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CCA-SPONSORED LEGISLATION SEEKS TO EXTEND AG VEHICLE EXEMPTION TO BASIC INSPECTION OF TERMINALS PROGRAM

by CCA Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur

On February 17, Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) introduced CCA-sponsored Assembly Bill 2415. If signed into law, AB 2415 would extend by three years the current exemption for agricultural vehicles from the California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) Basic Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program. The BIT program requires certain motor carriers to submit to CHP inspection at the place where the carrier’s vehicles are garaged or maintained. BIT inspections are intended to ensure that motor carriers are complying with Motor Carrier Safety regulations and that vehicle maintenance is adequate to prevent collisions and mechanical breakdowns. To that end, during BIT inspections motor carriers must make their vehicles available for physical inspection by CHP, and CHP will also inspect the carrier’s vehicle maintenance records and driving records. BIT fees begin at $130 per year for fleets of one vehicle and ramp up as the fleet size increases. BIT inspections for covered motor carriers occur at least once every six years; if a carrier has received an unsatisfactory rating in a previous inspection, subsequent inspection will occur more frequently. These inspections can be costly and time-consuming for agricultural producers, and even minor violations can lead to further enforcement which restricts a rancher from operating a vehicle which is vital to the ranch operation. Additionally, commonly-used farm and ranch vehicles also serve as producers’ personal vehicles which would typically be exempt from BIT if only used as personal vehicles or to haul recreational vehicles. For those reasons, in 2016, CCA sponsored AB 1960, which exempted “agricultural vehicles” from the BIT program. For purposes of the BIT exemption, an “agricultural vehicle” is a truck/trailer combination with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,000 pounds or less (with the towing vehicle’s GVWR being 16,000 pounds or less), operated by a farmer or rancher exclusively for agricultural purposes (when used in commerce), operated in a not-for-hire capacity and operated solely intrastate (that is, solely within California). Due to concerns in the Senate that “it [was] unclear what the safety impact of this exemption would be,” AB 1960 was amended in the Senate to include a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2023, coupled with a requirement that CHP “report to the Governor and the legislature [by Jan. 1, 2022] about the impact of excluding an agricultural vehicle” from the BIT program, including “information about collisions involving excluded vehicles and any traffic safety issues associated with excluded vehicles.” Unfortunately, CHP’s report on the safety of the agricultural exemption still has not been filed as of press time – months after the legislatively-set due date. Nevertheless, the agricultural exemption is still set to expire on Jan. 1, 2023, causing undue hardship to farmers and ranchers who would be required to submit to timeconsuming BIT inspections – with potentially-significant disruptions to the farm or ranch operations – without any new data or public safety considerations justifying the new requirement. AB 2415 would extent the agricultural exemption from BIT by three years – until Jan. 1, 2026. The intent of this extension is to provide the legislature and stakeholders like CCA the opportunity to address any concerns CHP may identify regarding the exemption once its report is filed with the Governor and Legislature. If no significant concerns exist, this extended sunset provides time for later legislation to make the agricultural vehicle exemption permanent. CCA thanks Assemblymember Lackey, a former CHP officer who authored the initial ag exemption from BIT in 2016, for his leadership on this topic and his support of the agriculture community. CCA will continue to keep members informed as AB 2415 progresses through the Legislature.