BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2591
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 24, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
AB 2591 (Leno) - As Amended: May 17, 2004
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:9-0
Transportation 8-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill modifies Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and local
processes for regulating for-hire limousine services and
taxicabs. Specifically, this bill:
1)Allows cities and counties to impose rules governing the
inspection of "waybills" for limousine services to verify that
transport of passengers is carried out under a prearranged
basis between the service and the passengers.
2)Requires the PUC, to better ensure limousines services are
operating solely on prearranged bases, to require a limousine
service to include, on its waybill or trip report, information
on the traveling party, on the party's point of origin and
destination, and on whether transport was arranged by
telephone or written contract.
3)Allows a peace officer to impound and retain possession of a
taxicab whenever the officer arrests the taxicab operator for
violating a city or county ordinance.
4)Eliminates the schedule, based on the number of prior
convictions, for determining the maximum penalty to be imposed
by a court on a person operating a limousines service or
taxicab without a valid certificate or permit and leaves the
penalty, up to a maximum of $5,000, up to the court.
5)Allows the PUC to impose a maximum $5,000 fine on any person
who operates a taxicab without a valid permit or certificate
issued by a city or county. ( Current law allows the PUC to
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impose the maximum $5,000 fine on limousine services only.)
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor costs, probably less than $120,000 in FY 2004-05, to the
PUC to adopt regulations implementing limousine waybill/trip
report information requirement. These costs are covered by
revenue generated by fees imposed on limousine services and
other charter-party carriers. (PUC Transportation
Reimbursement Account)
2)Moderate potential penalty revenue to the extent the PUC
imposes fines on taxicab operators who operate without a valid
certificate or permit. (GF)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill, sponsored by the United Taxicab Workers
(UTW), a San Francisco labor organization, is primarily
intended to address a competition problem with limousine
services that violate their operating certificates and
permits. The UTW is particularly concerned about limousine
services that act like taxicab services, a violation of
provisions that limit limousine transport of passengers to
prearranged trips.
In an effort to achieve more consistency in local and PUC
regulation of passenger transport, this bill also authorizes
penalties and other potential sanctions against taxicab
operators that are currently imposed on limousine services.
2)Background . Limousine services, classified in statute as
"charter-party carriers of passengers," are allowed to
transport passengers for hire only to the extent that
transport was prearranged with the service by the passengers.
Prearrangement generally involves a reservation of limousine
services by phone or in person by a written contract.
Limousine services are precluded from picking up passengers on
a spontaneous basis, as taxicab operators are allowed to do.
This bill addresses this situation by allowing cities and
counties to require limousine services to maintain waybills
that show that a passenger is in a limousine under prearranged
conditions and by requiring the PUC to mandate that
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information.
Analysis Prepared by : Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)
319-2081