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October 2007
Executive Summary
We work in the most regulated industry in the most regulated state in the union. This report looks at the following changes in the ever-shifting regulatory scene:
- San Bernardino County – Insurance Requirements for Transportation Permits resolved
- City of Brentwood – Citations are being issued for loads exceeding 8’, CVC authorizes 8’-6”
- City of Los Angeles – Ad-Hoc Committee formed to discuss
Transportation and Road Closure Issues
- City of Oxnard – Repetitive Permit Route, Hours of Travel reduced, Pilot Cars reduced
- Town of Tiburon reduced permit fees to $16, adopting uniform permit application
- Red Dyed Fuel – Federal Rule – No exemptions
San Bernardino County – Insurance Requirements for Transportation Permits resolved.
We have been working with the County’s Risk Management Department through Supervisor Paul Biane’s Chief of Staff Matt Brown. Matt continually expresses the need for a business friendly atmosphere and the results we have been getting back that position. This change will create a smoother process for those trying to obtain a transportation permit within the county. Until recently, the county had been requiring the following:
- General Liability insurance must be listed at $1,000,000.
- Auto Liability insurance must be listed at $1,000,000.
- A clause on the insurance certificate under the “Description of Operations” must accurately state that the “County of San Bernardino is listed as additionally insured for both the General and Auto Liability policies.”
- If an endorsement is required to properly confer these rights under your insurance provider, then a copy of the endorsements for both the General and Auto Liability policies to be additionally insured is necessary.
- The “County of San Bernardino” with corresponding address information must be listed as certificate holder on the policy with the above mentioned attributes.
This may not affect the larger carriers, but there are smaller companies that do not carry $1,000,000 in General Liability, on any insurance policy, General Liability excludes any vehicle liability that is going to affect the traveling public. There is no General Liability exposure in issuing a transportation permit.
We are waiting a final determination whether the requirement will be similar to that stated below or if they will follow suit with Riverside County or Caltrans, who do not require proof of insurance because DMV is already requiring it through trucking companies Motor Carrier Permit.
- Auto Liability insurance must be listed at $500,000 (DMV MCP minimum requirement is $750,000).
- The “County of San Bernardino” with corresponding address information must be listed as certificate holder on the policy.
Caltrans and Riverside County do not require any additional insurance as it relates to Transportation Permits.
Working with SCCA’s Lobbyist Todd Bloomstine, there is a bill (SB 229 – Margett) that will hopefully clarify this issue with other localities that continue to require unnecessary and costly insurance cost to obtain a transportation permit in their locality.
City of Brentwood – Citations being issued for trailers and/or loads exceeding 8’-0” wide.
A member operate in this city called and said that local enforcement is issuing citations for trailers and/or loads exceeding 8’-0” (96”) wide. The City of Brentwood’s Municipal Code Section 10.16.060, Width and the Length of Combinations Vehicles states.
- City of Brentwood Ordinance 10.16.060 (a) - Width of Vehicles
No person shall move or operate upon any of the city streets any combination of vehicles of a total width in excess of ninety-six inches.
- California Vehicle Code (CVC) 35100
(a) The total outside width of any vehicle or its load shall not exceed 102 inches, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(c) Any city or county may, by ordinance, prohibit a combination of vehicles of a total width in excess of 96 inches upon highways under its jurisdiction.
The ordinance shall not be effective until appropriate signs are erected indicating the streets affected.
Equipment trailer manufacturers have been designing trailers to that specification, since the law changed from 96” to 102”.
This is an unusual situation. The city is within it legal authority to issue citations under their city ordinance, but not until appropriate signs is erected indicating the streets affected, which has not taken place in this instance.
We think this is a case of an old ordinance that was never updated. We are currently working with the City of Brentwood to resolve the issue.
City of Los Angeles - Ad-Hoc Committee to discuss Transportation and Road Closure Issues
The Mayors office and city’s Public Works Department are involved with an outreach program to bring more contractors back to bidding Public Work projects for the City of LA. There was a recent Contractors Ad-Hoc Committee meeting scheduled, which we attended and requested an item on the agenda. We want to make sure that the committee understood that transportation issues are the contractors and their hired trucker’s problem that ultimately affects how smooth a project runs. This would include the difficulties of having their equipment transported to and from a project, import/export of materials required and the operational window the city allows the contractors or subs to work on the project.
We requested that if a policy and/or regulation is going to be adopted or changed, industry should be included in any discussion prior to any changes. This led to the formation of a separate Ad-Hoc Committee to discuss specific transportation issues that are affecting our contractor members. We agreed and will be soon discussing street closures, haul routes, import and export, travel times and excessive insurance requirements.
City of Oxnard – Repetitive Permit Route, Hours of Travel reduced, Pilot Cars reduced
We recently met with City to discuss implementation in the changes that had been approved by the Transportation Committee there last November.
We discussed to the following and are expecting implementation anytime.
1.) Repetitive Permits are issued to a company for the following routes to allow continuous access in and out Port Hueneme through Oxnard. The Repetitive Permit is route specific and the following two routes are pending approval.
- Oxnard City limits at Hueneme Rd. – Saviers Rd. – Oxnard Rd. – Hwy. 1 & Return
- Oxnard City Limits at Victoria Ave. – Hwy 101 & Return
Maximum Allowable Permit Dimensions:
- Height – 16’-0”
- Width – 14’-6”
- Length – 125’-0”
- Weight – Caltrans Purple
- Hours of Travel – 24/7 excluding curfew hours
2.) Pilot Car Requirements – City required two pilot cars for loads 12’ wide. City has adopted Pilot Car recommendations developed by our program. One Pilot Car required at 12’ wide, has been implemented.
3.) Faxing Permit – Currently the city does not allow permits to be faxed. The city has approved the faxing of permits; the problem is they can’t fax them back until they are paid for. There is no current mechanism to collect the permit fees. We are working with their finance department.
4.) Hours of Operation – The city is closed every other Friday. If there is an emergency move, you may contact Dave Harper (805) 797-0818 or Mar Olosan (805) 797-3070.
Town of Tiburon – Permit Fees, Permit delays
We were contacted by a member that the town had increased their permit fees to $235 per permit which is in conflict with the CVC 35782 (b).
The Town of Tiburon doesn’t have any through routes. If you are traveling in Tiburon, you are specifically making a pick-up or delivery. There are only two main routes in and out of the city, which means you must return on them also.
The city has agreed that they can’t charge more than the $16 per the Vehicle code, but if you have to make a an equipment pick-up or delivery into any areas off the two main routes, it may take additional engineering or route review. The city is allowed to charge an additional charge for Usually Large or Heavy loads. They can charge additional $50 an hour, but only for services performed. The city stated that the charge will be the $235 as they have been charging, but are calling it something else. We have informed the city that if they do charge the $235, it can’t be for routine loads as described in California Code of Regulations (CCR’s) Permit Fees.
CCR 1411.3 Permit Fees (a) The permit fees shall be as follows:
Single trip permit or rider .......$16
Annual permit ........................$90
(b) In addition, a special service charge of $50 per hour will be imposed on the permittee for each hour expended directly on engineering investigations, routing definition, coordination, and control of permit movement for each individual load which meets any one of three following criteria:
- Loads in excess of 14 feet wide. (Caltrans is currently updating this to 15’ wide)
- Loads in excess of 135 feet in overall length
- Loads that are of a weight that require:
- More than a 13-axle, single-vehicle width hauling combination, or
- A 13-axle, single-vehicle width hauling combination with a load deck where the inner axles in the groups bordering the load deck are 40 feet or more apart, or
- Two or more side-by-side vehicles with a combined width of 14 feet or more supporting the load.
The city has agreed to adopt a uniform permit application as required by the California Vehicle Code.
We will continue to monitor the changes.
Red Dyed Fuel – Federal Requirements that directly affect your business
We recently received a call from a member with questions regarding Red Dyed Fuel.
The Sate and Federal Government take this very seriously and it doesn’t help if you’re competing with companies that are not following the rules. The loss of fuel tax revenue has been estimated to cost State and Federal treasuries several hundred million dollars annually. Since most of these funds are used for highway and transportation projects, vehicle operators in particular suffer from the loss of revenue caused by tax evasion associated with the use of dyed fuel.
Furthermore, dyed fuel makes it more difficult for dishonest individuals to evade the tax and undercut the prices charged by legitimate businesses that are paying the required taxes.
Dyed fuel must never be used in the tank of a highway vehicle that is registered or required to be registered. The Board of Equalization does have an exemption which is the DH Permit (SE Plate) as discussed in our article last month. When we spoke to the IRS, they were not aware of the exemption, or even how it is administered. The IRS states “There are other exemptions, but this one would be something that would affect our industry directly.”
Through lengthy conversation with the Board of Equalization (BoE) in Sacramento, they have not experienced any problems with the way the DH Permit is being administered or audited.
The fines are similar for each violation; the Internal Revenue Code specifies a penalty of $1,000 or $10 per gallon, whichever is greater, plus payment of the tax. States may impose additional fines.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also enforces a set of regulations that prohibits the use of red dyed high sulfur diesel fuel in motor vehicles, on or off public highways. The Clean Air Act specifies a penalty of up to $27,500 per day per violation. For questions concerning EPA regulations, you may need to contact your nearest office.
If you have any additional questions you may contact the IRS.
Respectfully submitted,
Gregory D. Dineen
Industry Transportation Consultant
cc: John Hakel, AGC D. Cash Benton, SCCA
Richard Paine, ECA Sam Meyer, MCOG
Richard Lambros, BIA Lee Brown, CDTOA
Aimee Shook, DCA Jeff Hunter, CTTA
Michael Vlaming, COA Michael Lewis, CIAQC
Doug Ball, SC&RA |
