BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 67
Author: Perata (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 3/27/07
AYES: Romero, Cedillo, Margett, Ridley-Thomas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Vehicles: speed contests and reckless driving
SOURCE : City of Oakland
DIGEST : This bill reinstates law that was sunsetted on
December 31, 2006, which provided that when a person is
arrested for reckless driving, reckless driving in a
parking facility, exhibition of speed or a speed contest
the officer may seize and impound the vehicle for 30 days.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that any person who
drives any vehicle upon a highway in willful or wanton
disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty
of reckless driving. A person who drives any vehicle in
any offstreet parking facility in a willful or wanton
disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty
of reckless driving. [Section 23103 of the Vehicle Code
(VEH)]
CONTINUED
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Existing law provides that no person shall engage in any
motor vehicle speed contest which includes a motor vehicle
race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing
device. Existing law also prohibits aiding or abetting in
a speed contest. Existing law also prohibits the
exhibition of speed in any motor vehicle or the aiding and
abetting of the exhibition of speed. The penalty for a
speed contest or the exhibition of speed is a misdemeanor
punishable as a first offense by 24 hours to 90 days in
jail and/or a fine of $355-$1,000 and for a second offense,
within five years, four days to six months in jail and a
fine of $500-$1,000. [VEH 23109]
Existing law, as of January 1, 2007, provides that when a
person is arrested for a speed contest the officer may
impound the vehicle for not more than 30 days. The
registered and legal owner of the vehicle shall be provided
with a hearing regarding the storage and the vehicle shall
be returned before the conclusion of the impoundment period
under the following circumstances:
1. If the vehicle is a stolen vehicle.
2. If the person alleged to have engaged in the speed
contest was not authorized by the registered owner to
drive the vehicle at the time of the offense.
3. If the legal or registered owner is a rental agency.
4. If the citation is dismissed and criminal charges are
not filed.
5. To the legal owner if the legal owner pays the
impoundment fees and presents foreclosure documents.
[VEH 23109.2]
Existing law, from September 2002 until January 1, 2007,
provided that in addition to the above when a person is
arrested for reckless driving, reckless driving in a
parking facility, or exhibition of speed the officer may
seize and impound the vehicle.
This bill reinstates the law as it was on December 31,
2006, by providing that when a person is arrested for
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reckless driving, reckless driving in a parking facility,
exhibition of speed or a speed contest the officer may
seize and impound the vehicle.
This bill reinstates the law as it was on December 31,
2006, by providing that the impounding agency shall release
the vehicle if the registered owner of the vehicle was
neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the
time of the violation or was unaware that the driver was
using the vehicle to engage in any of the activities
prohibited by this bill.
Background
The provisions in this bill were in SB 1489 (Perata) which
was signed into law as an urgency measure on September 9,
2002. The bill contained a sunset of January 1, 2007. The
provisions were not renewed last year, therefore the
provisions allowing for impound of a vehicle for reckless
driving, reckless driving in an offstreet parking facility
and exhibition of speed are no longer in effect. This bill
reenacts those provisions thus returning the law to the way
it was on December 31, 2006.
According to the City of Oakland, the sponsor of this bill
and the bill that passed in 2002, these provisions have
been helpful in deterring "sideshow" activities (reckless
driving, reckless driving in a parking facility, exhibition
of speed or a speed contest). The ability to impound the
cars acted as a powerful deterrent even though they
impounded fewer than 25 cars in the time the law was in
effect.
Prior legislation . SB 1489 (Perata), Chapter 111, Statutes
of 2002.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/11/07)
City of Oakland (source)
American Automobile Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
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Employees, AFL-CIO
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Automobile Club of Southern California
Beat 35Y South Hills Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council
California District Attorneys Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Automobile Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
City of Moreno Valley
Department of Insurance
District Attorney Investigators in Los Angeles County
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Office of the Sheriff San Bernardino County
Peace Officers Research Association
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"This bill provides that when a person is arrested for
participating in sideshow activity (defined as reckless
driving, reckless driving in a parking facility,
exhibition of speed or a speed contest) the officer may
seize and impound the vehicle for up to thirty days.
"This bill provides that the impounding agency shall
release the vehicle if the registered owner of the
vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the
vehicle at the time of the violation or was unaware that
the driver was using the vehicle to engage in any of the
activities prohibited by this bill.
"Numerous cities throughout California are experiencing
problems related to "sideshows." Sideshows are a
spontaneous gathering of people and vehicles which
disturb the public and endanger the participants and
often innocent bystanders. Sideshows typically occur in
vacant parking facilities or on public streets and
include exhibitions of speed, spinning donuts, and other
acts of reckless driving. Along with the vehicle related
problems, sideshows can draw large crowds where other
crimes often occur including: public intoxication, drug
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use, fights, littering, vandalism, and defacement of
property.
"Over the last 5 years, sideshows have grown in
popularity and spread throughout California. The advent
of YouTube and other Internet video Web sites, as well as
the popularization of these activities through music,
have resulted in increased sideshow activity in suburban
and rural parts of the state.
"SB 67 is a follow-up measure to SB 1489 (Perata), which
was signed into law in 2002. SB 1489 sunsetted on
January 1, 2007. This bill proposes to reestablish the
provisions of SB 1489, without a sunset date.
"SB 1489 served as a valuable tool for law enforcement in
combating the problems of, and associated with,
sideshows. After the passage of SB 1489 the City of
Oakland saw a dramatic reduction in the amount of
sideshow activity. The impoundment provisions have
served as a powerful deterrent to combat the problems of
sideshows in Oakland."
RJG:mw 4/11/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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