Transportation network companies: driver requirements and identification.

(1) The Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act, with certain exceptions, prohibits a charter-party carrier of passengers from engaging in transportation services subject to regulation by the Public Utilities Commission without obtaining a specified certificate or permit, as appropriate, from the commission and imposes various other requirements. The act defines a transportation network company as an organization, whether a corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, or other form, operating in California that provides prearranged transportation services for compensation using an online-enabled platform to connect passengers with drivers using their personal vehicles. The act also defines a participating driver or driver as any person who uses a vehicle in connection with a transportation network company's online-enabled application or platform to connect with passengers. Existing law also provides that a violation of the act is a crime. This bill would require a participating driver to possess either a valid driver's license issued by the State of California or, in the case of a nonresident active duty military member or a nonresident dependent of an active duty military member, a valid driver's license issued by the other state or territory of the United States in which the member or dependent is a resident. The bill would also require a transportation network company to comply with specified provisions of the act, obtain and review the driving history report from the state or territory of the United States that issued the individual's driver's license before permitting a nonresident active duty military member or a nonresident dependent of an active duty military member to act as a participating driver, and to ensure that the driver satisfies all requirements applicable to participating drivers, including, but not limited to, the regulations of the commission and the applicable requirements of the Vehicle Code. The bill would also require a transportation network company to notify all participating drivers of the applicability of the Vehicle Code and of the code's availability, including, in particular, specified sections of the code relating to the hands-free device laws, the "Three Feet for Safety Act," and the rules of the road relating to schoolbuses, to all participating drivers, either on the transportation network company's Internet Web site or on its application. By creating new crimes, 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.