Bill Text: CA AB1567 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Firefighting equipment: firefighting endorsement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-07-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 111, Statutes of 2012. [AB1567 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB1567-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1567 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 111
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 13, 2012
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 13, 2012
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 2, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jeffries
JANUARY 31, 2012
An act to amend Section 12804.11 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1567, Jeffries. Firefighting equipment: firefighting
endorsement.
Existing law regulates the operation of firefighting equipment and
authorizes the operation of firefighting equipment by a person with
a firefighter endorsement who holds a class C license. Existing law
requires that to qualify for a firefighter endorsement an applicant
must, among other things, submit a report of medical examination
within 4 years preceding the application date.
This bill would require that an applicant for a firefighter
endorsement submit instead medical information on a form approved by
the Department of Motor Vehicles upon application and every 2 years
thereafter.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12804.11 of the Vehicle Code is amended to
read:
12804.11. (a) To operate firefighting equipment, a driver,
including a tiller operator, is required to do either of the
following:
(1) Obtain and maintain a firefighter endorsement issued by the
department and obtain and maintain a class C license as described in
Section 12804.9, a restricted class A license as described in Section
12804.12, or a noncommercial class B license as described in Section
12804.10.
(2) Obtain and maintain a class A or B license as described in
Section 12804.9, and, as appropriate, for the size and configuration
of the firefighting equipment operated.
(b) To qualify for a firefighter endorsement the driver shall do
all of the following:
(1) (A) Provide to the department proof of current employment as a
firefighter or registration as a volunteer firefighter with a fire
department and evidence of fire equipment operation training by
providing a letter, or other indication, from the chief of the fire
department, or his or her designee.
(B) For purposes of this section, evidence of fire equipment
operation training means the applicant has successfully completed
Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A taught by an instructor registered
with the Office of the State Fire Marshal or fire department driver
training that meets all of the following requirements:
(i) Meets or exceeds the standards outlined in NFPA 1002, Chapter
4 (2008 version) or the Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator 1A course
adopted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
(ii) Prepares the applicant to safely operate the department's
fire equipment that the applicant will be authorized to operate.
(iii) Includes a classroom (cognitive) portion of at least 16
hours.
(iv) Includes a manipulative portion of at least 14 hours, which
includes directly supervised behind-the-wheel driver training.
(C) Driver training shall be conducted by a person who is
registered with the Office of the State Fire Marshal to instruct
Driver/Operator 1A or a person who meets all of the following
criteria:
(i) Possesses a minimum of five years of fire service experience
as an emergency vehicle operator, three of which must be at the rank
of engineer or higher.
(ii) Possesses a valid California class A or B license or a class
A or B license restricted to the operation of firefighting equipment.
(iii) Is certified as a qualified training instructor or training
officer by the State of California, the federal government, or a
county training officers' association.
(2) Pass the written firefighter examination developed by the
department with the cooperation of the State Fire Marshal's office.
(3) Upon application and every two years thereafter, submit
medical information on a form approved by the department.
(c) There shall be no additional charge for adding a firefighter
endorsement to an original license or when renewing a license. To add
a firefighter endorsement to an existing license when not renewing
the license, the applicant shall pay the fee for a duplicate license
pursuant to Section 14901.
(d) (1) A driver of firefighting equipment is subject to the
requirements of subdivision (a) if both of the following conditions
exist:
(A) The equipment is operated by a person employed as a
firefighter by a federal or state agency, by a regularly organized
fire department of a city, county, city and county, or district, or
by a tribal fire department or registered as a volunteer member of a
regularly organized fire department having official recognition of
the city, county, city and county, or district in which the
department is located, or of a tribal fire department.
(B) The motor vehicle is used to travel to and from the scene of
any emergency situation, or to transport equipment used in the
control of any emergency situation, and which is owned, leased, or
rented by, or under the exclusive control of, a federal or state
agency, a regularly organized fire department of a city, county, city
and county, or district, a volunteer fire department having official
recognition of the city, county, city and county, or district in
which the department is located, or a tribal fire department.
(2) A driver of firefighting equipment is not required to obtain
and maintain a firefighter endorsement pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) if the driver is operating the firefighting equipment
for training purposes, during a nonemergency, while under the direct
supervision of a fire department employee who is properly licensed
to operate the equipment and is authorized by the fire department to
provide training.
(e) For purposes of this section, a tiller operator is the driver
of the rear free-axle portion of a ladder truck.
(f) For purposes of this section, "firefighting equipment" means a
motor vehicle, that meets the definition of a class A or class B
vehicle described in subdivision (b) of Section 12804.9, that is used
to travel to and from the scene of an emergency situation, or to
transport equipment used in the control of an emergency situation,
and that is owned, leased, or rented by, or under the exclusive
control of, a federal or state agency, a regularly organized fire
department of a city, county, city and county, or district, or a
volunteer fire department having official recognition of the city,
county, city and county, or district in which the department is
located.
(g) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), a regularly
organized fire department, having official recognition of the city,
county, city and county, or district in which the department is
located, may require an employee or a volunteer of the fire
department who is a driver or operator of firefighting equipment to
hold a class A or B license.
(h) This section applies to a person hired by a fire department,
or to a person renewing a driver's license, on or after January 1,
2011.
