Amended  IN  Assembly  April 07, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2125

Introduced by Assembly Member Fong

February 15, 2022

An act to add Section 12804.16 to and repeal Sections 12804.16 and 12804.17 of the Vehicle Code, relating to driver’s licenses.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2125, as amended, Fong. Driver’s licenses: motorcycle licensing pilot program.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to require an examination for issuance of a driver’s license. The examination is required to be appropriate to the type of motor vehicle or combination of vehicles the applicant desires a license to drive or tow, in accordance with certain license classifications, and includes a driving demonstration. Existing law authorizes the department to grant a license to operate a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle, as defined, to applicants who are already licensed to drive other specified vehicles and pass an examination. Existing law establishes a motorcycle safety program administered by the Department of the California Highway Patrol to enhance motorcycle operation and safety and authorizes the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to adopt standards for course content and instructional quality control for a novice rider training course, among other things. Existing law prohibits the commissioner from directly managing or providing program services and requires that services are provided under contractual arrangements or grant funding.
This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a pilot program in order to evaluate the efficiency and safety, among other things, of using motorcycle safety program service providers and grant recipients to administer the driving demonstration portion of an exam to receive a license to drive a motorcycle, as specified. The bill would require the program to last 5 years and require a minimum of 25% of motorcycle safety program service providers and grant recipient sites to participate in the program. The bill would require the department, if it determined that participating test sites were passing applicants without administering the examination, to revoke a motorcycle safety program’s participation in the pilot program, among other consequences. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2025.
The bill would require the department, in conjunction with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, to report specified information to the Legislature, including the number of participants, a comparison of the pass and failure rates, and a recommendation as to whether the program should be extended, among other things. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2028.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 12804.16 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

12804.16.
 (a) The department shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the use of motorcycle safety program service providers and grant recipients, as described in Article 2 (commencing with Section 2930) of Chapter 5 of Division 2, to administer the exam described in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 12804.9 in order to obtain a class M1 license, described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 12804.9.
(b) The department shall evaluate the rigor, standards, quality, efficiency, accessibility, and safety of using motorcycle safety program service providers and grant recipients to administer the exam.
(c) (1) The department may conduct oversight and inspect all participating testing sites.
(2) If the department makes a determination that participating test sites are passing applicants on the examination without administering the examination, the department shall revoke the providers’ participation in the pilot program and the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall revoke their participation in the motorcycle safety program described in Article 2 (commencing with Section 2930) of Chapter 5 of Division 2.
(d) A minimum of 25 percent of motorcycle safety program service provider and grant recipient sites shall participate in the program and the pilot program shall last for five years. program.
(e) The exam described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 12804.9 shall not be administered by a motorcycle safety program service provider or grant recipient.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 Section 12804.17 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

12804.17.
 (a) The department, in conjunction with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, shall prepare a report evaluating the pilot program described in Section 12804.16 and submit a report regarding the pilot program to the Legislature no later than February 1, 2024, to include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of motorcycle safety program participants in the pilot program.
(2) The number of exams administered under the pilot program, including the pass and failure rate.
(3) A comparison of the pass and failure rate to the examination administered by the department for a class M1 license.
(4) The number of facilities the department inspected during the length of the pilot, and if it revoked the participation of any pilot program participants.
(5) A comparison of the number of applicants that took the exam described in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 12804.9 in order to obtain a class M1 license at the department a year before the pilot program compared to the number of applicants during the pilot program.
(6) An evaluation on the amount of money charged by motorcycle safety program service providers and grant recipients to take the examination administered by the pilot program.
(7) A recommendation as to whether or not the pilot program should be extended.
(b)  (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2028.