BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON Public Safety
Senator Bruce McPherson, Chair A
2003-2004 Regular Session B
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AB 2591 (Leno) 1
As Amended June 28, 2004
Hearing date: June 29, 2004
Public Utilities Code
MK:br
CHARTER-PARTY CARRIERS: LIMOUSINES
HISTORY
Source: United Taxicab Workers
Prior Legislation: None
Support: San Francisco Taxicab Association; Los Angeles Board
of Taxicab Commissioners; Los Angeles Transportation
Committee; Greater California Livery Association; The
Region 8 States Council of the United Food &
Commercial Workers; City of Los Angeles; Independent
Taxi Company; California Labor Federation; United
Taxicab Workers; San Francisco Taxi Commission; Los
Angeles County Taxi Association; Carl Macmurdo Taxi
Driver and Board member of PDA
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 75 - Noes 1
KEY ISSUES
SHOULD THE FINE FOR OPERATING A CHARTER-PARTY CARRIER OF
PASSENGERS OR A TAXICAB WITHOUT A VALID CERTIFICATE OR PERMIT BE
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$5,000 PLUS PENALTY ASSESSMENTS?
(CONTINUED)
SHOULD THE VEHICLE OF A PERSON ARRESTED FOR OPERATING A
CHARTER-PARTY CARRIER OF PASSENGERS AS A TAXICAB BE IMPOUNDED UNTIL
HE OR SHE PAYS THE CRIMINAL FINES?
SHOULD A PERSON FOUND TO BE OPERATING A CHARTER-PARTY CARRIER OF
PASSENGERS AS A TAXICAB BE SUBJECT TO A CIVIL FINE UP TO $5,000,
PLUS THE EXPENSE OF INVESTIGATING THE CASE?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to increase the penalties for
operating a charter-party carrier or taxicab without a valid
certificate or in violation of a local ordinance.
Existing law defines "limousine" as including any luxury sedan,
of either standard or extended length, with a seating capacity
of not more than nine passengers including the driver, used in
the transportation of passengers for hire on a prearranged basis
within this state. (Public Utilities Code 5371.4 (i).)
Existing law provides that the governing body of any city,
county, or city and county may not impose a fee on charter-party
carriers, operating limousines. However the governing body of
any city, county or city and county may impose a business
license fee on, and may adopt and enforce any reasonable rules
and regulations pertaining to operations within its boundaries
for, any charter-party carrier domiciled or maintaining a
business office within the city, county or city and county.
(Public Utilities Code 5371.4 (a).)
Existing law provides that the governing body of any airport may
not impose vehicle safety, vehicle licensing, or insurance
requirements on charter-party carriers operating limousines that
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are more burdensome than those imposed by the commission.
However, the governing board of any airport may require a
charter-party carrier operating limousines to obtain an airport
permit for operating authority at the airport. (Public
Utilities Code 5371.4 (b).)
Existing law provides that, notwithstanding the above, the
governing body of any airport may adopt and enforce reasonable
and nondiscriminatory local airport, rules, regulations, and
ordinances pertaining to access, use of streets and roads,
parking, traffic control, passenger transfers, trip fees, and
occupancy, and the use of buildings and facilities, that are
applicable to charter-party carriers operating limousines on
airport property. (Public Utilities Code 5371.4 (c).)
Exiting law provides that the governing body of any airport
shall not impose a fee based on the gross receipts of
charter-party carriers operating limousines. (Public Utilities
Code 5371.4 (f).)
Existing law provides, however, notwithstanding the above, that
nothing prohibits a city, county, city and county or the
governing body of an airport from adopting and enforcing
reasonable permit requirements, fees, rules, and regulations
applicable to charter-party carriers of passengers other than
those operating limousines. (Public Utilities Code 5371.4
(g).)
This bill provides that notwithstanding the above, a city,
county or city and county may impose reasonable rules for the
inspection of waybills of charter-party carriers of passengers
operating within the jurisdiction of the city, county or city
and county, for the purposes of verifying valid prearranged
travel.
This bill provides that the Public Utilities Commission shall by
rule or other appropriate procedure, ensure that every
charter-party carrier of passengers operates on a prearranged
basis within the state. The commission shall require every
charter-party carrier to include on a waybill or trip report,
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all of the following:
The name of at least one passenger in the traveling party or
identifying information of the traveling party's affiliation,
along with the point of origin and destination of the
passenger or traveling party.
Information as to whether the transportation was arranged by
telephone or written contract.
Existing law provides that every charter-party carrier of
passengers and every officer, director, agent, or employee of
any charter-party carrier of passengers who violates or who
fails to comply with, or who procures, aids, or abets any
violation by any charter-party carrier of passengers of any
provision of this chapter, or who fails to obey, observe, or
comply with any order, decision, rule, regulation, direction,
demand, or requirement of the commission, or of any operating
permit or certificate issued to any charter-party carrier of
passengers, or who procures, aids, or abets any charter-party
carrier of passengers in its failure to obey, observe, or comply
with any such order, decision, rule, regulation, direction,
demand, requirement, or operating permit or certificate, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by fine of not more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the
county jail for not more than three months, or both. (Public
Utilities Code 5411.)
Existing law provides that whenever a peace officer arrests a
person for a violation of Public Utilities Code Section 5411.5
involving the operation of a charter-party carrier of passengers
without a valid certificate or permit within 100 feet of a
public airport, or within two miles of the international border
between the United States and Mexico, the peace officer may
impound and retain the possession of the vehicle. If the
vehicle is seized from a person not the owner, the impounding
authority shall immediately give notice to the owner and shall
be returned to the owner if it was used without his or her
consent. If the violation is not prosecuted or is dismissed or
the owner is found not guilty the vehicle shall also be returned
to the owner without cost. (Public Utilities Code 5411.5.)
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This bill provides that a vehicle may also be impounded whenever
a peace officer arrests a person for operating a charter-party
carrier of passengers as a taxicab in violation of an ordinance
or resolution of a city, county or city and county.
Existing law provides that when a person is convicted of the
offense of the operating of a charter-party carrier of
passengers or a taxicab without a valid certificate or permit,
in addition to any other penalties provided by law, if the court
determines the operator has the ability to pay, the court shall
impose a mandatory fine not exceeding one thousand dollars
($1,000) for the first conviction, not exceeding two thousand
dollars ($2,000) for the second conviction, not exceeding three
thousand dollars ($3,000) for the third conviction, not
exceeding four thousand dollars ($4,000) for the fourth
conviction, and not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) for
the fifth conviction. (Public Utilities Code 5412.2.)
This bill provides that the penalty for being convicted of
operating a charter-party carrier of passengers or a taxicab
without a valid certificate or permit shall be up to $5,000 if
the court determines the operator has the ability to pay.
Existing law provides that whenever the Public Utilities
Commission, after hearing, finds that any person or corporation
is operating as a charter-party carrier of passengers without a
valid certificate or permit, or fails to include in any public
advertisement the number or permit or required identifying
symbol, the Public Utilities Commission may impose a fine of not
more than $5,000 for each violation. The Public Utilities
Commission may assess the person or the corporation in an amount
sufficient to cover the reasonable expense of investigation
incurred by the commission. The commission may assess interest
on any fine or assessment imposed, to commence on the day the
payment of the fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All
fines, assessments, and interest collected shall be deposited a
least once a month in the General Fund. (Public Utilities Code
5413.5.)
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This bill provides whenever the commission, after hearing, finds
that any person or corporation is operating a charter-party
carrier of passengers as a taxicab without a valid certificate
or permit in violation of an ordinance or resolution of a city,
county, or city and county, the commission may impose a fine of
not more than $5,000 for each violation. The commission may
assess the person or corporation an amount sufficient to cover
the reasonable expense of investigation incurred by the
commission. The commission may assess interest on any fine or
assessment imposed, to commence on the day the payment of the
fine or assessment becomes delinquent. All fines, assessments
and interest collected shall be deposited at least once each
month in the General Fund.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
This bill is 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.
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
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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 information.
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2. Background
Charter-party carriers are vehicles used to transport passengers
who have pre-arranged for such transportation and are
essentially renting the entire vehicle (this isn't to be
confused with vehicles such as Supershuttle, where people
pre-arrange for a seat on a shuttle bus rather than rent the
whole van. Those vehicles are regulated by the CPUC as
passenger stages). There are 3,600 charter-party carriers in
California, most of which are limousines, and they contrast with
taxicabs that transport passengers without pre-arrangement.
Because charter-party carriers typically transport passengers
between cities, they operate with a single state license so they
won't be required to obtain permits from individual cities and
counties. Taxicabs, on the other hand, must obtain local
permits to operate and don't have to obtain the permission of
the Commission. CPUC regulation of charter-party carriers is
intended to ensure driver fitness, maintenance of safe vehicles,
establishment of a workplace drug testing program, and
acquisition of adequate workers compensation and liability
insurance.
3. Change in Criminal Penalty
Under existing law it is an infraction for a person to be
convicted of operating a charter-party carrier or a taxicab
without a valid permit. The fine is up to $1,000 for a first
conviction, up to $2,000 for a second conviction, up to $3,000
for a third conviction, up to $4,000 for a fourth conviction and
up to $5,000 for a fifth conviction. This bill makes the fine
up to $5,000 for any conviction. Both existing law and this
bill do require the court to determine if the person has the
ability to pay.
Currently there are up to 240% in penalty assessments imposed on
any criminal fine thus the potential fine for first violation
under this bill would be $17,000. Because it is an infraction,
a person charged with operating without a valid permit does not
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have the right to counsel nor the right to a jury trial.
IS A FINE OF $5,000 PLUS PENALTY ASSESSMENTS APPROPRIATE FOR AN
INFRACTION?
4. Impound of Vehicle
Existing law allows for the impounding of the vehicle of a
person operating a charter-party carrier without a valid
certificate or permit at a public airport, within 100 feet of a
public airport or within two miles of the international border
between the U.S. and Mexico. In addition this bill allows
forfeiture for operating a charter-carrier of passengers as a
taxicab in violation of any ordinance or resolution of a city,
county or city and county. A person does not get the car back
until payment of any fine ordered by the court. If the person
does not claim the vehicle six weeks after the final disposition
of the criminal case, then the car may be sold. It is unclear
how that works if the person is sentenced to jail time under
Public Utilities Code Section 5411, one of the reasons for which
the car may be seized. Nor is it clear what happens if the
person has a payment plan for paying off the fines.
ARE EXISTING IMPOUND PROCEDURES ADEQUATE AND SHOULD THEY BE
EXPANDED?
5. Civil Fines
In addition to the criminal fines and potential impound
described above a person driving without a valid certificate
could also be subject to a $5,000 civil fine plus an assessment
for the cost of investigating the violation. The PUC does have
to have a hearing before assessing the fine.
IS THE ADDITIONAL CIVIL FINE ALSO APPROPRIATE?
SHOULD A PERSON BEING INVESTIGATED BE ASSESSED FOR THE COSTS OF
THE INVESTIGATION?
6. Rules for Search
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This bill allows a city, county or city and county to impose
reasonable rules for the inspection of waybills of charter-party
carriers of passengers operating within the jurisdiction of the
city, county or city and county, for purposes of verifying valid
prearranged travel.
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