(a) The commission shall deny a new or renewal application for a charter-party carrier certificate or permit upon receipt of a written recommendation from the Department of the California Highway Patrol that specifically indicates compliance with subdivision (b), and indicates that the applicant has failed to do either of the following:

(1) Maintain any vehicle used in transportation for compensation in a safe operating condition or to comply with the Vehicle Code or the regulations contained in Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations relative to motor carrier safety. This paragraph does not apply to a charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in the provision of a hired driver service when a rented motor vehicle is being operated by the hired driver.

(2) Enroll all drivers in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Employer Pull Notice Program implementing Section 1808.1 of the Vehicle Code.

(b) Before transmitting a recommendation pursuant to subdivision (a) to the commission, the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall notify the applicant for the charter-party carrier certificate or permit of all of the following in writing:

(1) That the department has determined that the applicant’s safety record is unsatisfactory, furnishing a copy of any documentation or summary of any other evidence supporting the determination.

(2) That the determination may result in a denial of the applicant’s certificate or permit by the commission.

(3) That the applicant may request a review of the determination by the department within five days of its receipt of the notice required under this subdivision. The department shall, upon request, conduct and evaluate that review prior to transmitting any notification to the commission pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) Whenever the commission denies an application for renewal pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall furnish the charter-party carrier written notice of the denial and shall hold a hearing within a reasonable time, not to exceed 21 days, after a written request is filed with the commission, with a copy thereof furnished to the Department of the California Highway Patrol. At the hearing, the carrier shall show cause why the denial was improper or unwarranted. At the conclusion of the hearing, the commission may, in addition to any other remedy provided in this part, reverse the denial, or sustain the denial.

(d) Any applicant for a charter-party carrier certificate or permit denied pursuant to subdivision (a), whose denial has not been reversed as a result of the hearing provided for in subdivision (c), that wishes to obtain a certificate or permit shall reapply for the desired authority.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 472, Sec. 7. (AB 2572) Effective January 1, 2011.)