Transportation: omnibus bill.

(1) Existing law authorizes the Treasurer and the California Transportation Commission to pledge amounts deposited in the State Highway Account from federal transportation funds for the purposes of issuing federal highway grant anticipation notes, commonly known as GARVEE bonds, to fund transportation projects selected by the commission. Existing law requires the commission to prepare an annual analysis of the bonding capacity of those federal transportation funds. This bill would instead require the commission to prepare this analysis when the Department of Transportation anticipates the issuance of new notes and makes a written request in that regard, but not more than once annually. (2) Existing law defines "motor carrier" for purposes of the Vehicle Code as the registered owner, lessee, licensee, or bailee of specified vehicles who operates or directs the operation of the vehicle on either a for-hire or not-for-hire basis. This bill would include within that definition a motor carrier's agents, officers, and representatives, as well as employees responsible for the hiring, supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching of drivers and employees concerned with the installation, inspection, and maintenance of motor vehicle equipment or accessories. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish the California Legacy License Plate Program, under which license plates that replicate the license plates from the state's past are issued for an additional fee. Existing law requires the department to deposit this additional revenue, after it deducts its administrative costs, into the Environmental License Plate Fund. This bill would specify that the department's administrative costs include the costs of including the California Legacy License Plates in existing materials that promote special license plates. (4) Existing law authorizes the issuance of commemorative 1984 Olympic reflectorized license plates in lieu of regular license plates, as specified. Existing law requires that the issue, renewal, cancellation, retention, and transfer of the Olympic plates be subject to specified provisions as if they were environmental license plates, including, among others, provisions that impose a $48 registration fee and a $38 renewal fee for the issuance of the plates. This bill would repeal the provisions that require the Olympic plates to be subject to the environmental license plates provisions described above. (5) Existing law authorizes certain tow truck drivers to utilize the center median or right shoulder of a roadway in the event of an emergency that requires the rapid removal of impediments to traffic or rendering of assistance to a disabled vehicle obstructing a roadway, if specified conditions are met. This bill would additionally give this authority to a tow truck driver who renders towing service or emergency road service to motorists while involved in freeway service patrol operations, pursuant to an agreement with a regional or local entity. (6) Existing law requires a vehicle stopped or parked upon a roadway where there are adjacent curbs to be stopped or parked with the wheels of the vehicle parallel to, and within 18 inches of, the curb, as provided, except as specified. This bill would additionally apply these provisions to vehicles stopped or parked upon a roadway where there are adjacent class IV bikeways, as defined. (7) Existing law requires that every vehicle be equipped with stoplamps that emit red light unless the vehicle was manufactured before January 1, 1979, in which case it may emit a red or yellow light. This bill would prohibit commercial vehicles from being equipped with amber stoplamps, amber taillamps, or other amber lamps that are optically combined with a stoplamp or taillamp. (8) Existing law authorizes a trailer and semitrailer having an overall width of 80 inches or more and manufactured prior to December 1, 1993, to be equipped with a conspicuity system specified in federal law. This bill would instead require that those trailers and semitrailers having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds be equipped with retroreflective sheeting and reflex reflectors, in accordance with federal law. (9) Existing law requires a driver of a truck tractor or vehicle with a width of 80 inches or more to place red emergency reflectors within a specified distance of the vehicle when the vehicle is disabled or parked off the roadway during darkness. Existing law authorizes the driver to use lighted red fusees or turn signal lamps until the reflectors can be placed properly. This bill would additionally authorize those drivers to place liquid-burning flares by the vehicle, but would prohibit the use of these flares if the vehicle transports flammable materials, as specified. (10) Existing law prescribes maximum stopping distances and sets forth requirements for emergency brake systems and service brake systems for specified vehicles. This bill would revise and reorganize those maximum stopping distances and standards for emergency brake systems and service brake systems. (11) Existing law requires any vehicle transporting any explosive, blasting agent, flammable liquid, flammable solid, oxidizing material, corrosive, compressed gas, poison, radioactive material, or other hazardous materials, of the type and in quantities that require the display of placards or markings on the vehicle exterior by regulations of the United States Department of Transportation, to display those placards and markings as prescribed by those regulations. This bill would prohibit a vehicle from displaying hazardous materials markings or placards unless permitted or required by specified federal regulations. (12) Existing law requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol to regulate the safe operation of trailers and semitrailers, among other vehicles, that are used in specified combinations, but only for matters relating to hours of service and logbooks of drivers. This bill would expand this requirement to include the regulation of the safe operation of trailers and semitrailers, among other vehicles, that are used in combination with any motortruck regulated by the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Public Utilities Commission, or the United States Secretary of Transportation. (13) Existing law generally prohibits a combination of vehicles coupled together, including attachments, from exceeding a total length of 65 feet, subject to specified exceptions. This bill would prohibit a driveaway-towaway combination, as defined, from exceeding 97 feet in length when transporting up to 3 saddle-mounted vehicles and one full-mounted vehicle. (14) Under existing law, a violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. Because this bill would impose new requirements and prohibitions, a violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (15) This bill would delete obsolete provisions and make other technical, clarifying, and organizational changes. (16) 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.