2430.  (a) The Legislature hereby creates a pilot project to develop
recommendations for requiring emergency road service organizations
and their specified employees, within the state, to be certified and
receive specified training in the interest of public safety.  The
project shall be limited to freeway service patrol operations for
major urban areas.  The project includes, but is not limited to, the
issuance of tow truck driver certificates to employees and employers
involved in freeway service patrol operations, criminal history
checks for convictions of specified crimes, and training for
enhancement of public safety.  The purpose of the project shall be to
develop recommendations for requiring all emergency road service
organizations and specified employees, within the state, to be
certified and receive specified training in the interest of public
safety.
   (b) This project shall be for a period of two years commencing on
July 1, 1992.  The department shall submit a report to the
Legislature not later than September 1, 1994.  The report shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) The number of criminal history checks processed by the
department.
   (2) The number of specified tow truck driver certificates issued.

   (3) The number of persons rejected for freeway service patrol
operations as a result of the criminal history checks.
   (4) The names of participating emergency road service
organizations.
   (5) An accounting of the number of certified persons who were
subsequently disqualified for convictions of specified crimes,
including the number of certified persons subsequently disqualified
for convictions of specified crimes against those receiving service.

   (6) The training received by specified personnel.
   (7) Recommendations developed by the Emergency Roadside Assistance
Advisory Committee regarding training, as specified in Section 2438,
and guidelines for motorist safety, as specified in Section 2439.
   (8) Information compiled from reports submitted by highway service
organizations pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2440.
   (9) Recommendations for extending the requirements of this article
and Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 2435) to all highway
service organizations and their specified employees within the state.

   (c) The Legislature declares that it is important to the public
safety that tow truck drivers, who perform freeway service patrol
operations under agreement with any specified public transportation
planning entity, do not have criminal records which include violent
crimes against persons.


2430.1.  As used in this article, each of the following terms has
the following meaning:
   (a) "Tow truck driver" means a person who operates a tow truck,
who renders towing service or emergency road service to motorists
while involved in freeway service patrol operations, pursuant to an
agreement with a regional or local entity, and who has or will have
direct and personal contact with the individuals being transported or
assisted.  As used in this subdivision, "towing service" and
"emergency road service" have the same meaning as defined in Section
2436.
   (b) "Employer" means any person or organization which employs
those persons defined in subdivision (a), or who is an owner-operator
who performs the activity specified in subdivision (a), and who is
involved in freeway service patrol operations pursuant to an
agreement or contract with a regional or local entity.
   (c) "Regional or local entity" means any public organization
established as a public transportation planning entity pursuant to
Title 7.1 (commencing with Section 66500) of the Government Code or
authorized to impose a transaction and use tax for transportation
purposes by the Public Utilities Code.
   (d) "Emergency road service" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2436.
   (e) "Freeway service patrol" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2561 of the Streets and Highway Code.



2430.2.  (a) "Regional or local entity," as defined by subdivision
(c) of Section 2430.1, also includes the transportation planning
entity established pursuant to Section 130050.1 of the Public
Utilities Code.
   (b) This section shall become operative only if Article 3.3
(commencing with Section 2430) is added to this chapter during the
first year of the 1991-92 Regular Session.



2430.3.  (a) Every freeway service patrol tow truck driver and any
California Highway Patrol rotation tow truck operator shall notify
each of his or her employers and prospective employers and the
Department of the California Highway Patrol of an arrest or
conviction of any crime specified in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4)
of subdivision (a) of Section 13377 prior to beginning the next
workshift for that employer.
   (b) For the purpose of conducting criminal history and driver
history checks of any California Highway Patrol rotation tow truck
operator, the commissioner may utilize the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS).



2430.5.  (a) Every employer intending to hire a tow truck driver on
or after July 1, 1992, shall require the applicant for employment to
submit a temporary tow truck driver certificate issued by the
department or a permanent tow truck driver certificate issued by the
Department of Motor Vehicles.  The employer shall review the
certificate and obtain a copy to be maintained as required by
subdivision (c).  The employer shall not hire any tow truck driver in
any freeway service patrol operations who does not provide a
temporary tow truck driver certificate issued by the department or a
permanent tow truck driver certificate issued by the Department of
Motor Vehicles.  The employer shall not allow a tow truck driver who
is not certified to participate in any freeway service patrol
operations.  If the issuance date on the certificate is more than 90
days from the proposed date of hire, the employer shall contact the
department to reverify eligibility.
   (b) On or after July 1, 1992, every employer, whose currently
employed tow truck drivers are required to obtain a tow truck driver
certificate pursuant to Section 12520, shall require the employees to
submit to the employer a temporary tow truck driver certificate
issued by the department or a permanent tow truck driver certificate
issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.  The employer shall
review the certificate and obtain a copy to be maintained as required
by subdivision (c).
   (c) Every employer shall maintain a tow truck driver certificate
file for all tow truck drivers hired on or after July 1, 1992, or all
currently employed tow truck drivers who are required to obtain a
tow truck driver certificate pursuant to Section 12520.  The employer
shall retain employee rosters and copies of tow truck driver
certificates for all tow truck drivers.  The roster shall be
comprised of the following two lists:
   (1) Drivers who have valid tow truck driver certificates.
   (2) Drivers who would be prohibited, pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 13377, from involvement in any freeway service patrol
operation.
   Every employer shall make available for inspection by the
department at the employer's primary place of business in this state.
  In addition, the employer shall maintain a personnel roster, also
available for inspection, of all current tow truck drivers and their
date of hire by the employer.
   (d) Upon notification that a tow truck driver has been arrested
for, or convicted of, any crime specified in paragraph (1), (2), (3),
or (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 13377, the employer shall
remove that tow truck driver from any position involving freeway
service patrol operations.
   (e) A violation of this section by an employer is a misdemeanor.



2431.  (a) For the purposes of conducting criminal history and
driver history screening of tow truck drivers and employers, the
commissioner shall do all of the following:
   (1) Utilize the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System (CLETS) to conduct preliminary criminal history checks.
   (2) Obtain fingerprints from tow truck drivers and employers.  The
fingerprint cards will be submitted to the Department of Justice for
criminal history checks.
   (3) Obtain a second set of fingerprints from applicants who have
not continuously resided in the state for the previous seven years,
and submit that card to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
out-of-state criminal history checks.  The department may charge a
fee sufficient to cover the additional expense of processing the
fingerprint cards through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
   (4) Verify that the tow truck driver or employer, or both, have a
valid California driver's license, through the use of the automated
records system.
   (b) On and after July 1, 1992, all tow truck drivers shall submit
an application for the issuance of a tow truck driver certificate
with the department and pay an application fee equal to the actual
costs of a criminal history check and issuance of the tow truck
driver's certificate, but not more than fifty dollars ($50).
Applicants for the renewal of an expired tow truck driver certificate
or applicants for a duplicate tow truck driver certificate shall
submit an application for issuance of a new tow truck driver
certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles and pay an
application fee of twelve dollars ($12).
   All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in
the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund.  An
amount equal to the fees paid shall be made available, upon
appropriation, to the Department of Motor Vehicles for its
administrative costs, for the cost of criminal history checks to be
conducted by the Department of Justice, and to the department for its
administrative costs.  In no case shall the fees collected exceed
the costs of administering this section.
   (c) Applicants for an original tow truck driver certificate shall
be fingerprinted by the department, on a form issued by the
department, for submission to the Department of Justice for the
purpose of determining whether the applicant has been convicted for a
violation of any crime specified in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4)
of subdivision (a) of Section 13377.
   (d) Information released to the department or the Department of
Motor Vehicles shall be related to their inquiry and shall remain
confidential.
   (e) The department shall issue a temporary tow truck driver
certificate, provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to
applicants who have cleared the specified criminal history check
through CLETS and the driver history check through the automated
records system, and who meet all other applicable provisions of this
code.  The term of the temporary tow truck driver's certificate shall
be for a period of 90 days from the date of issuance.



2432.  (a) It is unlawful for a freeway service patrol tow truck
driver to knowingly provide false information on the application
prepared and submitted to the department pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 2431.
   (b) It is unlawful for a California Highway Patrol rotation tow
truck operator, including, but not limited to, a freeway service
patrol tow truck driver, to fail to comply with the notification
requirements in Section 2430.3.
   (c) A violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor.



2432.1.  (a) If the commissioner determines that an employer has
failed to comply with the requirements of this article or Article 3.5
(commencing with Section 2435), the commissioner may, after a
hearing, suspend the highway safety carrier's identification number
issued pursuant to Section 2436.3 for a period not to exceed two
years.
   (b) If the commissioner determines that an employer has failed to
comply with the requirements of this article or Article 3.5
(commencing with Section 2435) twice within a period of 24
consecutive months, the commissioner may, after a hearing, prohibit
the employer from participating in any freeway service patrol
operation for two years.
   (c) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the
hearing specified in subdivision (a) or (b).



2432.3.  (a) This article does not preempt the authority of any
city, city and county, or county to regulate, pursuant to subdivision
(g) of Section 21100, any of the matters covered by this article.
   (b) (1) For the purposes of verifying the criminal history of
individuals involved in the operation of tow truck services, law
enforcement agencies of any city, city and county, or county may
conduct criminal history checks for all of the following:
   (A) Applicants for employment to drive tow trucks.
   (B) Those who drive tow trucks.
   (C) Tow truck owners-operators.
   (2) The law enforcement agency may obtain the fingerprints of the
individuals on a form approved by the Department of Justice and
provided by the agency.  The fingerprint samples shall be submitted
to the Department of Justice for the purpose of determining whether
the individual has been convicted of any violation, including, but
not limited to, Section 220, subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4) of
Section 261, or Section 264.1, 267, 288, or 289 of the Penal Code, or
any felony or three misdemeanors which are crimes of violence, as
defined in subdivision (g) of Section 11105.3 of the Penal Code.
   (3) For purposes of conducting criminal history screening of tow
truck driver applicants, employees, and employers who have not
resided continuously in the state for the previous seven years, the
law enforcement agency of any city, city and county, or county, may
obtain a second set of fingerprints, when necessary, and may submit
that card to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for out-of-state
criminal history checks.
   (c) The law enforcement agency of any city, city and county, or
county may charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of obtaining and
processing the fingerprint cards through the Department of Justice.

   (d) For the purposes of conducting driver history screening of
applicants to drive tow trucks, employees, and owners-operators, the
law enforcement agency of any city, city and county, or county may
verify that the applicant or owner-operator, as the case may be, has
a valid California driver's license of the proper class, through the
use of the automated records system.
   (e) The Department of Justice shall develop a procedure whereby it
will notify the requesting law enforcement agency if the person
fingerprinted has been convicted of any of the specified crimes or is
convicted of a specified crime subsequent to employment or beginning
operation of a tow service.  The Department of Justice shall release
the requested information to the requesting agency.
   (f) Information released to the requesting agency may be utilized
for licensing and regulating procedures established pursuant to
subdivision (g) of Section 21100.
   (g) Information released to the requesting agency shall be related
to its inquiry, shall remain confidential, and shall not be made
public.