Bill Text: CA SB124 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 124 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Air pollution: schoolbus idling and idling at schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 561, Statutes of 2009. [SB124 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB124-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 124	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Oropeza

                        FEBRUARY 4, 2009

   An act to amend Section 42407 of, and to add Chapter 3.4
(commencing with Section 39640) to Part 2 of Division 26 of, the
Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 124, as introduced, Oropeza. Air pollution: schoolbus idling
and idling at schools.
   Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the state
agency charged with coordinating efforts to attain and maintain
ambient air quality standards. Existing law also designates the state
board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the
control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state
board to identify toxic air contaminants that are emitted into the
ambient air of the state, and requires the state board to establish
toxic control measures for toxic air contaminants. Existing
regulations adopted by the state board establish toxic control
measures to limit schoolbus idling and idling at schools. Those
existing regulations require drivers of schoolbuses, transit buses,
school pupil activity buses, youth buses, general public paratransit
vehicles, as those terms are defined in the regulations, and
specified transit buses and commercial motor vehicles to, among other
things, turn off the bus or vehicle engine upon stopping at or
within 100 feet of a school, prohibits those drivers from turning the
bus or vehicle engine on more than 30 seconds before beginning to
depart from a school or within 100 feet of a school, and prohibits
those drivers from causing the bus or vehicle to idle for more than 5
consecutive minutes or 5 aggregate minutes in any one hour at any
location greater than 100 feet from a school. Those existing
regulations provide that any violation of those requirements subjects
the driver or the motor carrier to a minimum civil penalty of $100.
Those existing regulations authorize the state board, peace officers
and the authorized representatives of their law enforcement agencies,
and air quality management districts and air pollution control
districts, to enforce those provisions.
   Existing law makes any violation of nonvehicular air pollution
control laws, or any rule, regulation, permit, or order of the state
board, or an air quality management district or an air pollution
control district, a misdemeanor. Existing law also subjects any
person who negligently, knowingly, or willfully and intentionally
emits air contaminants in violation of nonvehicular air pollution
control laws or any rule, regulation, permit, or order of the state
board or of a district pertaining to emission regulations or
limitations to various civil and administrative penalties, and makes
those provisions applicable to diesel-powered bus idling.
   This bill would codify those regulations, and would make any
violation of the provisions of the bill subject to those civil and
administrative penalties, but would specify that the minimum civil
penalty that would be imposed for a violation would be $100 and that
specified violations would also be subject to criminal penalties to
the maximum extent provided by law.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 39640) is added to
Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 3.4.  SCHOOLBUS IDLING AND IDLING AT SCHOOLS


   39640.  The purpose of this chapter is to reduce public exposure,
especially schoolage children's exposure, to diesel exhaust
particulate matter and other toxic air contaminants by limiting
unnecessary idling of specified vehicular sources.
   39641.  (a) A driver of a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus,
youth bus, or general public paratransit vehicle shall comply with
both of the following:
   (1) Turn off the bus or vehicle engine upon stopping at a school
or within 100 feet of a school, and do not turn the bus or vehicle
engine on more than 30 seconds before beginning to depart from a
school or from within 100 feet of a school.
   (2) Do not cause or allow a bus or vehicle to idle at a single
location greater than 100 feet from a school for either of the
following:
   (A) More than five consecutive minutes.
   (B) A period or periods aggregating more than five minutes in any
one hour.
   (b) A driver of a transit bus or of a commercial motor vehicle not
described in subdivision (a) shall comply with both of the
following:
   (1) Turn off the bus or vehicle engine upon stopping at a school
and do not turn the bus or vehicle engine on more than 30 seconds
before beginning to depart from a school.
   (2) Do not cause or allow a bus or vehicle to idle at any location
within 100 feet of, but not at, a school for either of the
following:
   (A) More than five consecutive minutes.
   (B) A period or periods aggregating more than five minutes in any
one hour.
   (c) A motor carrier of a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus,
youth bus, or general public paratransit vehicle shall ensure all of
the following:
   (1) The driver of the bus or vehicle, upon initial employment and
at least once per year thereafter, is informed of the requirements
described in subdivision (a), and of the consequences, under this
chapter and the motor carrier's terms of employment, of not complying
with those requirements.
   (2) All complaints of noncompliance with, and enforcement actions
related to, the requirements of subdivision (a) are reviewed and
remedial action is taken as necessary.
   (3) Records of paragraphs (1) and (2) are kept for at least three
years and made available or accessible to enforcement personnel
within three business days of their request.
   (d) A motor carrier of a transit bus or of a commercial motor
vehicle not described in subdivision (a) shall ensure all of the
following:
   (1) The driver of the bus or vehicle, upon initial employment and
at least once per year thereafter, is informed of the requirements
described in subdivision (b), and of the consequences, under this
chapter and the motor carrier's terms of employment, of not complying
with those requirements.
   (2) All complaints of noncompliance with, and enforcement actions
related to, the requirements of subdivision (b) are reviewed and
remedial action is taken as necessary.
   (3) Records of paragraphs (1) and (2) are kept for at least three
years and made available or accessible to enforcement personnel
within three business days of their request.
   39642.  This chapter applies to the operation of every schoolbus,
transit bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public
paratransit vehicle, and other commercial motor vehicle. This chapter
does not apply for the period during which:
   (a) Idling is necessary while stopped at any of the following
times:
   (1) For an official traffic control device.
   (2) For an official traffic control signal.
   (3) For traffic conditions over which the driver has no control,
including, but not limited to, being stopped in a line of traffic.
   (4) At the direction of a peace officer.
   (b) Idling is necessary to ascertain that the schoolbus, transit
bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit
vehicle, or other commercial motor vehicle is in safe operating
condition and equipped as required by other provisions of law, and
all equipment is in good working order, either as part of the driver'
s daily vehicle inspection, or as otherwise needed.
   (c) Idling is necessary for testing, servicing, repairing, or
diagnostic purposes.
   (d) Idling is necessary, for a period not to exceed three to five
minutes, based on the recommendation of the manufacturer, to cool
down a turbo-charged diesel engine before turning the engine off.
   (e) Idling is necessary to accomplish work for which the vehicle
was designed, other than transporting passengers, including, but not
limited to:
   (1) Collection of solid waste or recyclable material by an entity
authorized by contract, license, or permit by a school or local
government.
   (2) Controlling cargo temperature.
   (3) Operating a lift, crane, pump, drill, hoist, mixer, or other
auxiliary equipment other than a heater or air-conditioner.
   (f) Idling is necessary to operate:
   (1) A lift or other piece of equipment designed to ensure safe
loading, unloading, or transport of persons with disabilities.
   (2) A heater or an air-conditioner of a bus or vehicle that has,
or will have, one or more children with exceptional needs aboard.
   (g) Idling is necessary to operate defrosters, heaters,
air-conditioners, or other equipment to ensure the safety or health
of the driver or passengers, or as otherwise required by federal or
state motor carrier safety regulations.
   (h) Idling is necessary solely to recharge a battery or other
energy storage unit of a hybrid electric bus or vehicle.
   39643.  This chapter does not allow idling in excess of other
applicable law, including, but not limited to:
   (a) Section 1226 of Title 13 of the California Code of
Regulations.
   (b) Section 22515 of the Vehicle Code.
   (c) Any local ordinance or requirement that is as stringent as, or
more stringent than, this chapter.
   39644.  This chapter may be enforced by the state board, peace
officers, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of
Title 3 of the Penal Code, and their respective law enforcement
agencies' authorized representatives, and the districts. Any
violation of the provisions of this chapter is subject to the
penalties described in Article 3 (commencing with Section 42400) of
Chapter 4 of Part 4. Notwithstanding those provisions, a civil
penalty assessed thereunder for a first violation of any provision of
this chapter shall be not less than one hundred dollars ($100). For
any violation of subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 39641, and for any
second or subsequent violation of any other provision of this
chapter, a violator shall be subject to both that civil penalty and
to criminal penalties to the maximum extent provided by law.
   39645.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:
   (a) "Children with exceptional needs" means children meeting
eligibility criteria described in Section 56026 of the Education
Code.
   (b) "Commercial motor vehicle" means any vehicle or combination of
vehicles as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 15210 of the
Vehicle Code, and any other motor truck with a gross vehicle weight
rating of 10,001 pounds or more, except either of the following:
   (1) A zero-emission vehicle.
   (2) A pickup truck, as defined in Section 471 of the Vehicle Code.

   (c) "Driver" means any person who drives or is in actual physical
control of a vehicle.
   (d) "General public paratransit vehicle" means any motor vehicle
as defined in Section 336 of the Vehicle Code, other than a
zero-emission general public paratransit vehicle, that is
transporting school pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, to or from public or private schools, or public or private
school activities.
   (e) "Gross vehicle weight rating" means the weight specified by
the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.
   (f) "Hybrid electric bus or vehicle" means any schoolbus, transit
bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit
vehicle, or other commercial motor vehicle equipped with at least
the following two sources of motive energy on board:
   (1) An electric drive motor that must be used to partially or
fully drive the bus or vehicle wheels.
   (2) One of the following:
   (A) An internal combustion engine.
   (B) A turbine.
   (C) A fuel cell.
   (g) "Idling" means the engine of a bus or vehicle is running while
the bus or vehicle is stationary.
   (h) "Motor carrier" means the registered owner, lessee, licensee,
school district superintendent, or bailee of any schoolbus, transit
bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit
vehicle, or other commercial motor vehicle who operates or directs
the operation of any such bus or vehicle on either a for-hire or
not-for-hire basis.
   (i) "Motor truck" means a motor vehicle designed, used, or
maintained primarily for the transportation of property.
   (j) "Official traffic control device" means any sign, signal,
marking or device, consistent with Section 21400 of the Vehicle Code,
placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having
jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding
traffic, but does not include islands, curbs, traffic barriers, speed
humps, speed bumps, or other roadway design features.
   (k) "Official traffic control signal" means any device that is
manually, electrically, or mechanically operated, by which traffic is
alternately directed to stop and proceed and that is erected by
authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction.
   () "School" means any public or private school used for the
purposes of education and instruction of more than 12 school pupils
in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, but does not include
any private school in which education and instruction is primarily
conducted in private homes. "School" includes any building or
structure, playground, athletic field, or other area of school
property. The term excludes unimproved school property.
   (m) "Schoolbus" means any schoolbus defined in Section 545 of the
Vehicle Code, except a zero-emission schoolbus.
   (n) "School pupil activity bus" means any bus defined in Section
546 of the Vehicle Code, except a zero-emission school pupil activity
bus.
   (o) "Transit bus" means any bus defined in Section 642 of the
Vehicle Code, except a zero-emission transit bus.
   (p) "Youth bus" means any bus defined in Section 680 of the
Vehicle Code, except a zero-emission youth bus.
   (q) A "zero-emission schoolbus, transit bus, school pupil activity
bus, youth bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or other
commercial motor vehicle" means any bus or vehicle certified to
zero-emission standards by the state board.
  SEC. 2.  Section 42407 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   42407.  Except as provided in  Chapter 3.4 (commencing with
Section 39640) of Part 2 and  Sections 40720 and 42403.5, this
article is not applicable to vehicular sources.