SB 703: Ports: truck drivers. - California

09/02/25 - Amended Assembly → 09/18/25 - Enrolled · 3 edits · Sep 18, 2025

MINOR

SB 703 moved from its amended assembly version to the final enrolled version with one substantive policy change: the removal of the requirement that trucking companies and independent contractor truck drivers submit required information before their first entry into a port. They now only need to provide it on an annual basis. All other changes are formatting updates for the enrolled bill (removing line numbers, adding passage dates, governor's approval block) and cleanup of amendment markup artifacts.

REQUIREMENT

Section 2790.1(a): Removed the requirement that a trucking company provide worker's compensation insurance, driver counts, and tax withholding affirmations 'before entering a port for the first time.' The obligation is now only 'on an annual basis.'

Section 2790.1(b): Removed the requirement that a non-employee truck driver provide proof of insurance, MC number, DOT number, CHP number, motor carrier permit, SCAC info, and truck registration 'before entering the port for the first time.' The obligation is now only 'on an annual basis.'

TECHNICAL

Section 2050(c): Changed 'receives' to 'received' (past tense) in the provision stating a port is not required to verify accuracy of third-party information. This appears to be a cleanup of amendment markup.

07/16/25 - Amended Assembly → 09/02/25 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Sep 2, 2025

MODERATE

The September 2 amendment to SB 703 delays the public disclosure of truck driver information until January 1, 2027, shifts port reporting from a monthly to a quarterly cadence, removes the requirement to publicly disclose individual truck driver names and authority information, and adds a new provision allowing ports to develop simplified online forms for data collection. These changes reduce the immediacy and granularity of public transparency while giving ports more flexibility in implementation.

TIMELINE

Public availability of collected information is now delayed until January 1, 2027, rather than taking effect immediately upon enactment. This applies to both the port's website publication requirement and the general public availability mandate in Section 2790.1(d).

REQUIREMENT

Port reporting frequency changed from monthly (on or before the 15th of each month, covering the prior month) to quarterly (covering the prior quarter). This significantly reduces how often ports must publish truck entry data on their websites.

Public availability language changed from 'shall be made publicly available' to 'shall be made publicly available by the port,' explicitly assigning the publication obligation to the port rather than leaving it ambiguous.

SCOPE

The requirement to publicly disclose 'the name of the truck driver and the truck driver's authority information' was removed from the list of data elements that must be published. This eliminates individual-level identification of drivers from public records.

TECHNICAL

New subdivision (e) added to Section 2790.1 allowing a port to develop a simplified online form to facilitate efficient and cost-effective information collection, giving ports discretion over the format of data submission.

09/18/25 - Enrolled → SB703 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions. The difference is entirely in presentation format: the 'from' version is the formal enrolled bill document (with page numbers, signature blocks, and chapter placeholder), while the 'to' version is the web publication format from the California Legislature website (with navigation menus, bill tracking metadata, and version history). All legislative provisions are identical.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from the official enrolled bill layout (with page numbers, signature lines for Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly, Private Secretary of the Governor, and Governor approval block) to the California Legislature website publication format (with site navigation, bill status timeline, version history list, and metadata such as date published). No changes to any statutory text, penalties, definitions, or requirements.

04/21/25 - Amended Senate → 05/01/25 - Amended Senate · 7 edits · May 1, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was significantly narrowed in scope from applying to all California ports to only the Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, and Port of Oakland. Several enforcement mechanisms were removed, including a $60,000 penalty on ports for granting entry to non-compliant trucking companies, a port entry prohibition, an additional $60,000 civil penalty for gaining port entry through false information, a requirement that non-employee drivers use only their own SCAC, and a requirement to display the trucking company name on truck doors. A new legislative findings section was added justifying the special statute based on the uniquely high volumes of goods processed at the three remaining ports.

SCOPE

The definition of 'port' was narrowed from all California ports (including Benicia, Hueneme, Redwood City, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Stockton, West Sacramento, and Humboldt Bay Harbor District) to only the Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, and Port of Oakland.

Added a new legislative findings section (Section 3) declaring that a special statute is necessary because the uniquely high volumes of goods processed at the Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, and Port of Oakland require additional process to protect workers.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the requirement that a port must not grant entry to a trucking company that has not complied with the information disclosure requirements (former Section 2051(a)).

Removed the $60,000 penalty imposed on a port for each trucking company granted entry in violation of the entry prohibition, and the provision authorizing the Labor Commissioner to assess and collect that penalty (former Section 2051(b) and (c)).

Removed the additional $60,000 civil penalty for a person who gains entry to a port by providing false or misleading information (former Section 2790.2(b)). The single $100,000 penalty for providing false or misleading information remains.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement that a truck driver not classified as an employee must pick up a container only using their own SCAC (former Section 2790.1(b)(2)).

Removed the requirement that a non-employee truck driver must display the name of the trucking company on the doors of the truck before entering and while on port premises (former Section 2790.1(b)(3)).

06/16/25 - Amended Assembly → 07/16/25 - Amended Assembly · 7 edits · Jul 16, 2025

MODERATE

The July 16 amendment to SB 703 narrows the bill's scope by removing the Port of Oakland, reducing the civil penalty for false information from $100,000 to $20,000, and changing port reporting from monthly to quarterly. It also adds a requirement that collected information be made publicly available, narrows the definition of 'trucking company' to port drayage motor carriers, and exempts ports from verifying third-party information.

SCOPE

The Port of Oakland was removed from the definition of 'Port,' limiting the bill's applicability to only the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles.

ENFORCEMENT

The civil penalty for providing false or misleading information to represent compliance was reduced from $100,000 to $20,000.

REQUIREMENT

Port reporting to the Labor Commissioner changed from a monthly obligation (on or before the 15th of each month) to a quarterly basis, and ports must now publish the information on their internet website rather than only providing it to the Labor Commissioner.

New subdivision requires that any information collected under Section 2790.1 shall be made publicly available.

New provision states that a port is not required to verify the accuracy of any information it receives from a third party under this chapter.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'trucking company' was narrowed from any company employing or contracting with truck drivers to specifically a 'port drayage motor carrier, as defined in Section 2810.4,' and now specifies cargo is moved 'to or from a port.'

A new definition of 'truck driver' was added, equating it to 'commercial driver' as defined in Section 2810.4.

02/21/25 - Introduced → 04/21/25 - Amended Senate · 3 edits · Apr 21, 2025

MINOR

The Senate amendment narrows the bill's scope from applying to all California ports to only three major ports: Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland. It also adds an obligation on ports to receive compliance information from trucking companies and slightly expands the SCAC disclosure requirement for non-employee drivers. These changes significantly reduce the number of ports affected by the new trucking company transparency and entry requirements.

Scope change

The bill's applicability is narrowed from all California ports (12 named ports plus Humboldt Bay Harbor District) to only three major ports: Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland. This affects both the Harbors and Navigation Code provisions on port disclosure and entry restrictions, and the Labor Code provisions on trucking company compliance obligations.

SCOPE

The definition of 'port' for purposes of the trucking company provisions (Chapter 2) is narrowed from all California ports (12 named ports plus Humboldt Bay Harbor District) to only three: Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland. A new Section 2050 in the Harbors and Navigation Code and a new subdivision (b) in Labor Code Section 2790 both limit 'port' to these three facilities.

REQUIREMENT

Labor Code Section 2790.1(a) now requires that 'the port shall receive' the compliance information from trucking companies, adding an affirmative obligation on ports to accept and process the documentation, not just a duty on trucking companies to provide it.

The SCAC disclosure requirement for non-employee truck drivers is expanded: instead of requiring only 'the truck driver's SCAC,' the amended bill requires 'the truck driver's SCAC or the identity of the owner of the SCAC being used,' giving drivers an alternative way to comply.

05/01/25 - Amended Senate → 06/16/25 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Jun 16, 2025

MODERATE

The Assembly amendment significantly narrows the bill's scope from applying to a broad list of California ports (including Benicia, Hueneme, Redwood City, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Stockton, West Sacramento, and Humboldt Bay) down to just three: Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland. It also adds a new 30-day update requirement for trucking companies that shift more than 50% of their workforce from employees to independent contractors, reduces the false-information penalty from $100,000 to $20,000, and adds a $5,000 penalty for failing to meet the update obligation.

Scope change

The bill's geographic scope was dramatically reduced from applying to all California ports (with a non-exhaustive list of 12 named ports) to only the three major container ports: Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

SCOPE

The definition of 'port' was narrowed from a broad list of 12+ California ports (using 'including, but not limited to') to only three: Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, and Port of Oakland.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement (Section 2790.1(c)) obligates a trucking company to update the port within 30 days if a change in its operation results in more than 50% of its employees being replaced by independent contractors.

The timing for submitting required information was clarified: trucking companies and non-employee truck drivers must provide information 'before entering a port for the first time and on an annual basis thereafter' rather than simply 'before any employee truck driver enters a port.'

ENFORCEMENT

The civil penalty for providing false or misleading information was reduced from $100,000 to $20,000.

A new civil penalty of $5,000 was added for a trucking company's failure to comply with the 30-day update requirement in Section 2790.1(c).

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