Farm vehicles: registration exemptions.

Existing law exempts specified farm vehicles from registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles if the vehicles have, and display, an identification plate, including a cotton module mover and a vehicle equipped with a water tank that is owned by a farmer and used exclusively to service his or her own implements of husbandry. Existing law exempts a person driving or operating an implement of husbandry over a highway from obtaining a driver's license, except under specified circumstances. This bill would, until January 1, 2020, establish a pilot program in specified counties to evaluate an exemption from vehicle registration for specified farm vehicles. The bill would require applicants to meet specified requirements before participating in the pilot program. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol to submit a report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2018, regarding the pilot program. The bill would require vehicles participating in the program to remain subject to specified fees and requirements. The bill would prohibit a person from operating a vehicle pursuant to the pilot program unless the person has in his or her possession a valid driver's license for the applicable vehicle type. A violation of these provisions would be punishable as an infraction. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 34501.12 of the Vehicle Code proposed by AB 1960, that would become operative only if this bill and AB 1960 are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last. 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.