General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5368
February Session, 2012 *_____HB05368TRA___031612____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 5368
February Session, 2012
*_____HB05368TRA___031612____*
AN ACT CONCERNING THE MODERNIZATION OF THE STATE'S TAXICAB INDUSTRY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 13b-97 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(a) No person, association, limited liability company or corporation shall operate a taxicab until such person, association, limited liability company or corporation has obtained a certificate from the Department of Transportation certifying that public convenience and necessity require the operation of a taxicab or taxicabs for transportation of passengers, the acceptance or solicitation of which originates within the territory specified in such certificate except as provided under subsection (d) of this section. No such certificate shall be issued unless the department finds that the person, association, limited liability company or corporation is suitable to operate a taxicab service, after giving due consideration to, at a minimum, the following factors: (1) Any convictions of the applicant under federal, state or local laws relative to safety, motor vehicle or criminal violations; (2) the number of taxicabs to be operated under the certificate; (3) the adequacy of the applicant's financial resources to operate the taxicab service; (4) the adequacy of insurance coverage and safety equipment; (5) proof of a dispatch system capable of simultaneous communication with all taxicabs to be operated under the certificate; (6) proof that service within the territory requested for the certificate will be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; and [(5)] (7) the availability of qualified taxicab operators. The commissioner shall request the state criminal history records check for any person or any officer of any association, limited liability company or corporation applying for such certificate from the State Police Bureau of Identification. The commissioner shall arrange for the fingerprinting of any person or any officer of any association, limited liability company or corporation applying for such certificate and forward the fingerprints to said bureau which shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history records check for any federal conviction specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection. [A fee shall be charged by the] The commissioner shall charge a fee for each such national criminal history records check which shall be equal to the fee charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for performing such check. Such certificate shall be issued only after written application, fingerprinting and said criminal history records check for the same has been made and public hearing held thereon. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of [eighty-eight] two thousand dollars and the fee for said criminal history records check. Upon receipt of such application, the department shall fix a time and place of hearing thereon and shall promptly give written notice of the pendency of such application and of the time and place of hearing thereon to such applicant, the mayor of each city, the warden of each borough or the first selectman of each town in which the applicant desires to originate the transportation of such passengers, and to any common carrier operating within the territory specified. [Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, the department may, upon receipt of a written application, amend an existing certificate to increase the number of taxicabs which may be operated pursuant to the certificate without holding a hearing on the application, provided the department issues a legal notice of such application in a daily newspaper in accordance with the provisions of section 1-2, gives written notice of the pendency of such application to any common carrier operating within the territory specified and no objection is filed with the department within thirty days of each such notice. With respect to any application filed under the provisions of this subsection, the department shall not consider as a ground for denial of a request for an increase in the number of taxicabs to be operated within the territory specified, any number of taxicabs not currently registered with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles at the time of filing of such application or at the time of any hearing held thereon.] The department shall issue a proposed decision for all hearings, which shall be reviewed by staff of the department's regulatory and compliance unit. The applicant and any party or intervenor to the action may file a reply to the proposed decision, which shall be taken into consideration during such review. No new certificate shall be issued to an applicant with fewer than five taxicabs.
(b) Any town, city or borough within which taxicab service is operated or any interested party may bring a written petition to the department with respect to fares, service, operation or equipment or the convenience, protection and safety of passengers and the public. Thereupon, the department may fix a time and place for a hearing upon such petition, and give written notice thereof to the parties in interest at least one week prior to such hearing.
(c) No certificate shall be sold or transferred until the department, upon written application to it setting forth the purpose, terms and conditions thereof, and after investigation, finds that the purchaser or transferee is suitable to operate a taxicab service after consideration of the factors specified in subsection (a) of this section and approves the same. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of [eighty-eight] two hundred dollars. The department may, [amend or,] for sufficient cause shown, [may] suspend or revoke any such certificate. The department may impose a civil penalty on any person or any officer of any association, limited liability company or corporation who violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted under section 13b-96 with respect to fares, service, operation or equipment, in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars per day for each violation. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall include the imposition of any such civil penalty against the operator of a taxicab for violation of service issues within the operator's control in the record of the taxicab operator's driver control record maintained pursuant to section 14-111l. Any such certificate issued by the department shall remain valid unless suspended or revoked by the department. Any such certificate issued by the Division of Public Utility Control within the Department of Business Regulation prior to October 1, 1979, or by any transit district prior to March 1, 1997, shall remain valid unless suspended or revoked by the Department of Transportation.
(d) Any person, association, limited liability company or corporation which has obtained a certificate under subsection (a) of this section, after providing proof to the Department of Transportation that service has been active, adequate within the subject territories and in compliance with all statutes and regulations for two years, may solicit, receive and discharge taxicab passengers at Bradley International Airport, subject to formal agreement with the Commissioner of Transportation provided such agreement shall not take precedence over its obligation to provide taxicab service within the territory specified in such certificate. Any such person, association, limited liability company or corporation may discharge taxicab passengers received at such airport within a territory other than the territory specified in its certificate. The commissioner may charge and collect a reasonable fee from any such person, association, limited liability company or corporation for the privilege of solicitation of such passengers.
(e) Each holder of a certificate shall pay an annual fee of two hundred dollars per certificate.
Sec. 2. Section 13b-97a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
[(a)] The Department of Transportation may, without hearing, issue to an applicant for authority to operate taxicab service, temporary authority to operate such service, pending hearing upon his application and disposition thereof by the department, but such temporary authority shall not extend over a period of more than one hundred eighty consecutive days.
[(b) The Department of Transportation may, in an emergency situation and without hearing, issue to any person, association, limited liability company or corporation which holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under the provisions of section 13b-97, temporary authority to operate such service within or outside the territory specified in such certificate, pending resolution of such emergency, but such temporary authority shall not extend over a period of more than one hundred eighty consecutive days.]
Sec. 3. Section 13b-99 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(a) Upon the granting of a certificate of public convenience and necessity as provided in section 13b-97, as amended by this act, the holder thereof may apply to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for the registration of any taxicab of which [he] the holder is the owner or lessee and which is to be used as specified in such certificate, and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall have jurisdiction over the registration of any taxicab and its exterior lighting equipment and over the licensing of its operator.
(b) Each such taxicab shall be inspected, [biennially] annually, at the time of renewal of registration of such taxicab, by a repairer or limited repairer licensed and authorized by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to perform such inspections. The commissioner shall set a fee for such an inspection.
(c) Each such taxicab shall be exempt from the provisions of subsection (d) of section 14-100a.
[(c)] (d) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section.
Sec. 4. Section 13b-103 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(a) (1) No person, association, limited liability company or corporation shall operate a motor vehicle in livery service until such person, association, limited liability company or corporation has obtained a permit from the Department of Transportation, specifying the nature and extent of the service to be rendered and certifying that public convenience and necessity will be improved by the operation and conduct of such livery service. Such permits shall be issued only after a written application for the same has been made and a public hearing has been held thereon. Upon receipt of such application, together with the payment of a fee of two hundred dollars, the department shall fix a time and place of hearing thereon, within a reasonable time, and shall promptly give written notice of the pendency of such application and of the time and place of such hearing to each applicant, the mayor of each city, the warden of each borough and the first selectman of each town, within which any such applicant desires to maintain an office or headquarters, to any carrier legally operating motor vehicles in livery service within the same territory and to other interested parties as determined by the department.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the department may issue a permit for the operation of vehicles (A) having a capacity of less than eleven adults or to be used exclusively at funerals, weddings, christenings, processions or celebrations, without holding a hearing and certifying that public convenience and necessity would be improved by the operation of such vehicles, or (B) having a capacity of not less than eleven or more than fourteen adults and used for sightseeing and related purposes, without holding a hearing, provided the department issues a legal notice, as provided under section 1-2, of such application and no objection is filed with the department within thirty days of publication of such notice.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the department may issue a temporary or permanent permit to any person, association, limited liability company or corporation operating a motor vehicle engaged in the transportation of passengers for hire by virtue of a contract with, or a lower tier contract for, any federal, state or municipal agency that (A) is in effect on July 1, 1997, with or without hearing, after a written application for the same has been made and the department has determined that the applicant meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section except with respect to public convenience and necessity, or (B) becomes effective after July 1, 1997, with or without hearing, after a written application for the same has been made and the department has determined that the applicant meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section. Any such permit issued under the provisions of this subdivision (i) shall be limited to service provided under any such contract, [and] (ii) with respect to any contract under the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, shall not authorize a total number of motor vehicles exceeding the number required to provide service existing under such contract on July 1, 1997, and (iii) shall be surrendered at the expiration of such contract.
[(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the department shall issue to any person who has an intrastate livery permit for at least one year, upon the application of such person, up to two additional vehicle authorizations each year without a hearing and without written notice of the pendency of the application, if all the existing permits held by such person are registered and in use and if there are no outstanding violations or matters pending adjudication against such person. The department shall have thirty calendar days to issue such amended permit.]
(b) In determining whether or not such a permit will be granted, the Department of Transportation shall [take into consideration] consider the present or future public convenience and necessity for the service the applicant proposes to render, the suitability of the applicant or the suitability of the management if the applicant is a limited liability company or corporation, the financial responsibility of the applicant, the ability of the applicant efficiently and properly to perform the service for which authority is requested and the fitness, willingness and ability of the applicant to conform to the provisions of this chapter and the requirements and regulations of the department under this chapter. The department shall issue a proposed decision for all hearings, which shall be reviewed by staff of the department's regulatory and compliance unit. The applicant and any party or intervenor to the action may file a reply to the proposed decision, which shall be taken into consideration during the review.
(c) Each holder of a livery permit shall pay an annual fee of two hundred dollars per permit.
[(c)] (d) Any interested party may bring a written petition to the Department of Transportation in respect to fares, service, operation or equipment, or the convenience, protection and safety of the public with regard to any carrier operating a motor vehicle in livery service. Thereupon, the department may fix a time and place for a hearing upon such petition and give notice thereof. No permit shall be sold or transferred until the department, upon written application to it setting forth the purpose, terms and conditions thereof and accompanied by a fee of two hundred dollars, after investigation, approves the same. The department may amend or, for sufficient cause shown, may suspend or revoke any such permit. The department may impose a civil penalty on any person or any officer of any association, limited liability company or corporation who violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted under section 13b-102 with respect to fares, service, operation or equipment, in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars per day for each violation. Prior to the imposition of a civil penalty under this subsection, the department shall provide notice to said person or officer no later than fifteen business days after receipt of information concerning an alleged violation and shall provide an opportunity for a hearing.
[(d)] (e) The owner or operator of each motor vehicle in livery service shall display in such vehicle such permit or a memorandum thereof.
[(e)] (f) Any person who holds him or herself out to be the operator of a motor vehicle in livery service who has not received a permit under this section or with the intent to injure or defraud another shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
(g) No permit shall be sold or transferred within five years after being granted by the department and until the department, upon written application to it setting forth the purpose, terms and conditions thereof, and after investigation, finds that the purchaser or transferee is sustainable to operate a livery service after consideration of the factors specified in subsection (b) of this section and approves the same. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of two hundred dollars per permit to be transferred.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2012 13b-97
Sec. 2 from passage 13b-97a
Sec. 3 October 1, 2012 13b-99
Sec. 4 October 1, 2012 13b-103
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2012
13b-97
Sec. 2
from passage
13b-97a
Sec. 3
October 1, 2012
13b-99
Sec. 4
October 1, 2012
13b-103
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In section 1(a) and section 4(b) "the regulatory and compliance unit" was changed to "the department's regulatory and compliance unit" for clarity, in section 1(c) "two hundred dollars per certificate" was changed to "two hundred dollars" for accuracy, in section 1(d) "to the Department of Transportation" was added for clarity, in section 4(a)(3) duplicative language was removed for clarity, and in section 4(b) "auction" was changed to "action" for accuracy.
TRA Joint Favorable Subst.
TRA
Joint Favorable Subst.