Existing law provides for the exemption of authorized emergency vehicles from the payment of a toll or charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane and any related fines, when the authorized emergency vehicle is being driven under specified conditions, including, among others, the vehicle is displaying an exempt license plate and a public agency identification, such as Police.

Existing law requires the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of the local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement for the use of a toll facility.

This bill would clarify that the owner or operator of a toll facility is required to enter into an agreement for the use of a toll facility upon the request of a private or public local emergency service provider.

Existing law provides for the exemption of authorized emergency vehicles from the payment of a toll or charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane and any related fines, when the authorized emergency vehicle is being driven under specified conditions, including, among others, the vehicle is displaying an exempt license plate and a public agency identification, such as Police.

Existing law requires the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of the local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement for the use of a toll facility.

This bill would clarify that the owner or operator of a toll facility is required to enter into an agreement for the use of a toll facility upon the request of a private or public local emergency service provider.

Existing law exempts from the fees imposed under the Vehicle Code, except as specified, any vehicle owned by a public fire department organized as a nonprofit corporation or a voluntary fire department and used exclusively for firefighting or rescue purposes or exclusively as an ambulance. Existing law also provides for the exemption of authorized emergency vehicles from the payment of a toll or charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane and any related fines, when the authorized emergency vehicle is being driven under specified conditions, including, among others, the vehicle is displaying an exempt license plate and a public agency identification, such as Police.

Existing law exempts from the fees imposed under the Vehicle Code, except as specified, any vehicle owned by a public fire department organized as a nonprofit corporation or a voluntary fire department and used exclusively for firefighting or rescue purposes or exclusively as an ambulance. Existing law also provides for the exemption of authorized emergency vehicles from the payment of a toll or charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane and any related fines, when the authorized emergency vehicle is being driven under specified conditions, including, among others, the vehicle is displaying an exempt license plate and a public agency identification, such as Police.

This bill would extend the exemption from fees imposed under the Vehicle Code to a vehicle owned by a public or private entity used as an authorized emergency vehicle, as defined. The bill would include in the exemption of an authorized emergency vehicle exempt from the payment of a toll or charge a vehicle displaying an exempt license plate and emergency identification, including, but not limited to, Ambulance.

 CONSENT  

Bill No: AB 902

Author: Rodriguez (D)

Amended: 4/19/23 in Assembly

Vote: 21

SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: 16-0, 6/27/23

AYES: Gonzalez, Niello, Allen, Archuleta, Becker, Blakespear, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Limón, McGuire, Newman, Nguyen, Seyarto, Umberg, Wahab

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/18/23 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Ambulances: fee and toll exemptions

SOURCE: California Ambulance Association

DIGEST:

This bill clarifies that both public and private local emergency service providers can request the owner or operator of a toll facility to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility, including, but not limited to, being exempt from toll payment.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines “toll facility” to include a toll road, high-occupancy vehicle lane, toll bridge, or a vehicular crossing for which payment of a toll or other charge is required.
2. Defines “urgent response or call” to mean an incident or circumstance that requires an immediate response to a public safety-related incident, but does not warrant the use of emergency warning lights. Stipulates that “urgent” does not include any personal use, commuting, training, or administrative uses.
3. Exempts an authorized emergency vehicle from any requirement to pay a toll or other charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
   1. The authorized emergency vehicle is properly displaying an exempt California license plate, and is properly identified or marked as an authorized emergency vehicle, including, but not limited to, displaying an external surface-mounted red warning light, blue warning light, or both, and displaying public agency identification, including, but not limited to, “Fire Department,” “Sheriff,” or “Police.”
   2. The vehicle is being driven while responding to or returning from an urgent or emergency call, engaged in an urgent or emergency response, or engaging in a fire station coverage assignment directly related to an emergency response.
   3. The driver of the vehicle determines that the use of the toll facility shall likely improve the availability or response and arrival time of the authorized emergency vehicle and its delivery of essential public safety services.
4. Clarifies that an authorized emergency vehicle is not exempt from any requirement to pay a toll while traveling in a HOT lane when returning from an urgent or emergency call, or from being engaged in an urgent or emergency response, or from engaging in a fire station coverage assignment directly related to an emergency response.
5. Requires that if the operator of a toll facility elects to send a bill or invoice to the public agency for the use of the toll facility by an authorized emergency vehicle, the fire chief, police chief, county sheriff, head of the public agency, or designee, is authorized to certify in writing that the authorized emergency vehicle was responding to or returning from an emergency call or response and is exempt from the payment of the toll or other charge in accordance with this section. The letter shall be accepted by the toll operator in lieu of payment and is a public document.
6. Requires that, upon information or belief that an authorized emergency vehicle did not meet the conditions to be exempted from liability to pay the toll, the public agency shall make accessible, upon written request, to the toll operator the dispatch records or log books relevant to the time period when the vehicle was in use on the toll facility.
7. Stipulates that upon request of a local emergency provider, an owner or operator of a toll facility shall enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for the use of the toll facility by the emergency service provider. Provides that the provisions do not preclude a toll operator from establishing a policy that meets or exceeds the requirements.
8. Stipulates that the terms of an agreement between a toll operator and public agency do not extend to other public agencies that may use a toll facility in the jurisdiction of the toll operator when assisting the public agency that is subject to the agreement.

This bill clarifies that both public and private local emergency service providers can request the owner or operator of a toll facility to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility, including, but not limited to, being exempt from toll payment.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “In an emergency where every second matters, first responders must be able to quickly and efficiently travel to patients. However, bumper-to-bumper highway traffic forces ambulances to travel through highway tolls to quickly reach their destination during an emergency. Because first responders should not pay for taking life-saving measures, public first responders are exempt from paying tolls when traveling to and returning from an emergency. They establish individual MOUs or contracts with toll authorities to establish systems of payment, vehicle identification, and exchanges of records. Private ambulances, however, are not exempt from paying tolls. Additionally, private ambulances have reported that toll authorities have either refused to exempt them from toll payments or have been unresponsive to requests to establish these contracts. Patients should not bear the consequences of these tolls, nor should private ambulances be punished or disincentivized from using the most efficient route possible. This bill would require toll authorities to establish an MOU regarding toll payments upon request by a private ambulance company, which may include a request for an exemption from payment when traveling through a toll. The policy would enable ambulances to reduce costs and decrease travel times.”
2. Emergency vehicles use of toll facilities. The use of toll roads has become a necessity for first responders traveling to emergency situations. As a result of increased wildfires across the state, the COVID-19 pandemic, and staffing shortages, first responders of all kinds are traveling farther distances in order to respond to life threatening emergencies. As a result of disregard for the posted speed limit during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), who manage the toll facilities in Orange County, partnered with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to increase the presence of law enforcement officers on toll facilities to encourage drivers to respect posted speed limits, which could lead to more first responders utilizing more toll facilities, such as HOT lanes.

AB 254 (Jeffries, Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009) created an exemption that allows authorized emergency vehicles to utilize all toll facilities, including HOT lanes, while responding to an incident, in order to decrease travel time. Specifically, authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from tolls on a toll road, HOT lane, toll bridge, toll highway, or vehicular crossing while traveling to an urgent or emergency call, under certain circumstances. The emergency vehicles must have an exempt California license plate, and be properly identified or marked as an emergency vehicle, including warning lights and public agency identification.

1. How do tolls work in California? Toll systems in California rely on a few methods for registering a person’s use of a toll facility and payment of the tolls.  First, is via a vehicle-mounted toll tag or sticker transponder that is read by antennae and associated electronically to a person’s FasTrak account. Second, license plate readers are cameras that are positioned in various entrances and/or exits to the toll lane or bridge to record images of the license plate as a vehicle passes and tolls are assessed electronically to a person’s account or to a one-time payment transaction. Additionally, on a handful of toll bridges, if a person has no transponder, the license plate information can be used to send a toll invoice to the registered owner of the vehicle.
2. How do toll operators implement the emergency vehicle exemption? Although authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from tolls in some circumstances, current law authorizes the toll operator to charge the authorized emergency vehicle public agency for any vehicles that have entered and used the toll facility. The charge can then be annulled with the written certification from a fire chief, police chief, county sheriff, head of the public agency, or designee, that the authorized emergency vehicle was responding to or returning from an emergency call, and the public agency is exempt from the payment of the toll. This back and forth review can be an administrative burden for both the toll operator and the public agencies.

Current law also allows for agencies to enter into agreements, with mutually agreed upon terms, with toll operator; however, contracts can vary across the state. For example, the CHP has successfully implemented an ongoing agreement with toll agencies. Essentially, the agreement allows the public agency that owns and operates the authorized emergency vehicles to identify the eligible vehicles via license plates.  The toll agencies set up a so-called “non-revenue” account with the public agency, free of charge, and register the license plates for plate readers and may issue transponders for use.  This way the public agency is not issued a toll invoice for use of the facilities.  The public agency can access its account at any time and update authorized vehicles. This type of agreement could be replicated by public agencies across the state.

1. Private ambulances are not automatically exempt. According to the California Ambulance Association, the sponsors of AB 902, there are approximately 715 public and private ambulance services statewide, of which 170 are private. Additionally, California has 3,600 licensed ambulances covering 337 emergency ambulance service areas, of which more than 220 are served by private ambulance companies.

Current law exempts authorized emergency vehicles from paying any vehicular tolls when driving to and returning from an emergency call. Although, private ambulance providers are not explicitly covered under this exemption, there is no prohibition for toll operators to enter into an agreement with them. In fact, in his veto message of AB 697 (Fong, 2017), which would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances from requirements to pay tolls, Governor Brown stated, “Under existing law, the exemption sought by this bill can be granted by toll facility authorities and no evidence has been presented to show why the state should now step in.”

1. AB 902 builds upon an agreement with toll operators last year. Last year, the Legislature passed and Governor Newsom signed into law, AB 2270 (Seyarto, Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022), which required tolls operators to develop and enter into agreements with authorized emergency services providers upon request of the agency. Additionally, the law stipulated the agreements must be mutually agreed upon terms. The author was committed to facilitating a statewide agreement between toll operators and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), similar to the one reached by the CHP.

AB 902 builds upon this process by adding “private or public” to the emergency service providers who can request the development of an agreement with toll operators, which may include being exempted from toll payments. Again, the bill retains current law that the agreements must be mutually agreed upon terms.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 2270 (Seyarto, Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022) required the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of a local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility.

AB 2542 (Rubio, 2022) would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances, as defined, from requirements to pay tolls, under conditions similar to exemptions already granted for authorized emergency vehicles; defines "private ambulance" to mean a privately owned emergency ambulance licensed by the CHP. This bill was held in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

AB 261 (Seyarto, 2021) would have exempted an authorized emergency vehicles from payment of an HOT toll when returning from an urgent emergency call. This bill was held in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

AB 697 (Fong, 2017) would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances, as defined, from requirements to pay tolls, under conditions similar to exemptions already granted for authorized emergency vehicles; defines "private ambulance" to mean a privately owned emergency ambulance licensed by the CHP. AB 697 was vetoed by Governor Brown.

AB 254 (Jeffries, Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009) established the circumstances under which an authorized emergency vehicle is exempt from paying a toll on a tolled facility.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 7/10/23)

California Ambulance Association (source)

OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/10/23)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to CAA, the sponsors of the bill, “CAA’s member companies must often send their ambulances through toll facilities to reach their destination. This can be an onerous, timely, and costly ordeal. When pertaining to emergency situations, every second counts. This bill will address this significant issue by allowing our industry the opportunity to work with our local toll authorities on solutions that best fit the needs of the communities we serve.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Zbur, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cervantes, Vince Fong, Friedman, Villapudua, Waldron, Wilson

Prepared by: Melissa White / TRANS. / (916) 651-4121

7/12/23 14:10:17

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Senator Lena Gonzalez, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: AB 902 Hearing Date: 6/27/2023

SUBJECT: Ambulances: fee and toll exemptions

DIGEST: This bill clarifies that both public and private local emergency service providers can request the owner or operator of a toll facility to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility, including, but not limited to, being exempt from toll payment.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines “toll facility” to include a toll road, high-occupancy vehicle lane, toll bridge, or a vehicular crossing for which payment of a toll or other charge is required.
2. Defines “urgent response or call” to mean an incident or circumstance that requires an immediate response to a public safety-related incident, but does not warrant the use of emergency warning lights. Stipulates that “urgent” does not include any personal use, commuting, training, or administrative uses.
3. Exempts an authorized emergency vehicle from any requirement to pay a toll or other charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
   1. The authorized emergency vehicle is properly displaying an exempt California license plate, and is properly identified or marked as an authorized emergency vehicle, including, but not limited to, displaying an external surface-mounted red warning light, blue warning light, or both, and displaying public agency identification, including, but not limited to, “Fire Department,” “Sheriff,” or “Police.”
   2. The vehicle is being driven while responding to or returning from an urgent or emergency call, engaged in an urgent or emergency response, or engaging in a fire station coverage assignment directly related to an emergency response.
   3. The driver of the vehicle determines that the use of the toll facility shall likely improve the availability or response and arrival time of the authorized emergency vehicle and its delivery of essential public safety services.
4. Clarifies that an authorized emergency vehicle is not exempt from any requirement to pay a toll while traveling in a HOT lane when returning from an urgent or emergency call, or from being engaged in an urgent or emergency response, or from engaging in a fire station coverage assignment directly related to an emergency response.
5. Requires that if the operator of a toll facility elects to send a bill or invoice to the public agency for the use of the toll facility by an authorized emergency vehicle, the fire chief, police chief, county sheriff, head of the public agency, or designee, is authorized to certify in writing that the authorized emergency vehicle was responding to or returning from an emergency call or response and is exempt from the payment of the toll or other charge in accordance with this section. The letter shall be accepted by the toll operator in lieu of payment and is a public document.
6. Requires that, upon information or belief that an authorized emergency vehicle did not meet the conditions to be exempted from liability to pay the toll, the public agency shall make accessible, upon written request, to the toll operator the dispatch records or log books relevant to the time period when the vehicle was in use on the toll facility.
7. Stipulates that upon request of a local emergency provider, an owner or operator of a toll facility shall enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for the use of the toll facility by the emergency service provider. Provides that the provisions do not preclude a toll operator from establishing a policy that meets or exceeds the requirements.
8. Stipulates that the terms of an agreement between a toll operator and public agency do not extend to other public agencies that may use a toll facility in the jurisdiction of the toll operator when assisting the public agency that is subject to the agreement.

This bill:

1. Clarifies that both public and private local emergency service providers can request the owner or operator of a toll facility to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility, including, but not limited to, being exempt from toll payment.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “In an emergency where every second matters, first responders must be able to quickly and efficiently travel to patients. However, bumper-to-bumper highway traffic forces ambulances to travel through highway tolls to quickly reach their destination during an emergency. Because first responders should not pay for taking life-saving measures, public first responders are exempt from paying tolls when traveling to and returning from an emergency. They establish individual MOUs or contracts with toll authorities to establish systems of payment, vehicle identification, and exchanges of records. Private ambulances, however, are not exempt from paying tolls. Additionally, private ambulances have reported that toll authorities have either refused to exempt them from toll payments or have been unresponsive to requests to establish these contracts. Patients should not bear the consequences of these tolls, nor should private ambulances be punished or disincentivized from using the most efficient route possible. This bill would require toll authorities to establish an MOU regarding toll payments upon request by a private ambulance company, which may include a request for an exemption from payment when traveling through a toll. The policy would enable ambulances to reduce costs and decrease travel times.”
2. Emergency vehicles use of toll facilities. The use of toll roads has become a necessity for first responders traveling to emergency situations. As a result of increased wildfires across the state, the COVID-19 pandemic, and staffing shortages, first responders of all kinds are traveling farther distances in order to respond to life threatening emergencies. As a result of disregard for the posted speed limit during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), who manage the toll facilities in Orange County, partnered with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to increase the presence of law enforcement officers on toll facilities to encourage drivers to respect posted speed limits, which could lead to more first responders utilizing more toll facilities, such as HOT lanes.

AB 254 (Jeffries, Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009) created an exemption that allows authorized emergency vehicles to utilize all toll facilities, including HOT lanes, while responding to an incident, in order to decrease travel time. Specifically, authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from tolls on a toll road, HOT lane, toll bridge, toll highway, or vehicular crossing while traveling to an urgent or emergency call, under certain circumstances. The emergency vehicles must have an exempt California license plate, and be properly identified or marked as an emergency vehicle, including warning lights and public agency identification.

1. How do tolls work in California? Toll systems in California rely on a few methods for registering a person’s use of a toll facility and payment of the tolls.  First, is via a vehicle-mounted toll tag or sticker transponder that is read by antennae and associated electronically to a person’s FasTrak account. Second, license plate readers are cameras that are positioned in various entrances and/or exits to the toll lane or bridge to record images of the license plate as a vehicle passes and tolls are assessed electronically to a person’s account or to a one-time payment transaction. Additionally, on a handful of toll bridges, if a person has no transponder, the license plate information can be used to send a toll invoice to the registered owner of the vehicle.
2. How do toll operators implement the emergency vehicle exemption? Although authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from tolls in some circumstances, current law authorizes the toll operator to charge the authorized emergency vehicle public agency for any vehicles that have entered and used the toll facility. The charge can then be annulled with the written certification from a fire chief, police chief, county sheriff, head of the public agency, or designee, that the authorized emergency vehicle was responding to or returning from an emergency call, and the public agency is exempt from the payment of the toll. This back and forth review can be an administrative burden for both the toll operator and the public agencies.

Current law also allows for agencies to enter into agreements, with mutually agreed upon terms, with toll operator; however, contracts can vary across the state. For example, the CHP has successfully implemented an ongoing agreement with toll agencies. Essentially, the agreement allows the public agency that owns and operates the authorized emergency vehicles to identify the eligible vehicles via license plates.  The toll agencies set up a so-called “non-revenue” account with the public agency, free of charge, and register the license plates for plate readers and may issue transponders for use.  This way the public agency is not issued a toll invoice for use of the facilities.  The public agency can access its account at any time and update authorized vehicles. This type of agreement could be replicated by public agencies across the state.

1. Private ambulances are not automatically exempt. According to the California Ambulance Association, the sponsors of AB 902, there are approximately 715 public and private ambulance services statewide, of which 170 are private. Additionally, California has 3,600 licensed ambulances covering 337 emergency ambulance service areas, of which more than 220 are served by private ambulance companies.

Current law exempts authorized emergency vehicles from paying any vehicular tolls when driving to and returning from an emergency call. Although, private ambulance providers are not explicitly covered under this exemption, there is no prohibition for toll operators to enter into an agreement with them. In fact, in his veto message of AB 697 (Fong, 2017), which would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances from requirements to pay tolls, Governor Brown stated, “Under existing law, the exemption sought by this bill can be granted by toll facility authorities and no evidence has been presented to show why the state should now step in.”

1. AB 902 builds upon an agreement with toll operators last year. Last year, the Legislature passed and Governor Newsom signed into law, AB 2270 (Seyarto, Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022), which requires tolls operators to develop and enter into agreements with authorized emergency services providers upon request of the agency. Additionally, the law stipulates the agreements must be mutually agreed upon terms. The author was committed to facilitating a statewide agreement between toll operators and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), similar to the one reached by the CHP.

AB 902 builds upon this process by adding “private or public” to the emergency service providers who can request the development of an agreement with toll operators, which may include being exempted from toll payments. Again, the bill retains current law that the agreements must be mutually agreed upon terms.

According to CAA, the sponsors of the bill, “CAA’s member companies must often send their ambulances through toll facilities to reach their destination. This can be an onerous, timely, and costly ordeal. When pertaining to emergency situations, every second counts. This bill will address this significant issue by allowing our industry the opportunity to work with our local toll authorities on solutions that best fit the needs of the communities we serve.”

Related/PREVIOUS Legislation:

AB 2270 (Seyarto, Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022) -- Required the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of a local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility.

AB 2542 (Rubio, 2022) -- Would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances, as defined, from requirements to pay tolls, under conditions similar to exemptions already granted for authorized emergency vehicles; defines "private ambulance" to mean a privately owned emergency ambulance licensed by the CHP. This bill was held in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

AB 261 (Seyarto, 2021) – Would have exempted an authorized emergency vehicles from payment of an HOT toll when returning from an urgent emergency call. This bill was held in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

AB 697 (Fong, 2017) -- Would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances, as defined, from requirements to pay tolls, under conditions similar to exemptions already granted for authorized emergency vehicles; defines "private ambulance" to mean a privately owned emergency ambulance licensed by the CHP. AB 697 was vetoed by Governor Brown.

AB 254 (Jeffries, Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009) – Established the circumstances under which an authorized emergency vehicle is exempt from paying a toll on a tolled facility.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

June 21, 2023.)

SUPPORT:

California Ambulance Association (sponsor)

OPPOSITION:

None received

-- END --

Date of Hearing: May 10, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 902

Author:(Rodriguez) – As Amended Ver:April 19, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

Existing law requires the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of a local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility by the emergency services provider. This bill modifies this existing requirement by making explicit that the local emergency service provider may be either a public local emergency service provider or a private emergency service provider.

FISCAL EFFECT:

No state costs.

COMMENTS:

Background and Purpose. Existing law exempts authorized emergency vehicles from paying any vehicular tolls when driving to and returning from an emergency call. However, the law does not explicitly provide this exemption to private emergency service providers. While toll providers and private emergency service providers may enter into an MOU, there is no requirement to do so. According to the author:

AB 254 (Jeffries) Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009 exempted ambulances from public agencies from paying any vehicular tolls when driving to and returning from an emergency call. AB 2270 (Seyarto) Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022 required toll authorities to establish contracts or Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with local emergency service providers...However, AB 2270 was unclear if it includes private ambulance companies. These companies have reported that toll authorities have either refused to exempt them from tolls or have been unresponsive to requests to do so. Patients should not bear the financial consequences of these tolls, nor should private ambulances be punished or disincentivized from using the most efficient route possible. This bill would require toll authorities to establish an MOU regarding toll payments upon request by a private ambulance company, which may include an exemption from payment for traveling through a toll. The policy would enable ambulances to reduce costs and decrease travel times.

Analysis Prepared by: Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 24, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Laura Friedman, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 902 (

Author:Rodriguez) – As Amended Ver:April 19, 2023

SUBJECT: Ambulances: fee and toll exemptions

SUMMARY: Requires the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of a public or private local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement for the use of a toll facility, including, but not limited to, being exempt from toll payment.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Exempts an authorized emergency vehicle from any requirement to pay a toll or other charge on a vehicular crossing, toll highway, or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane, if all of the following conditions are satisfied (Vehicle Code Section (VEH) 23301.5):
2. The authorized emergency vehicle is properly displaying an exempt California license plate, and is properly identified or marked as an authorized emergency vehicle, including, but not limited to, displaying an external surface-mounted red warning light, blue warning light, or both, and displaying public agency identification, including, but not limited to, “Fire Department,” “Sheriff,” or “Police.”
3. The vehicle is being driven while responding to or returning from an urgent or emergency call, engaged in an urgent or emergency response, or engaging in a fire station coverage assignment directly related to an emergency response:
   1. An “urgent” response or call means an incident or circumstance that requires an immediate response to a public safety-related incident, but does not warrant the use of emergency warning lights. “Urgent” does not include any personal use, commuting, training, or administrative uses.
4. An authorized emergency vehicle is not exempt from any requirement to pay a toll while traveling in a HOT lane when returning from an urgent or emergency call, or from being engaged in an urgent or emergency response, or from engaging in a fire station coverage assignment directly related to an emergency response.
5. The driver of the vehicle determines that the use of the toll facility shall likely improve the availability or response and arrival time of the authorized emergency vehicle and its delivery of essential public safety services.
6. If the operator of a toll facility elects to send a bill or invoice to the public agency for the use of the toll facility by an authorized emergency vehicle, the fire chief, police chief, county sheriff, head of the public agency, or designee, is authorized to certify in writing that the authorized emergency vehicle was responding to or returning from an emergency call or response and is exempt from the payment of the toll or other charge in accordance with this section. The letter shall be accepted by the toll operator in lieu of payment and is a public document.
7. Provides that, upon information or belief that an authorized emergency vehicle did not meet the conditions to be exempted from liability to pay the toll, the public agency shall make accessible, upon written request, to the toll operator the dispatch records or log books relevant to the time period when the vehicle was in use on the toll facility.
8. Provides that the provisions of this bill do not prohibit or amend an agreement into entered between a public agency and a toll operator that establishes mutually-agreed upon terms for the use of the facility, and further provides that they do not preclude a toll operator from establishing a policy that meet or exceeds them.
9. Provides that the terms of an agreement between a toll operator and public agency do not extend to other public agencies that may use a toll facility in the jurisdiction of the toll operator when assisting the public agency that is subject to the agreement.
10. Defines “toll facility” to include a toll road, high-occupancy vehicle lane, toll bridge, or a vehicular crossing for which payment of a toll or other charge is required.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: The use of toll roads has become a necessity for first responders traveling to emergency situations. As a result of increased wildfires across the state, the COVID-19 pandemic, and staffing shortages, first responders, and particularly firefighters, are traveling farther distances in order to respond to life threatening emergencies. As a result of disregard for the posted speed limit during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Transportation Corridor Agencies partnered with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to increase the presence of law enforcement officers on The Toll Roads to encourage drivers to respect posted speed limits. This means more first responders on more toll roads.

Current law allows authorized emergency vehicles to utilize HOT lanes while responding to an incident, in order to decrease travel time. Authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from tolls while traveling to an incident, under certain circumstances, however the toll operator may still charge the authorized emergency vehicle public agency. The charge is annulled with the written certification from a fire chief, police chief, county sheriff, head of the public agency, or designee, that the authorized emergency vehicle was responding to or returning from an emergency call, and the public agency is exempt from the payment of the toll.

While toll operators already have the authority to enter into agreements with local ambulance companies, these agreements generally do not apply to companies outside the area. Furthermore, these arrangements vary; for example, the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operates in Orange County, already has an exemption for privately owned ambulances, but the Riverside County Transportation Commission only grants exemptions to the CHP and local fire departments. Private ambulances frequently travel outside their jurisdiction, especially during natural disasters or shortages. These companies pay $2.5 million annually on tolls—money that could be well put to use for other operating expenses vital to keeping patients alive and healthy.

Statewide, there are approximately 3,600 licensed ambulances covering 337 emergency ambulance service areas statewide, of which more than 220 are served by private ambulance companies.

Need for clarity: Existing law exempts authorized emergency vehicles from paying any vehicular tolls when driving to and returning from an emergency call. However, private ambulance providers are not explicitly covered under this exemption. While toll providers and private emergency service providers may enter into an MOU, as CHP has, without statutory authority, this bill provides needed clarity. This bill provides that if a private or public local emergency responder requests to enter into an agreement with a local toll provider, the agreement may include a toll exemption. These toll roads are often the fastest and sometimes the only way to reach an urgent call, and there is no disagreement that getting first responders to an emergency is of the utmost importance.

Tolls mean paperwork for first responders: Under current law, authorized emergency vehicles are exempt from tolls in some circumstances. However, to receive reimbursement for tolls paid, or not pay the tolls, public agencies must track the payment or delinquency of the toll payment. As a result of excessive paperwork burdens, sometimes this workload goes unaddressed by the public agency due to the high volume of toll road use by authorized emergency vehicles.

While working agreements exist between individual departments across the state and toll agencies, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, for example, still receives approximately 1,500 toll violations each year. Most of the violations are exempted and the fees waived, but there is a significant impact to the department from the staff time needed to resolve the violations.

Toll evasion penalties include any late payment penalty, administrative fee, fine, assessment, and costs of collection. Existing law limits toll evasion violation penalties to $100 for the first offense, $250 for a second within one year, and $500 for each additional violation within one year.

Local agreements: Current statue does not prohibit public agencies from entering into an agreement with toll agencies, however contracts can vary across the state. The CHP has successfully implemented an ongoing agreement with toll agencies, which could be replicated by public agencies across the state.

This bill works to facilitate a similar process whereby private ambulances must enter into an agreement with local toll providers which may include an exemption from tolls.

According to the author, “AB 254 (Jeffries) Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009 exempted ambulances from public agencies from paying any vehicular tolls when driving to and returning from an emergency call. AB 2270 (Seyarto) Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022 required toll authorities to establish contracts or Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with local emergency service providers to help implement AB 254 and provide a system determining when and how an emergency vehicle pays tolls. However, AB 2270 was unclear if it includes private ambulance companies. These companies have reported that toll authorities have either refused to exempt them from tolls or have been unresponsive to requests to do so. Patients should not bear the financial consequences of these tolls, nor should private ambulances be punished or disincentivized from using the most efficient route possible. This bill would require toll authorities to establish an MOU regarding toll payments upon request by a private ambulance company, which may include an exemption from payment for traveling through a toll. The policy would enable ambulances to reduce costs and decrease travel times.”

Previous legislation. AB 2270 (Seyarto) Chapter 497, Statutes of 2022 requires the owner or operator of a toll facility, upon the request of a local emergency service provider, to enter into an agreement to establish mutually agreed upon terms for use of the toll facility

AB 261 (Seyarto of 2021) would have exempted an authored emergency vehicle from payment of an HOT toll when returning from an urgent emergency call.

AB 697 (Fong of 2017) would have exempted privately owned emergency ambulances, as defined, from requirements to pay tolls, under conditions similar to exemptions already granted for authorized emergency vehicles; defines "private ambulance" to mean a privately owned emergency ambulance licensed by the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

AB 256 (Jeffries) Chapter 425, Statutes of 2009 establishes the circumstances under which an authorized emergency vehicle is exempt from paying a toll on a tolled facility.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Julia Kingsley / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093