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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
HOUSE BILL 3548 By: Sterling of the House
and
Weaver of the Senate
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to motor vehicles; creating the Jamie
Lea Pearl Act; requiring medical needs motor carriers
to have certain tax exempt status; requiring
transport of certain passengers at certain cost;
allowing the use of certain vehicles and drivers;
providing nondiscrimination policy; setting minimum
insurance requirements; stating certain insurance
policy not required; requiring certain vehicle
inspections; limiting working hours; requiring drug
testing and certain back ground and motor vehicle
record checks; requiring retention of certain records
and files; authorizing transportation of persons for
non-medical needs; authorizing the promulgation of
certain emergency and permanent rules; amending 47
O.S. 2021, Section 230.23, which relates to
definitions; defining term; amending 47 O.S. 2021,
Section 230.29, which relates to operation of
vehicles not owned by a motor carrier; modifying
definitions; providing for noncodification; providing
for codification; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Jamie Lea Pearl
Act".
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of la w to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 230.33a of Title 47, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. A medical needs motor carrier shall:
1. Be formed under 28 U.S.C . § 501 (c)(3);
2. Be engaged in the transportation of passengers and their
baggage at little or no cost for medical needs, including, but not
limited to, dialysis, cancer treatments, prosthetics, pain
management, and physical rehabilitation ;
3. The medical needs motor carrier engaged in the
transportation of passengers and their baggage may be accomplished
by use of vehicles owned or leased by the company or vehicles owned
or leased by drivers of the company.
4. Not deny transportatio n for medical needs based on
ethnicity, age, sex, or disabilit y;
5. Require every driver and vehicle used in its medical needs
motor carrier operations to carry a primary liability insurance in
the amount of at least One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000 .00)
for death and bodily injury per person, Three Hundred Thousand
Dollars ($300,000.00) for death and bodily injury per incident, and
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One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.0 0) for property damage, but
shall not be required to carry a general liability p olicy;
6. Have all drivers' vehicles inspected on a quarterly basis to
confirm that all vehicles meet all state and federal guidelines for
safety;
7. Not allow its drivers to operate a motor vehicle more than
ten (10) hours in each 24-hour period; and
8. Retain in their files records showing that all drivers have
five-year clean motor vehicle records, federal and state background
checks, ten (10) panel drug testing results, and fingerprint cards.
Records must be retained by the company for a period of at least two
(2) years after the driver is no longer driving fo r the company.
B. A medical needs motor carrier may engage in the
transportation of passengers and their baggage, by use of vehicles
as described in paragra ph 3 of subsection A of this section, for
hire as necessary for the company to generate sufficient revenue to
cover their cost of operations, including , but not limited to, fuel,
insurance, uniforms, a reasonable compensation for the owners of the
company, drug testing, finger printing, tag or badges, vehicle
inspection, vehicle maintenance , and repair.
C. Within sixty (60) days of the passage and approval of this
act, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission shall promulgate emergency
rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this
bill, and thereafter promulgate permanent rules as necessary.
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SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2021, Section 230. 23, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 230.23 As used in the Motor Carrier Act of 1995:
1. "Person" means any individual, firm, copartnership, limited
partnership, corpora tion, limited liability corporation, company,
association, or joint -stock association and includes any trustee,
receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof;
2. "Commission" means the Oklahoma Corporation Commission;
3. "License" means the license issued under authority of the
laws of the State of Oklahoma to motor carrie rs and private
carriers;
4. "Interstate Registration Certificate " (IRC) means a document
issued by the Commission granting permission to operate upon the
highways of the State of Oklahoma in interstate commerce exempt from
federal motor carrier regulation ;
5. "Motor vehicle" means any automobile, truck, truck -tractor,
trailer or semitrailer or any moto r bus or any self-propelled
vehicle not operated or driven upon fixed rails o r tracks;
6. "Motor carrier of persons or property " means any person,
except a carrier of household goods or used emigrant movables,
operating upon any public highway for the tra nsportation of
passengers or property for compensation or for hire or for
commercial purposes, and not operating exclusively within the limits
of an incorporated city or town within this state. Provided, the
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provisions of the Motor Carrier Act of 1995 sha ll not apply to the
following vehicles and equipment when such vehicles and e quipment
are being used for the following:
a. taxicabs and bus companies engage d in the
transportation of passengers and their baggage, not
operated between two or more cities and towns, when
duly licensed by a municipal corporation in which they
might be doing business,
b. any person or governmental authority furnishing
transportation for school children to and from public
schools or to and from public -school-related
extracurricular activities under contract with, and
sponsored by, a public school board; p rovided, that
motor vehicles and equipment operated for the purposes
shall qualify in all respects for the transportation
of school children under the Oklahoma School Code and
the rules of the State Board of Education adopted
pursuant thereto.
c. transport trucks transporting liquefied petroleum
gases intrastate which are owned or op erated by a
person subject to and licensed by the Oklahoma
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Regulation Act, and
d. transportation of livestock and farm products in the
raw state, when any of such commodities move from farm
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to market or from market to farm on a vehi cle or on
vehicles owned and operated by a bona fide farmer not
engaged in motor vehicle transportat ion on a
commercial scale;
7. "Corporate family" means a group of corporatio ns consisting
of a parent corporation and all subsidiaries in which the parent
corporation owns directly or indirectly one hundred percent (100%)
interest;
8. "Intercorporate hauling" means the transportation of
property, by motor vehicle, for compensatio n, by a carrier which is
a member of a corporate family, as defined in the Moto r Carrier Act
of 1995, when the transportation for compensation is provided for
other members of the corporate family;
9. "Private carrier" means any person engaged in transpor tation
upon public highways, of persons or property, or both, but not as a
motor carrier, and includes any person who transports property by
motor vehicle where such transportatio n is incidental to or in
furtherance of any commercial enterprise of such per son, other than
transportation;
10. "Market" means the point at which livestoc k and farm
products in the raw state were first delivered by the producer of
the livestock and farm products in the raw state, upon the sale
thereof;
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11. "Public highway" means every public street, road or
highway, or thoroughfare in this state, used by t he public, whether
actually dedicated to the public and accepted by the proper
authorities or otherw ise; and
12. "Commercial enterprise " means all undertakings entered into
for private gain or compensation, including all industrial pursuits,
whether the undertakings involve the handling of or dealing in
commodities for sale or otherwise ; and
13. "Medical needs motor carrier of persons or property " means
a company formed under 2 8 U.S.C § 501 (c)(3) engaged in the
transportation of passengers and their baggage at little or no cost
throughout the state of Oklahoma for medical needs, including , but
not limited to, dialysis, cancer treatments, prosthetics, pain
management, and physical rehabilitation.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 47 O.S. 2021, Section 230.29, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 230.29 A. As used in this section:
1. "Authorized carrier" means a person or persons authorized to
engage in the transportation of passengers or property as a licensed
motor carrier;
2. "Equipment" means a motor vehicle, straight truck, tractor,
semitrailer, full trailer, any combination of the se and any other
type of equipment used by authorized carriers in the transpo rtation
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of passengers or property for hire or property for hire by a medical
needs motor carrier;
3. "Owner" means a person to whom title to equipment has been
issued, or who, without title, has the right to exclusive use of
equipment for a period longer than thirty (30) days;
4. "Lease" means a contract or arrangement in which the owner
grants the use of equipment, with or without driver, for a specified
period to an authorized carrier for use in the regulated
transportation of passengers or property, in exchange for
compensation;
5. "Lessor", in a lease, means the party granting the use of
equipment, with or without driver, to another;
6. "Lessee", in a lease, means the party acquiring the use of
equipment, with or without driver, from another;
7. "Addendum" means a supplement to an existing lease which is
not effective until si gned by the lessor and lessee; and
8. "Shipper" means a person who sends or receives passengers or
property which is transported in intrastate commerce in this state.
B. An authorized carrier may perform authorized transportation
in equipment it does not own only under the following conditions:
1. There shall be a written lease granting the use of the
equipment and meeting the requirements as set forth in subsection C
of this section;
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2. The authorized carrier acquiring the use of equipment under
this section shall identify the equipment in accordance with the
requirements of the Commission; and
3. Upon termination of the lease, the authorized carrier shall
remove all identification showing it as the operating carrier before
giving up possession of the equipment.
C. The written lease required pursuant to subsection B of this
section shall contain the following provisions. The required lease
provisions shall be adhered to and performed by the authorized
carrier as follows:
1. The lease shall be made be tween the authorized carrier and
the owner of the equipment. The lease shall be signed by these
parties or by their authorized representatives;
2. The lease shall specify the time and date or the
circumstances on which the lease begins and ends and inclu de a
description of the equipment which shall be identified by vehicle
serial number, make, year mod el and current license plate number;
3. The period for which the lease appli es shall be for thirty
(30) days or more when the equipment is to be operated f or the
authorized carrier by the owner or an employee of the owner;
4. The lease shall provide that the authorized carrier lessee
shall have exclusive possession, control and u se of the equipment
for the duration of the lease. The lease shall further pro vide that
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the authorized carrier lessee shall assume complete responsibility
for the operation of th e equipment for the duration of the lease;
5. The amount to be paid by the a uthorized carrier for
equipment and driver 's services shall be clearly stated o n the face
of the lease or in an addendum which is attached to the lease;
6. The lease shall clearl y specify the responsibility of each
party with respect to the cost of fuel, fuel taxes, empty mileage,
permits of all types, tolls, detention and accessori al services,
base plates and licenses, and any unused portions of such items.
Except when the viola tion results from the acts or omissions of the
lessor, the authorized carrier lessee shall assume the risks and
costs of fines for overweight and oversize t railers when the
trailers are preloaded, sealed, or the load is containerized, or
when the trailer or lading is otherwise outside of the lessor 's
control, and for improperly per mitted overdimension and overweight
loads and shall reimburse the lessor for an y fines paid by the
lessor. If the authorized carrier is authorized to receive a refund
or a credit for base plates purchased by the lessor from, and issued
in the name of, the authorized carrier, or if the base plates are
authorized to be sold by the aut horized carrier to another lessor
the authorized carrier shall refund to the initial lessor on whose
behalf the base plate was first obtained a prorated share of the
amount received;
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7. The lease shall specify that payment to the lessor shall be
made by the authorized carrier within fifteen (15) days after
submission of the necessary delivery documents and other paperwork
concerning a trip in the service of the authorized carrie r. The
paperwork required before the lessor can receive payment is limited
to those documents necessary for the authorized carrier to secure
payment from the shipper. The author ized carrier may require the
submission of additional documents by the lessor but not as a
prerequisite to payment;
8. The lease shall clearly specify the right of the lessor,
regardless of method of compensation, to examine copies of the
documentation of the carrier upon which charges are assessed;
9. The lease shall clearly spe cify all items that may be
initially paid for by the authorized carrier, but ul timately
deducted from the compensation of the lessor at the time of payment
or settlement together with a recitation as to how the amount of
each item is to be computed. The l essor shall be afforded copies of
those documents which are necessary to determ ine the validity of the
charge;
10. The lease shall specify that the lessor is not required to
purchase or rent any products, equipment, or services from the
authorized carrier as a condition of entering into the lease
arrangement;
11. As it relates to i nsurance:
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a. the lease shall clearly specify the legal obligation
of the authorized carrier to maint ain insurance
coverage for the protection of the public, and
b. the lease shall clearly specify the conditions under
which deductions for cargo or property damage may be
made from the lessor's settlements. The lease shall
further specify that the authoriz ed carrier must
provide the lessor with a written explanation and
itemization of any deductions for cargo or property
damage made from any compensation of m oney owed to the
lessor. The written explanation and itemization must
be delivered to the lessor be fore any deductions are
made; and
12. An original and two copies of each lea se shall be signed by
the parties. The authorized carrier shall keep the origi nal and
shall place a copy of the lease in the equipment during the period
of the lease. The owner of the equipment shall keep the other copy
of the lease.
D. The provisions o f this section shall apply to the leasing of
equipment with which to perform tr ansportation regulated by the
Corporation Commission by motor carriers holding a license from the
Commission to transport passengers or property.
SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
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declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage an d approval.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY, dated 02/20/2024 -
DO PASS, As Coauthored.