BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 173| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 173 Author: Holden (D), et al. Introduced:1/22/15 Vote: 21 SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/9/15 AYES: Beall, Cannella, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/6/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Golf carts: City of La Verne SOURCE: Hillcrest Retirement Community University of La Verne DIGEST: This bill deletes the sunset on the authority of the City of La Verne to permit golf carts to be used on city streets. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Authorizes cities or counties to adopt golf cart transportation plans that do not include the use of any state highway. 2)Specifies certain required elements in the golf cart AB 173 Page 2 transportation plan, including minimum general design criteria for the development, planning, and construction of separated golf cart lanes. 3)Exempts the City of La Verne from the requirement for separated golf cart lanes, under specified conditions, until January 1, 2016. This bill removes the January 1, 2016, sunset. Comments Purpose. The author notes that La Verne is home to the University of La Verne as well as a large retirement community. Because of the town's narrow roads and pathways, these facilities began using golf carts as the primary means of transportation between the non-contiguous portions of their facilities in the 1970s. In 2008, the Legislature provided La Verne with an exemption to the general statewide prohibition on golf cart use on public roadways. The author states that the La Verne Police Department has recorded no accidents or injuries stemming from the use of golf carts on public roads by the university or retirement community since the exemption has been in effect. Not widely used. La Verne has restricted the use of golf carts to employees of the university and retirement communities. The police chief of La Verne reports that the golf carts are not frequently used and that he sees them on the street on a less-than-daily basis. Course change. The January 1, 2016, sunset on the use of golf carts in the City of La Verne was intended to allow time for the university and retirement communities to transition to safer vehicles which meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. By eliminating the sunset, the City of La Verne will be permanently allowed to permit the use of golf carts, a change in the policy articulated in the original legislation. In support of this policy change, the author's office notes that there have been no accidents with the golf carts, a fact confirmed by the La Verne police department. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal AB 173 Page 3 Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified6/11/15) Hillcrest Retirement Community (co-source) University of La Verne (co-source) City of La Verne Fire Department City of La Verne Police Department LeadingAge California San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership OPPOSITION: (Verified6/11/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/6/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Gomez, Roger Hernández Prepared by:Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121 6/12/15 11:27:49 **** END **** AB 173 Page 4