2002 AGN MAR 26 I15 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item #15 CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF March 26,2002 Honorable Mayor and City Council City Attorney UBJECT: Request for Amicus Curiae Support in California Dump Truck Owners Association v. Gray Davis, et al. 2002 BACKGROUND: From time to time, public agencies seek the City's support as an amicus curiae (a friend of the court). There is no cost to the City to participate as an amicus curiae. The League of California Cities is urging all cities to join the amicus brief being drafted by the City of San Francisco for the above case. The issue in California Dump Truck Owners Association v. Gray Davis, et al. is whether federal law preempts state laws authorizing local agencies to regulate dump trucks and construction trucking companies. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The California Dump Truck Owners Association ("DTOA"), a state-wide dump and construction trucking organization, sued the Governor and Attorney General of California on the premise that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act ("FAAAA!') preempts local laws affecting the price, route or service of any motor carder of property. Specifically, the DTOA claimed that certain statutes in the Government Code, Vehicle Code and Streets and Highways Code which authorize cities to enact regulations related to motor carriers were preempted by Section 14501 (c)(1) of the FAAAA. This section states, in part, that: "...a State, [or] local political subdivision of a State ... may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier ... with respect to the transportation of property..." The DTOA argued that truck route regulations adopted by cities affect the "routes" used by motor carriers of property and were thus preempted by this section of the FAAAA. As an example, the DTOA argued that a San Diego ordinance restricting five miles of Gopher Canyon Road to truck traffic under seven tons in weight was such a regulation. The trial court rejected the Attorney General's argument that cities exercise authority directly from the State for the safety of California's streets and highways. Instead the trial court found that federal law preempted the State statutes referenced above. As a result of the trial court's decision, the authority that the State may grant to cities in the area of motor carrier regulation is now severely limited.