Vehicles: motor carriers.

Existing law, the Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act, prohibits a motor carrier of property, as defined, from operating a commercial motor vehicle on any public highway in the state, unless it has obtained a carrier identification number in accordance with specified provisions, has registered the identification number with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and holds a valid motor carrier permit issued to that motor carrier by the department. Existing law specifies that a "commercial motor vehicle" does not include certain vehicles, including a pickup truck, as defined, that meets specified conditions. A person or corporation who violates the act is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $2,500, imprisonment in county jail for not more than 3 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would change the definition of a pickup truck, for purposes of the Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act, to include a motor truck with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less than 16,000 pounds that is equipped with an open box-type bed not exceeding 9 feet in length that may be equipped with a bed-mounted storage compartment unit commonly called a "utility body."