BILL NUMBER: AB 995	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bigelow

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2015

   An act to amend Section 36101 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
farm vehicles.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 995, as introduced, Bigelow. Farm vehicles: registration
exemptions.
   Existing law exempts specified farm vehicles from registration
with the Department of Motor Vehicles if the vehicles have, and
display, an identification plate, including a cotton module mover and
a vehicle equipped with a water tank that is owned by a farmer and
used exclusively to service his or her own implements of husbandry.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 36101 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
   36101.  The following farm vehicles are exempt from registration,
if they have and display an identification plate as specified in
Section  5014, and the vehicles   5014. These
vehicles also  shall not be deemed to be implements of 
husbandry   husbandry,  and they shall be subject
to all equipment and device requirements as if registered:
   (a) A motor vehicle of a size so as to require a permit under
Section  35780   35780,  owned and operated
by a farmer, designed and used exclusively for carrying, or
returning empty from carrying, feed and seed products of farming, and
used on a highway between one part of a farm to another part of that
farm or from one farm to another farm.
   (b) A vehicle equipped with a water tank owned by a farmer and
used exclusively to service his or her own implements of husbandry.
   (c) A water tank truck that is owned by a farmer, not operated for
compensation, and used extensively in the conduct of agricultural
operations, when used exclusively (1) for sprinkling water on dirt
roads providing access to agricultural fields or (2) transportation
of water for irrigation of crops or trees.
   (d) (1) A cotton module mover, as defined in Section 36012.
   (2) In order to maintain the exemption from registration granted
under this subdivision for a truck tractor, when combined with a
semitrailer, the owner of that truck tractor shall not operate it
during the exemption period in any manner other than as a cotton
module mover, as defined in Section 36012, and shall do all of the
following:
   (A) Register the vehicle with the department before operating it
as a commercial motor vehicle.
   (B) Apply to the department on a yearly basis for any renewal of
the exemption from registration.
   (3) Exemption from registration under this subdivision does not
exempt a truck tractor, when combined with a semitrailer, operating
as a cotton module mover pursuant to Section 36012 and this
subdivision from the applicable safety requirements of this code or
any regulation adopted pursuant to any statute, including, but not
limited to, equipment standards, driver licensing requirements,
maximum driving and on-duty hours provisions, log book requirements,
drug and alcohol testing, maintenance of vehicles, and any driver or
vehicle standards specified in Division 14.8 (commencing with Section
34500).
   (4) Truck tractors exempt from registration under this subdivision
are subject to the fees imposed under Sections 9250, 9250.8, and
9250.13, and to any other vehicle fees that are imposed by statute on
or after January 1, 1998, that are deposited in the Motor Vehicle
Account.
   (e) A trailer that is equipped with a plenum chamber for the
drying of agricultural commodities.
   (f) Except as provided in subdivision (j) of Section 36005, a trap
wagon, as defined in Section 36016, that is equipped with a fuel
tank or tanks. The fuel tank or tanks shall not exceed 3,000 gallons
total capacity.
   (g) A forklift truck, operated by a farmer not for compensation.
For purposes of this section, a hay-squeeze shall be deemed a
forklift.
   (h)  (1)    A truck tractor or truck tractor and
semitrailer combination specified in this subdivision that is owned
by a farmer and operated on the highways only incidental to a farming
operation and not for compensation. This subdivision applies only to
truck tractors with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating
over 10,000 pounds that are equipped with all-wheel drive and
off-highway traction tires on all wheels, and only to semitrailers
used in combination with that truck tractor and exclusively in the
production or harvesting of melons. The vehicles specified in this
subdivision shall not be operated in excess of 25 miles per hour on
the highways. 
   The 
    (2)     The  Commissioner of the
California Highway Patrol may, by regulation, prohibit the vehicles
specified in this subdivision from operating on specific routes.
These vehicles shall not be operated laden on the highway for more
than two miles from the point of origin and shall not be operated for
more than 30 miles unladen on the highway from the point of origin.
These vehicles shall not be operated for more than 15 miles unladen
on the highway from the point of origin, unless accompanied by an
escort vehicle to the front, and an escort vehicle to the rear.
   (i)  (1)    A motor vehicle specifically
designed for, and used exclusively in, an agricultural operation for
purposes of carrying, or returning empty from carrying, silage that
is operated by a farmer, an employee of the farmer, or a contracted
employee of the farmer between one part of a farm to another part of
that farm or from one farm to another farm, on a highway for a
distance not to exceed 20 miles from the point of origin of the trip.
This subdivision does not include a vehicle that is used for the
transportation of silage for retail sales. 
    For 
    (2)     For  the purposes of this
subdivision, "silage" includes field corn, sorghum, grass, legumes,
cereals, or cereal mixes, either green or mature, converted into feed
for livestock.