BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2762
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Date of Hearing: April 24, 2000
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Roderick Wright, Chair
AB 2762 (Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee) - As
Introduced: April 24, 2000
SUBJECT : Common carriers: annual fee.
SUMMARY : Permits California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
to establish alternate fee structures to finance the regulation
of specified classes of common carriers. Specifically, this
bill :
Allows CPUC to assess fees on passenger vehicle operators on a
basis other then revenue, including on a per vehicle basis, in
order to cover costs associated with conducting licensing,
enforcement, and investigation activities for that class of
carrier.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires CPUC to impose a fee on common carriers and related
businesses to finance the regulation of those entities by
CPUC.
2)Requires CPUC to allocate the amount of CPUC's budget to be
financed by the fee based on the ratio that each member's
gross intrastate revenue bears to the total gross intrastate
revenues of the class.
3)Requires CPUC to establish uniform fees for every carrier and
related business having annual gross intrastate revenues of
$100,000 or less.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
1)Vehicle common carriers regulated by CPUC include two primary
classes of carriers: passenger stage corporations and
charter-party carriers. A passenger stage corporation (PSC)
provides transportation to the general public and typically
operates a scheduled, fixed-route service or an on-call
airport shuttle service. PSCs also are required to file their
AB 2762
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terms of service with CPUC, which they must observe on a
nondiscriminatory basis. There are approximately 200 licensed
passenger state corporations in the state.
2)Charter party carriers generally contract to provide a vehicle
for the exclusive use of an individual or group. Charter
party carriers are not required to file tariffs with CPUC, nor
is the level of their charges to customers subject to
regulation. There are approximately 2,700 carriers that hold
charter party operating authority from CPUC.
3)Under current law, both of these carriers are required to pay
an annual fee determined by CPUC that goes towards paying
CPUC's costs for regulating the carriers. Currently the fee
is set at of 1% of carrier gross operating revenue.
4)This bill authorizes CPUC to modify the current fee structure
for passenger vehicle common carriers. The sponsor asserts
that this bill will bring fees more in line with the actual
costs incurred by CPUC in the course of its regulatory
activities with regards to these carriers.
5)Figures provided by CPUC for 1998-99 fiscal year indicate that
of the 162 administrative citation fines imposed against
passenger carriers, three (about 2%) were assessed against
operators of full-size charter buses. CPUC indicates that the
majority of the citations were issued to operators of
limousine or sedan services. Further, CPUC indicates that
only two to three percent of staff resources went to
enforcement activities related to full-size charter bus
issues. This bill allows CPUC to assess fees to passenger
vehicle operators commensurate to the costs of regulating
those carriers rather than on a revenue basis, which is not at
all related to the actual costs, incurred by CPUC. This bill
does not result in any net loss to CPUC, as CPUC can adjust
its fees to place greater financial resources toward those
activities utilizing greater portions of staff time.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Bus Association (sponsor)
Opposition
AB 2762
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jonathan Buttle / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083