make other related changes. (4) Existing law defines "bikeway" for certain purposes to mean all facilities that provide primarily for bicycle travel. Existing law categorizes bikeways into 3 classes of facilities. This bill would make various modifications to these provisions. (5) Existing law defines the terms "logging dolly," "logging vehicle," "station wagon," and "schoolbus accident" for purposes of the Vehicle Code. This bill would renumber certain of these provisions and revise the definitions of logging dolly, station wagon, and schoolbus accident. (6) Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue various specialized license plates, including license plates commemorating the Olympics. Existing law also provides for the issuance of substitute or duplicate Olympic license plates under certain conditions, and for issuance of Olympic plates as environmental license plates with a special series of letters or numbers. Existing law allows an existing holder of Olympic license plates to renew them or transfer them to another vehicle. This bill would provide that substitute or duplicate Olympic license plates shall not be available beginning on January 1, 2014. The bill would provide for the department to issue regular series plates whenever holders of Olympic plates request substitute or duplicate plates, and, in that regard, would also authorize holders of Olympic plates issued as environmental license plates to apply for other special license plates to be issued with the same combination of letters or numbers as appear on their Olympic plates. The bill would make other conforming changes. (7) Existing law provides for certain revenues derived from Olympic license plates to be deposited in the California Olympic Training Account in the General Fund. Existing law requires the Controller to annually transfer the moneys in that account to the General Fund. This bill would instead provide for deposit of those revenues directly into the General Fund. (8) Existing law also authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue specialized license plates for veterans' associations and to fund child health and safety programs. Existing law requires payment of an additional specified charge for personalization of these plates. This bill would provide that these specialized license plates are not subject to the payment of another charge generally applicable to personalization of license plates. (9) Existing law prohibits a person from employing, hiring, knowingly permitting, or authorizing any person to drive a motor vehicle owned by him or her or under his or her control upon the highways unless that person is licensed for the appropriate class of vehicle to be driven. Existing law requires that whenever a person fails to qualify, on reexamination, to operate a commercial motor vehicle, an employer shall report that failure to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days. Existing law requires that, until January 30, 2014, if a driver has no medical certification status information in the Commercial Driver License Information System motor vehicle record obtained from the driver's state licensing agency, the employing motor carrier may accept as proof of medical certification a medical examiner's certificate issued to that driver prior to January 30, 2012. Existing law, operative January 1, 2014, requires an employer to obtain from a driver required to have a commercial driver's license or commercial endorsement a copy of the driver's medical certification before allowing the driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Existing law requires the employer to retain the certification as part of a driver qualification file. This bill would change the provision with an operative date of January 1, 2014, to instead become operative on January 30, 2014. (10) Existing law allows an individual convicted of a traffic offense to attend a traffic violator school course under certain circumstances. Completion of the course results in confidentiality of the conviction on the driving record, except in the case of an individual with a commercial driver's license, in which case completion of the course results in a nonconfidential conviction with no violation points on the driving record. Existing law requires the courts, in a courtesy notice sent to a driver with a traffic citation, to include specified information on the effect on the driving record of attending a traffic violator school course. This bill would revise the text of the required courtesy notice to reflect the distinction between noncommercial and commercial driver's licenses.