SB 1408

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law provides for the regulation and licensing of pilots for Monterey Bay, and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and the payment of specified pilotage rates and charges imposed on vessels piloted in those bays. Existing law also establishes in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, a Board of Pilot Commissioners for Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and prescribes the membership, functions, and duties of the board. Existing law requires the pilots to appoint a port agent to carry out the orders of the board, other applicable laws, and otherwise administer the affairs of the pilots. This bill would require a pilot to refuse a pilotage assignment if the pilot is physically or mentally fatigued and the pilot has a reasonable belief that the assignment cannot be carried out in a competent and safe manner. The bill would require the executive director of the board, if the executive director alerts the United States Coast Guard to a violation or a likely violation of safety standards and has reason to believe the violation or likely violation will not be corrected prior to reaching its next port of call, to request that the United States Coast Guard report specified vessel pilot safety violations to the port state control officer or a pilot organization in a vessel's expected future port of call. The bill would require the board to contract with an independent entity to conduct a study of the effects of work and rest periods on psychological ability and safety for pilots, including specified information and recommendations on how to prevent pilot fatigue and ensure the safe operation of vessels and, based on the results of, and recommendations contained in the study, to promulgate regulations for pilots establishing requirements for adequate rest periods intended to prevent pilot fatigue. Existing law provides that the board shall have sole authority to determine the qualification for obtaining a pilot's license, and requires the board to adopt, by regulation, licensing standards that equal or exceed standards for obtaining federal endorsements that conform with and support state policy with regard to the safe operation of vessels. Existing law requires that an applicant for a pilot trainee position, or for a pilot license, or a pilot seeking renewal of his or her license to undergo a physical examination by a board-appointed physician, in accordance with prescribed standards, to determine the suitability of a person to perform his or her duties as a pilot. This bill would require a pilot trainee or an applicant for a trainee position, a license applicant, or a licensee applying for renewal of a license to disclose to the board-appointed physician conducting the required physical examination certain medical information relating to the applicant's or licensee's ability to safely operate a vessel, including information concerning prior substance abuse and medical conditions characterized by lapses of consciousness. The bill would authorize the board to refuse to admit an applicant to a training program, continue a trainee in the training program, or issue or renew a license to any person when the board-appointed physician conducting the physical examination determines that the applicant or licensee habitually uses, or is addicted to, alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or dangerous drugs, and would prescribe procedures the board would be required to follow with regard to the refusal to issue or renew a license. Existing law requires the board to adopt training standards and a training program for pilot trainees, and continuing education standards and a continuous education program for pilots. This bill would require that any continuing education program adopted by the board regularly inform pilots of the hazards of fatigue and of effective strategies to prevent fatigue. Existing law requires the prospective employer of a driver who drives a vehicle, as specified, to obtain a report showing the driver's current public record as recorded by the Department of Motor Vehicles, and requires the employer of a driver of such a vehicle to participate in a pull-notice system, as defined. Existing law requires that a request to participate in the pull-notice system be accompanied by a fee determined by the department to be sufficient to defray the entire actual cost to the department for the notification system, subject to specified fee exemptions. This bill would require that the board also comply with the above provisions of the Vehicle Code requiring participation in the pull-notice system and establishing the fee for the system, but would specify that all pilots and pilot trainees covered by those provisions would not be subject to the fees imposed by the department for the pull-notice system. The bill would also require the board, on an individual basis, to request the driving record of every applicant for admission to the pilot training program, and of every applicant for an original pilot license before issuing the applicant a pilot license.