SECTIONS 421-426 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 421-426

421. (a) The commission shall annually determine a fee to be paid
by every passenger stage corporation, charter-party carrier of
passengers, pipeline corporation, for-hire vessel operator, common
carrier vessel operator, railroad corporation, and commercial air
operator, and every other common carrier and related business subject
to the jurisdiction of the commission, except as otherwise provided
in Article 3 (commencing with Section 431) of this chapter and
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 5001) of Division 2.
(b) The annual fee shall be established to produce a total amount
equal to the amount established in the authorized commission budget
for the same year, including adjustments appropriated by the
Legislature and an appropriate reserve, to regulate common carriers
and related businesses, less the amount to be paid from special
accounts or funds pursuant to Section 403, reimbursements, federal
funds, other revenues, and unencumbered funds from the preceding
year.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the fees paid by
railroad corporations shall be used for state-funded railroad
investigation and enforcement activities of the commission, other
than the rail safety activities funded by the Transportation Planning
and Development Account pursuant to Section 99315. The railroad fees
shall be set annually at a level which generates not less than the
amount sufficient to fund activities pursuant to Sections 765.5,
7711, and 7712.
(d) On January 1, 1992, the commission shall submit to the
Legislature a detailed budget implementing this section for the
1992-93 fiscal year. The commission shall also submit to the
Legislature by January 1, 1993, and on each January 1 thereafter, a
detailed budget for expenditure of railroad corporation fees for the
ensuing budget year. The budget for expenditure of railroad
corporation fees, for each of the 1996-97 and 1997-98 fiscal years,
shall not exceed the amount of three million dollars ($3,000,000).
Expenditures of this budget shall be limited to the following items:
(1) Expenditures for employees occupying, and actually performing
service in, railroad-safety personnel positions that are directly
involved in inspecting railroads and enforcing rail safety
regulations. The commission shall expend the funds budgeted pursuant
to this subdivision for the salaries, per diem, and travel expenses
of employees specified in this paragraph, unless, by statute, the
commission is specifically prohibited from expending all or part of
those funds.
(2) Expenditures for employees occupying, and actually performing
service in, clerical and support staff positions that are directly
associated with railroad-safety inspections.
(3) Expenditures for legal personnel who actually pursue
violations of rail safety regulations beyond the informal complaint
level.
(4) Expenditures for an audit by the Bureau of State Audits
pursuant to subdivision (f), not to exceed seventy-five thousand
dollars ($75,000).
(5) Expenditures for the pro rata share of the commission's
overhead costs while state personnel are actually occupying the
positions, and are performing the duties specified in paragraphs (1)
to (4), inclusive.
(e) The Department of Finance shall notify the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee, pursuant to Section 28.00 of the annual Budget Act,
prior to authorizing any change in the Budget Act appropriation for
railroad corporation fees that is larger than one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000), or 10 percent of the amount budgeted, whichever
is less.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, commencing
with the 1993-94 fiscal year, and in each subsequent fiscal year
until the 1999-2000 fiscal year, the commission shall conduct an
audit of the expenditure of the funds received pursuant to this
section, except that for the 1996-97 fiscal year and fiscal years
thereafter the audit shall be conducted by the Bureau of State
Audits. The results of this audit shall be reported, in writing,
commencing on or before February 15, 1995, with respect to the audit
for the 1993-94 fiscal year, and on or before January 15 of each year
thereafter, with respect to the audit for the fiscal year ending on
the previous June 30, to the appropriate policy and budget committees
of the respective houses of the Legislature. The commission shall
reimburse the Bureau of State Audits for the costs of the audits
beginning with the 1996-97 fiscal year.
(g) On or before January 1, 1994, the commission shall hire a
minimum of four additional operating practices inspectors, exclusive
of supervisory personnel, who are, or shall become by July 1, 1994,
federally certified, for the purpose of enforcing compliance by
railroads operating in this state with state and federal safety
regulations.
(h) The commission, in performing its duties, shall limit the
expenditure of funds for rail safety division purposes to those
railroad corporation fees collected pursuant to subdivision (d). In
no event, shall the commission fund railroad safety activities
utilizing funds from other commission accounts unrelated to railroad
safety.

422. The commission shall establish the fee pursuant to Section 421
with the approval of the Department of Finance and in accordance
with all of the following:
(a) In its annual budget request, the commission shall specify, at
a minimum, both of the following:
(1) The amount of its budget to be financed by the fee.
(2) The dollar allocation of the amount of its budget to be
financed by the fee by each class of carrier and related business
subject to the fee. Each class of carrier and related business
subject to this article shall pay fees sufficient to support the
commission's regulatory activities for the class from which the fee
is collected and to establish an appropriate reserve.
(b) The commission may establish different and distinct methods of
assessing fees for each class of carrier and related business, if
the revenues collected are consistent with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a).
(c) (1) Within each class of carrier and related business subject
to the fee, the commission shall allocate, among the members of the
class, the amount of the commission's budget to be financed by the
fee based on the ratio that each member's gross intrastate revenues
bears to the total gross intrastate revenues of the class, except for
railroad corporations, whose fees shall be allocated within that
class in accordance with subdivision (g).
(2) However, in the case of passenger vehicle operators, the
commission may assess fees on a basis other than revenue, including,
but not limited to, on a per vehicle basis, in an amount sufficient
to support the regulatory activities of the commission for the
passenger vehicle operators class from which the fee is collected,
and to establish an appropriate reserve.
(d) Any carrier or related business which is a member of more than
one class of carrier or related business shall be subject to the fee
for each class of which it is a member.
(e) For every carrier and related business having annual gross
intrastate revenues of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or
less, or for every railroad corporation having annual gross
intrastate revenues of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) or less, the
commission shall annually establish uniform fees, which shall be not
less than a minimum annual fee, to be paid by each carrier and
related business and by each railroad corporation, if the revenues
collected are consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). Every
carrier and related business and railroad corporation paying fees
pursuant to this subdivision shall show proof of eligibility at the
time of payment in a form the commission may specify.
(f) The commission shall annually establish a uniform fee, which
shall be not less than a minimum annual fee, to be paid by every
commercial air operator and for-hire vessel operator, if the revenues
collected are consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(g) The commission shall establish the initial fee amount to be
paid by railroad corporations subject to this section, and the
regulations for the assessment and collection of the fee, no later
than January 31, 1992. The commission shall collect the initial fee
from railroad corporations beginning on February 1, 1992, and shall
disburse the amounts collected as directed in Section 309.7, as added
by Assembly Bill 684 of the 1991-92 Regular Session, and Section
421.
(h) The commission shall establish regulations for allocating the
proportionate share of the fee established pursuant to paragraph (2)
of subdivision (a) to be paid by the rail corporations within that
class. The regulations may utilize gross intrastate revenues; track
mileage within the state; terminals located within the state; loaded
car miles traveled within the state; fuel consumption; or any other
measure deemed by the commission to be appropriate in allocating the
fee among railroad corporations. On or before January 15, 1992,
railroad corporations as a group may submit a proposed plan of
allocation to the commission, which the commission shall consider in
establishing the regulations.

422.1. In addition to the requirements of Section 422, the
commission may establish a uniform annual fee to be paid by every
charter-party carrier of passengers.

423. Except as provided in Section 404, every carrier and related
business subject to Section 421 shall make the payments of the
required fee in accordance with the following schedule:
(a) Every carrier and related business with annual gross
intrastate revenues of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or
less, railroad corporation, commercial air operator, and for-hire
vessel operator shall make payment of the fee to the commission on an
annual basis on or before January 15.
(b) Every other carrier and related business not subject to
subdivision (a) shall make payment of the fee on a quarterly basis
between the first and 15th days of July, October, January, and April.
(c) Each carrier and related business subject to subdivision (b)
shall, at that time, prepare and transmit a report, in the form the
commission may specify, showing the gross operating revenue of the
carrier or related business for the calendar quarter covered by the
report together with the fee established pursuant to Section 421. In
the case of a railroad corporation, the report shall address the
factors identified by the commission as the basis for allocation
pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 422.
(d) Any carrier or related business required to submit information
and reports under this article may, in lieu thereof, submit copies
of information or reports made to another governmental agency if all
of the following requirements are met:
(1) The alternate information or reports contain all of the
information required by the commission.
(2) The requirements to which the alternate information or reports
are responsive are clearly identified.
(3) The information or reports are certified by the carrier or
related business to be true and correct.

424. As used in this article:
(a) "Class" means a group of carriers or related businesses as
specified by the commission for purposes of establishing the fees
pursuant to this article. The commission shall create separate
classes for the following: passenger vehicle operators, pipeline
corporations, vessel operators, railroad corporations, and commercial
air operators. Nothing in this section restricts the commission from
establishing other carrier classes or from establishing other
classes within the existing classes listed in this section, including
classes based on the kinds of vehicles used.
(b) "Gross intrastate revenue" includes all compensation for the
transportation or storage of property or the transportation of
persons when both the origin and destination of the transportation or
the performance of the service is within this state, and shall not
include compensation for the transportation of persons or property in
interstate or foreign commerce or the transportation of vehicles by
ferries. "Gross intrastate revenue," as determined pursuant to this
article, shall apply only for purposes of determining the fees
required by this chapter and shall not necessarily constitute gross
operating revenue for any other purpose.
(c) "Fee" means that monetary amount determined in accordance with
this article.

425. The employees, representatives, and inspectors of the
commission may, under its order or direction, inspect and examine any
books, accounts, records, memoranda, documents, papers, and
correspondence kept or required to be kept by any carrier or related
business referred to in this article. This section shall, to the
extent deemed necessary by the commission, apply to persons who have
direct or indirect control over, or who are affiliated with, any
transportation agency.

426. The commission shall use all moneys paid into the Public
Utilities Commission Transportation Reimbursement Account by
charter-party carriers in connection with charter bus transportation,
as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 5363, solely for the
following purposes:
(a) Safety regulation.
(b) The administration of financial responsibility requirements.
(c) Commission activities to ensure compliance with safety
regulation and financial responsibility requirements.
(d) Any other regulatory program permitted by Section 14501(a) of
Title 49 of the United States Code.