BILL NUMBER: AB 1384 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 12, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 3, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Laird
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Berg, Pavley, and Salinas)
(Coauthors: Senators Chesbro and Maldonado)
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Section 97.1 of, to add Section 97 to, and to add
and repeal Section 97.5 of, the Streets and Highways Code, and to add
Section 42010 to the Vehicle Code, relating to transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1384, Laird Safety enhancement double-fine zones.
Under existing law, until January 1, 2006, the segment of State
Highway Route 101 between the Eureka Slough Bridge and the Gannon
Slough Bridge in Arcata is designated a Safety Enhancement-Double
Fine Zone. Existing law, until January 1, 2006, requires the
Department of Transportation to adopt regulations for the
administration of Safety Enhancement Double Fine Zones, including
uniform warning sign standards, and requires the department or a
local authority having jurisdiction over the highway designated as a
Safety Enhancement Double Fine Zone to place and maintain the warning
signs.
This bill would, until January 1, 2010, designate specified
segments of State Highway Routes 1 and 101 and County Road 16 as
Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zones and would require Monterey
County to administer the county road zone. The bill would also
extend for an additional 4 years the designation of the segment of
State Highway Route 101 in Arcata as a Safety Enhancement-Double Fine
Zone. The bill would extend indefinitely the duties and
responsibilities of the department and local jurisdictions with
respect to those zones. The bill would also prescribe the fines and
penalties to be imposed for traffic violations committed within those
zones. The bill would also establish standards for a designation of
a highway or road segment as a Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone,
including a 4-year duration limit.
Because the bill would impose new duties on a local agency, it
would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 97 is added to the Streets and Highways Code,
to read:
97. (a) In order to be designated by statute as a Safety
Enhancement-Double Fine Zone, a highway or road segment shall have
experienced a significant number of traffic accidents, injuries, and
fatalities within the prior three-year period, and other traffic
safety measures that have been undertaken shall have not appreciably
reduced the level of those incidents.
(b) The concurrence in the designation of the Department of the
California Highway Patrol or local agency having traffic enforcement
jurisdiction, as the case may be, shall be required prior to
designation of the zone pursuant to statute, along with a resolution
supporting the designation from the city, or county with respect to
an unincorporated area, in which the segment is located.
(c) Each local governing body where a double fine zone is
designated by statute in its jurisdiction shall, prior to the
establishment of a double fine zone, do the following:
(1) Undertake a public awareness campaign to inform the public of
the double fine zone designation, where it is located, its purpose,
and its consequences.
(2) Where appropriate, increased traffic safety enhancements,
enforcement, and other roadway safety measures shall be implemented
in coordination with the establishment of the double fine zone.
(d) A Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone is subject to the rules
and regulations adopted by the department prescribing uniform
standards for warning signs to notify motorists that, pursuant to
Section 42010 of the Vehicle Code, increased penalties apply for
traffic violations that are committed within a Safety
Enhancement-Double Fine Zone.
(e) The department or the local authority having jurisdiction over
these highway and road segments shall place and maintain the warning
signs identifying these segments by stating that a "Special Safety
Zone Region Begins Here" and a "Special Safety Zone Ends Here." The
department shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration
of a Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone under this section.
(f) Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zones do not increase the civil
liability of the state or local authority having jurisdiction over
the highway segment under Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810)
of Title 1 of the Government Code or any other provision of law
relating to civil liability.
(1) Only the base fine shall be enhanced pursuant to this section.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any additional
penalty, forfeiture, or assessment imposed by any other statute shall
be based on the amount of the base fine before enhancement or
doubling and shall not be based on the amount of the enhanced fine
imposed pursuant to this section.
(g) The projects specified as a Safety Enhancement-Double Fine
Zone shall not be elevated in priority for state funding purposes.
(h) The term for a Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone shall be
limited to four years.
(i) The Department of Transportation shall conduct an evaluation
of the effectiveness of all double fine zones that will terminate the
same calendar year and submit its findings in one report to the
Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on
Transportation and Housing one year prior to the termination of the
double fine zones. The report shall include a recommendation on
whether the zones should be reauthorized by the Legislature.
SEC. 2. Section 97.1 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended
to read:
97.1. (a) The following segments are Safety Enhancement-Double
Fine Zones:
(1) Until January 1, 2010, the five-mile segment of State Highway
Route 101, between the Eureka Slough Bridge No. 4-22 and the Gannon
Slough Bridge No. 4-24 in Arcata.
(2) Until January 1, 2010, the segment of State Highway Route 1
between Chestnut Street and Shaffer Road in Santa Cruz.
(3) Until January 1, 2010, the segment of State Highway Route 1
(Pacific Coast Highway) that is located within the city limits of
Malibu.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2010,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3. Section 97.5 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to
read:
97.5. (a) The following state highway and county road segments
are Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zones:
(1) The segment of State Highway Route 101, between the junction
with Boronda Road and the San Benito-Monterey County line.
(2) The segment of County Road 16, also known as Carmel Valley
Road, between the junction with State Highway Route 1 and the
junction with Camp Stefani Road. The County of Monterey, in
consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol,
shall administer this zone and shall assume all responsibilities that
would otherwise accrue to the department for the administration of
the zone.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2010, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 4. Section 42010 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
42010. (a) For any offense specified in subdivision (b) that is
committed by the driver of a vehicle within an area that has been
designated as a Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone pursuant to
Section 97 and following of the Streets and Highways Code, the fine,
in a misdemeanor case, shall be double the amount otherwise
prescribed, and, in an infraction case, the fine shall be one
category higher than the penalty otherwise prescribed by the uniform
traffic penalty schedule established pursuant to Section 40310.
(b) A violation of any of the following provisions is an offense
that is subject to subdivision (a):
(1) Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 21650) of Division 11,
relating to driving, overtaking, and passing.
(2) Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 22348) of Division 11,
relating to speed limits.
(3) Section 23103, relating to reckless driving.
(4) Section 23104, relating to reckless driving that results in
bodily injury to another.
(5) Section 23109, relating to speed contests.
(6) Section 23152, relating to driving-under-the-influence of
alcohol or a controlled substance, or Section 23103, as specified in
Section 23103.5, relating to alcohol-related reckless driving.
(7) Section 23153, relating to driving-under-the-influence of
alcohol or a controlled substance, which results in bodily injury to
another.
(8) Section 23220, relating to drinking while driving.
(9) Section 23221, relating to drinking in a motor vehicle while
on the highway.
(10) Section 23222, relating to driving while possessing an open
alcoholic beverage container.
(11) Section 23223, relating to being in a vehicle on the highway
while possessing an open alcoholic beverage container.
(12) Section 23224, relating to being a driver or passenger under
21 years of age possessing an open alcoholic beverage container.
(13) Section 23225, relating to being the owner or driver of a
vehicle in which there is an open alcoholic beverage container.
(14) Section 23226, relating to being a passenger in a vehicle in
which there is an open alcoholic beverage container.
(c) This section applies only when traffic controls or warning
signs have been placed pursuant to Section 97 of the Streets and
Highways Code.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the enhanced
fine imposed pursuant to this section shall be based only on the base
fine imposed for the underlying offense and shall not include any
other enhancements imposed pursuant to law.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any additional
penalty, forfeiture, or assessment imposed by any other statute shall
be based on the amount of the base fine before enhancement or
doubling and shall not be based on the amount of the enhanced fine
imposed pursuant to this section.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district are the result of a program for which legislative authority
was requested by that local agency or school district, within the
meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code and Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution.