AB 939: Local government: taxicab transportation services.

(1)Existing law, commencing on January 1, 2019, requires every city or county in which a taxicab is substantially located to adopt an ordinance or resolution in regard to taxicab transportation service and requires each city or county to provide for a policy for entry into the business of providing taxicab transportation service, the establishment or registration of rates for the provision of taxicab transportation service, and a mandatory controlled substance and alcohol testing certification program for drivers. Existing law similarly authorizes the City and County of San Francisco, regardless of whether or not a taxicab company is substantially located within that city and county. Existing law prohibits a city or county from requiring a taxicab company or driver to comply with specified local regulations, unless that taxicab company or driver is substantially located within that city or county. Existing law prohibits a taxicab company or a taxicab driver from operating within a county unless the company and driver are substantially located in at least one city within that county or the unincorporated area of that county. Existing law authorizes a permitted taxicab company to arrange prearranged trips anywhere within the county in which it has obtained a permit.

This bill would, instead, require each city or county in which a taxicab company is substantially located to adopt an ordinance or resolution in regards to taxicab transportation service, that includes provisions for a permitting program for taxicab drivers, and would provide that it is unlawful to operate a taxicab company without a valid permit to operate issued by each city or county in which the taxicab company is substantially located. The bill would remove the prohibition on a taxicab company or a taxicab driver from operating within a county unless the company and driver are substantially located in at least one city within that county or the unincorporated area of that county. The bill would authorize a taxicab company permitted by a city or a county to arrange prearranged trips anywhere within that county. The bill would define permitted taxicab company for these purposes to mean a taxicab service provider that obtains all necessary permits required by these provisions, and to include a taxicab driver if a taxicab company consists of only one driver.

(2)Existing law requires a permitted taxicab company to comply with certain requirements, including that it be subject to an annual inspection by the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

This bill would, instead, require a permitted taxicab company to be subject to an annual inspection by the city or county in which it is substantially located, at a facility that is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence or a facility registered with the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

(3)Existing law deems a city or county in which a taxicab company operates as a city or county in which a taxicab company driver is substantially located if the city or county enacts a resolution of intention to enter into a joint exercise of powers agreement or join a joint powers authority, or to enter into an agreement with a transit agency, for the purpose of regulating or administering taxicab companies.

This bill would, instead, authorize a city or county to enter into an agreement with another city or county to form a joint powers authority, or to enter into an agreement with a transit agency, for the purpose of regulating or administering taxicab companies and taxicab drivers, as applicable, that are substantially located within the jurisdictional boundaries of that entity.

(4)Existing law defines the term substantially located for these purposes to mean that the taxicab company has a primary business address within that jurisdiction, or that trips originating within that jurisdiction account for the largest share of the companys total number of trips within the county within the past year, and determined every 5 years thereafter. Existing law requires a taxicab company to collect specified data in order to determine what jurisdiction that company is substantially located in.

This bill would modify the test to specify that a taxicab company is substantially located within a city or county if that company has a primary business address within the jurisdiction of that entity, or if the total number of prearranged and nonprearranged trips that originate within that citys or countys jurisdiction account for the largest share of the taxicab companys total number of trips within each county where the taxicab company operated over the previous calendar year, as determined annually. The bill would establish a modified test for a taxicab company that initiates taxicab operations after January 1, 2019, in a county in which that company had not previously operated, by providing that for the first year of its operation the taxicab company is substantially located only in the jurisdiction in which it has a primary business address, and from that point forward would provide that the general substantially located test described above applies to determine whether the taxicab company is substantially located in a jurisdiction. The bill would make conforming changes to that effect.

The bill would require a taxicab company that changes from being substantially located in one city or county to another to notify the new city or county 6 months before making that change.

(5)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(6)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.