Untitled California Attorney General Opinion ( 1990 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
State of California
JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP
Attorney General
______________________________________
OPINION :
: No. 90-302
of :
: SEPTEMBER 26, 1990
JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP :
Attorney General :
:
RONALD M. WEISKOPF :
Deputy Attorney General :
:
_________________________________________________________________
_______________
THE HONORABLE ROBERT C. FRAZEE, MEMBER OF THE ASSEMBLY,
has requested an opinion on several questions relating to the
operation of golf carts on local streets and highways which we have
combined in paraphrase as follows:
1. To what extent does State law permit golf carts
to be operated on local public streets and highways in
the absence of local legislative action under section
21115 of the Vehicle Code to designate portions of local
streets and highways for combined use by golf carts and
regular vehicular traffic?
2. To what extent may local authorities extend or
restrict the operation of golf carts on local streets and
highways under their jurisdiction?
CONCLUSIONS
1. Golf carts may be operated on local streets and
highways with speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less despite an
absence of local action under section 21115 of the Vehicle Code, if
the carts are registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles,
bear a license plate issued by the Department, and are properly
equipped.
2. If a local authority does act under section 21115 of
the Vehicle Code to designate certain portions of local highways
for combined use by golf carts and regular vehicular traffic, then
golf carts that are not registered with the DMV, and that are not
equipped as required by the Vehicle Code (if not operated during
1. 90-302
darkness), may be operated on those designated portions of highway.
Under subdivision (c) of section 21101 of the Code, local
authorities may prohibit the operation of golf carts on particular
local streets and highways if circumstances warrant. Section 21115
of the Code does not authorize local authorities to ban golf carts
from operating on any public street or highway having a speed limit
of 25 miles per hour or less within their jurisdiction, if the
carts have been registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles,
bear a license plate issued by the Department, and are properly
equipped. Nor does the section permit local authorities to
authorize the use of golf carts on any public highway under their
jurisdiction with a speed limit in excess of 25 miles per hour,
including the operation of the carts in a crossing zone which
traverses such a highway.
ANALYSIS
Residents of several communities in the State would like
to drive their golf carts on local streets from their homes to
nearby golf courses, in part because there are insufficient
facilities at the courses to store them. At present the legality
of their doing so is questioned because of uncertainty in the
interrelationship of two sections of the Vehicle Code that deal
with the operation of golf carts on local streets and highways. The
purpose of this Opinion is to dispel that uncertainty.1
Section 21716 of the Code provides that "No person shall
operate a golf cart on any highway except in a speed zone of 25
miles per hour or less." Under section 21115, local authorities
may permit golf carts to be operated along with regular vehicular
traffic on certain highways within their jurisdiction, under such
rules and regulations as the local authority may prescribe. The
1
As a preliminary matters we note the following:
(a) Unidentified references to code sections in this Opinion
refer to sections of the Vehicle Code.
(b) When we speak of golf carts, we do so as the Legislature
has, as meaning "a motor vehicle having not less than three wheels
in contact with the ground, having an unladen weight less than
1,300 pounds, which is designed to be and is operated at not more
than 15 miles per hour and designed to carry golf equipment and not
more than two persons, including the driver. (§ 345; Stats. 1968,
ch. 1303, p. 2456, § 1; emphasis added.)
(c) Since for Vehicle Code purposes the term "highway" also
includes "street" (§§ 100, 360) and vice versa (§ 590), we will use
them interchangeably as well to mean "a way or place of whatever
nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for
purposes of vehicular travel." (§§ 360, 590.)
2. 90-302
section specifically gives local authorities the power to set speed
limits on local highways designated for that combined use.2
The interworking of sections 21716 and 21115 thus
presents various possibilities regarding the legality of operating
golf carts on local public streets and highways absent local
action, and the scope of local authority to affect the operation of
golf carts on local streets in general. This gives rise to our two
questions: To what extent may golf carts be operated on local
public streets and highways in the absence of local legislative
action under section 21115 of the Vehicle Code, and to what extent
may local authorities extend or restrict the operation of golf
carts on local streets and highways within their boundaries?
General Background. Before directly addressing the two
questions, it is perhaps best to set forth the general background
in which they both are set and which affects the resolution of
each. This will involve carefully examining the wording of the
pertinent Code sections and the legislative background in which
they were wrought. The excursion will be somewhat detailed and
lengthy, but it will clarify matters and stand us in good stead
when we come to answer the particular questions.
We first look to the wording of the sections. (Cf.
People v. Belleci (1979) 24 Cal. 3d 879, 884; Moyer v. Workmen's
Compensation Appeals Board (1973) 10 Cal. 3d 222, 230; Steilberg v.
Lackner (1977) 69 Cal. App. 3d 780, 785; Rich v. State Board of
Optometry (1965) 235 Cal. App. 2d 591, 604.)
Section 21716. Section 21716 provides, as it has since
it was first adopted in 1968, that
"No person shall operate a golf cart on any highway
except in a speed zone of 25 miles per hour or less."
(Stats. 1968, ch. 1303, p. 2457, § 4.)
The section thus consists of a negative prohibition ("No
person shall operate a golf cart on any highway....") followed by
an exception to that prohibition ("... except in a speed zone of 25
miles per hour or less."). There it is noteworthy that the
Legislature has used the word "any" to describe the "highways" on
which no person may operate a golf cart except in a speed zone of
25 miles per hour or less. The use of that indefinite adjective
indicates that the Legislature meant for the section's coverage to
2
For purposes of the Vehicle Code, "local authorities" is
defined as "the legislative body of every county or municipality
having authority to adopt local police regulations." (§ 385.) In
67 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 145, 148 (1984) we concluded that rubric would
include a community services district that owns and maintains a
road system.
3. 90-302
be very broad and apply, without restriction or limitation, to all
"highways" in the State over which it had power to legislate. (Cf.
Emmolo v. Southern Pacific Co (1949) 91 Cal. App. 2d 87, 92; 72
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 216, 222-223 (1989); 68 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 28, 31
(1985); 64 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 192, 202 (1981); 20 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen.
31, 33 (1952).) Since the word "highway" when used in the Vehicle
Code also includes streets (Veh. Code, § 360), the section would
also apply, without restriction or limitation, to all streets in
the State over which the Legislature had the power to legislate.
In section 21 of the Vehicle Code the Legislature has
expressed its plenary power and a State preemption over the
regulation and control of traffic on all highways and streets in
the state, including those under the jurisdiction of local
authorities.3 (See Rumford v. City of Berkeley (1982) 31 Cal. 3d
545, 551; County of Los Angeles v. City of Alhambra (1980) 27
Cal. 3d 184, 189; Pipoly v. Benson (1942) 20 Cal. 2d 366, 371; City
of Lafayette v. County of Contra Costa (1979) 91 Cal. App. 3d 749,
755, 756; Mervynne v. Acker (1961) 189 Cal. App. 2d 558, 561-562; 73
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 13, 14-16 (1990); 68 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 101, 102
(1985); 67 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 1, 4, 5-6; 64 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 707,
709-710 (1981); 55 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 178, 179 (1972).) Section
21716 would therefore apply to all local streets and highways in
the State: Under its general prohibition, no person could drive a
golf cart on any local street except in a speed zone of 25 miles
per hour or less. That would preclude the operation of golf carts
on local streets having speed limits of more than 25 miles per
hour.
Section 21115. We turn next to the wording of section
21115. There we see an example of the exception in section 21 that
although the State has preempted the regulation of traffic on local
streets and highways, local authorities may undertake to regulate
traffic on local streets if they have been expressly authorized to
do so in the Vehicle Code. (Cf. Veh. Code, § 21; Rumford v. City
of Berkeley, supra, 31 Cal.3d at 550; City of Lafayette v. County
of Contra Costa, supra, 91 Cal.App.3d at 749; 73 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen.
13, 15, 16, supra; 68 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 101, 102, supra.) In
section 21115 the Legislature has given local authorities express
power to designate particular portions of highways for combined use
3
Section 21 of the Code provides as follows:
"Except as otherwise expressly provided, the
provisions of this code are applicable and uniform
throughout the state and in all counties and
municipalities therein, and no local authority shall
enact or enforce any ordinance on the matters covered by
this code unless expressly authorized therein."
4. 90-302
by golf carts and regular vehicular traffic and to prescribe speed
limits for them. The section, with its sentences numbered to
facilitate future reference, currently provides as follows:
"[1]If a local authority finds that a highway under
its jurisdiction is located adjacent to, or provides
access to, a golf course and between the golf course and
the place where golf carts are parked or stored or is
within or bounded by a real estate development offering
golf facilities and is designed and constructed, so as to
safely permit the use of regular vehicular traffic and
also the driving of golf carts on the highway, the local
authority may, by resolution or ordinance, designate the
highway or portion of the highway for combined use and
prescribe rules and regulations which shall have the
force of law. [2]No highway shall be so designated for
a distance of more than one mile from the golf course if
the highway is not located within a development or beyond
the area of a development, provided, the finding of the
local authority in this respect shall be conclusive.
[3]Upon the designation becoming effective it shall be
lawful to drive golf carts upon the highway in accordance
with the prescribed rules and regulations. [4]The rules
and regulations may establish crossing zones and speed
limits and other operating standards but shall not
require that the golf carts conform to any requirements
of this code with respect to registration, licensing, or
equipment, except that if operated during darkness the
golf cart shall be subject to the provisions of Section
24001.5 regarding equipment.
"[5]The rules and regulations shall not be effective
until appropriate signs giving notice thereof are posted
along the highway affected.
"[6]A `real estate development offering golf
facilities,' for purposes of this section, means an area
of single-family or multiple-family residences, the
owners or occupants of which are eligible for membership
in, or the use of, one or more golf courses within the
development by virtue of their ownership or occupancy of
a residential dwelling unit in the development." (Stats.
1968, ch. 1303, p. 2456, § 1; as amended by Stats. 1970,
ch. 972, p. 1507, § 1; Stats. 1977, ch. 124, p. 560, § 1,
Stats. 1989, ch. 389, p. ___, § 1; emphasis & sentence
numbering added.)
Before discussing the interplay of this section with the
prohibition of section 21716 we try first to understand its
wording.
5. 90-302
The first sentence of section 21115 gives local
authorities power to designate certain highways under their
jurisdiction for combined use by golf carts and regular vehicular
traffic, and to prescribe rules and regulations for them. It also
sets forth three criteria which must be met in order for a local
authority to so act. The first is that the highway must be one
that is under the "jurisdiction" of the local agency, i.e., it must
be a highway within the road system of the local agency and one for
which the agency is responsible. (Cf. Gillespie v. City of Los
Angeles (1950) 36 Cal. 2d 553, 559; 64 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 335, 338
(1981); see also, 67 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 145, 148, supra ["It is
appropriate that the local public entity responsible for
maintenance of particular public roads should have a measure of
control over their use".].) This condition removes state highways
from the purview of section 21115.4
The second condition precedent for invocation of local
authority under section 21115 involves the location of the highway:
the highway must either (i) be adjacent to (or provide access to)
a golf course and be between the golf course and the place where
golf carts are stored, or (ii) be within a real estate development
offering golf facilities, as defined in sentence #6 of the section.
The third criterion involves the design and construction of the
highway: it must be designed and constructed so as to permit golf
carts and regular vehicular traffic to safely use it together.
(Cf. § 627 ["engineering & traffic survey"].) Again, if these
three criteria are met a local authority may designate a particular
highway or portion thereof for combined golf cart and regular
traffic use and prescribe rules and regulations for it.
Sentence #2 of section 21115 confines the length of
highway which may be so designated.
Sentence #3 of section 21115 spells out the consequences
of the designation: once the highway or portion of it is
designated for combined use by golf carts and regular vehicular
traffic, "it [becomes] lawful to drive golf carts upon [it] in
accordance with the prescribed rules and regulations [that the
local agency may adopt]." Under sentence #4 of the section, those
rules and regulations may include the establishment of "crossing
4
California's road network may basically be categorized as
consisting of state highways, county highways, and city streets.
(See generally, 37 Cal.Jur.3d Highways and Streets, §§ 13-20.)
Under the Streets and Highways Code, with which the provisions of
the Vehicle Code are in pari materia and must be construed together
(cf. Gillespie v. City of Los Angeles, supra, at 558; 64
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 335, 339 fn. 3), a "state highway" is defined as
"any highway which is acquired, laid out, constructed, improved or
maintained pursuant to constitutional or legislative
authorization." (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 24; cf., id., div. 1.) 6. 90-302
zones and speed limits and other operating standards" governing
traffic on the highway. However, they may not require that the
golf carts conform to any requirement of the Code with respect to
registration, licensing, or equipment --except that if operated
during darkness, the carts must conform to the provisions of
section 24001.5 regarding equipment.5
With sections 21716 and 21115 thus in mind, we can
proceed to juxtapose them. Section 21716 is cast in general terms
and applies to all streets and highways in the State. It clearly
prohibits the operation of a golf cart on any highway except in a
speed zone of 25 miles per hour or less. We saw how that
prohibition would apply to local streets and highways. However,
under section 21115 local agencies may permit golf carts to use
certain streets and highways under their jurisdiction together with
regular vehicular traffic (§ 21115, sent. #1), and the section
gives them specific authority to establish speed limits and other
rules and regulations to govern the traffic on those streets and
highways (id., sent. #4). While the section restricts the location
and length of the highways which may be so designated (id., sents.
#s 1 & 2), it makes no mention of restricting the speed limits
which may be set by local authorities for them. In fact, the
section also specifically provides that when a street or highway is
designated for such combined use, "it shall be lawful to drive golf
carts upon [it] in accordance with the prescribed rules and
regulations." (Id., sent. #3.)
Section 21115 thus makes lawful what would otherwise be
unlawful, and therein lies part of the confusion which prompts our
questions: If one could already lawfully drive golf carts upon
local streets and highways with speed zones of 25 miles per hour or
less, what more could the Legislature have intended for section
21115 to do toward making that activity lawful? Might the
Legislature have intended that section 21716 operate only after a
local authority had acted under section 21115 to permit the driving
of a golf cart upon a local street or highway, thus essentially
giving local authorities a veto over the use of golf carts on
5
Division 12 of the Code sets forth the equipment requirements
for "all vehicles ... when upon the highways." (§ 24001.) Section
24002 provides that "it is unlawful to operate any vehicle ...
which is not equipped as required by [the] Code." Section 24001.5
provides that "a golf cart as defined in Section 345 shall only be
subject to the provisions of [division 12] which are applicable to
a motorcycle." (Stats. 1968, ch. 1303, p. 2457, § 5.)
"Darkness" is defined as "any time from one-half hour after
sunset to one-half hour before sunrise and any other time when
visibility is not sufficient to render clearly discernable any
person or vehicle on the highway at a distance of 1,000 feet." (§
280.)
7. 90-302
streets and highways in their jurisdiction. And then, was the
authority granted by section 21115 meant to permit local
authorities to approve the operation of golf carts on streets and
highways having speed limits in excess of 25 miles per hour?
In answering our questions we follow several beacons for
statutory construction. First and foremost, we must try to
ascertain the intent of the Legislature for enacting sections 21716
and 21115 and interpret them in such a way as to effectuate that
purpose. (Cf., Sand v. Superior Court (1983) 34 Cal. 3d 567, 570;
Great Lake Properties, Inc v. City of El Segundo (1977) 19 Cal. 3d
152, 153; Select Base Materials v. Board of Equalization (1959) 51
Cal. 2d 640, 645.) To do so we looked first to the words of the
sections themselves. (People v. Belleci, supra, 24 Cal.3d at 884;
Moyer v. Workmen's Compensation Appeals Board, supra, 10 Cal.3d at
230; Steilberg v. Lackner, supra, 69 Cal.App.3d at 785; Rich v.
State Board of Optometry, supra, 235 Cal.App.2d at 604.) But when
we did that we saw how the wording of each statute appeared
unambiguous when considered alone, but that certain ambiguities
arose when the two were considered together.
We know that we must read the sections together in such
a way as to harmonize their provisions and give effect to the terms
of each. (Cf., People v. Black (1982) 32 Cal.3d 1,5; Palos Verdes
Faculty Association v. Palos Verdes Peninsula School District
(1978) 21 Cal.3d. 650, 659; Moyer v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd.,
supra, at 230; People v. Kuhn (1963) 216 Cal. App. 2d 695, 698; 68
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 79, 82 (1985); 62 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 701, 703
(1979).) But as demonstrated, their wording presents several
possibilities as to how they may interrelate and thus uncertainty
exists in the exact relationship between them that was intended by
the Legislature. Fortunately "in the present instance both the
legislative history of the statute[s] and the wider historical
circumstance[s] of [their] enactment are legitimate and valuable
aids in divining the statutory purpose [and thus aides in resolving
that uncertainty]." ( California Mfrs. Assn. v. Public Utilities
Com. (1979) 24 Cal. 3d 836, 844; accord, Sand v. Superior Court,
supra, at 570; Grannis v. Superior Court (1905) 146 Cal. 245, 247­
248; Alford v. Pierno (1972) 27 Cal. App. 3d 682, 688.) We therefore
turn to the legislative history of the sections to solve the
problem.
The 1968 Legislation. Sections 21716 and 21115 were both
adopted in 1968 as part of a single legislative enactment that
added the five aforementioned sections to the Vehicle Code to
specifically deal with the operation of golf carts on the State's
highways. (Stats. 1968, ch. 1303, pp. 2456-2457, §§ 1-5, adding
Veh. Code §§ 345, 4019, 21115, 21716, and 24001.5, respectively.)6
6
Sections 345, 4019, 21716, and 24001.5 appear today as they
were originally enacted in 1968; however section 21115 was
8. 90-302
Prior to that time, the Vehicle Code did not treat golf carts
differently from other vehicles as far as registration and
equipment requirements were concerned. As today, under the code
then no person could drive any "motor vehicle" on a highway unless
it was first registered with the State Department of Motor
Vehicles. (Veh. Code [1959], § 4000.) Since the Code defined
"motor vehicle" as "a vehicle which is self-propelled" (id., § 415;
cf. id., § 6707), golf carts came within the definition of "motor
vehicle", and therefore had to be registered with the DMV in order
to be driven on a street or highway. They also had to be
appropriately equipped (id., § 24002; cf. id., § 24001)8 and have
displayed the appropriate license plate(s) (id., §§ 4850, 5200­
5202).
From documents in its legislative history we learn that
the 1968 legislation (AB 840) was designed to provide special rules
for the registration, required equipment, and operation of golf
carts. (See e.g., Report of Committee Consultant To Committee
Members On AB 840, Assembly Committee On Transportation and
Commerce9.) As ultimately enacted, the legislation did the
subsequently amended three times (Stats. 1970, ch. 792, supra;
Stats. 1977, ch. 124, supra; Stats 1989, ch. 389, supra).
7
Section 670 defined "vehicle" as "a device by which any
person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a
highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or
used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks." (Veh. Code
[1959], § 670.)
8
Section 24002 of the 1959 Vehicle Code provided that "it is
unlawful to operate any vehicle ... which is not equipped as
required by this code...." Section 24001 of the Code provided that
"This division [i.e., division 12 dealing with Equipment of
Vehicles] ... unless otherwise provided, applies to all vehicles
... when upon the highways...."
9
The cited Report of the Consultant to the Assembly Committee
on Transportation and Commerce states:
"AB 840 was introduced at the request of a golf cart
manufacturer in the author's district. [¶] In order for golf carts
to be operated on any public roads at the present time, the golf
cart must be registered with DMV and meet specified equipment
requirements. The problem created by the current law is that very
few, if any, golf carts are manufactured to meet these equipment
requirements. However, some manufacturers are signing affidavits
stipulating that their carts meet the Vehicle Code equipment
standards in order to permit the purchaser to register the cart
with DMV. [¶]It is felt it would be more reasonable if golf carts
were required to meet the less restrictive vehicle equipment
9. 90-302
following: (1) It added section 345 to the Vehicle Code to define
"golf cart". (2) It added section 4019 to exempt golf carts from
the registration requirements of the Code, but only when they were
operated pursuant to section 21115. (3) It added section 21115 to
authorize local authorities to designate up to one-half mile of
certain highways under their jurisdiction for combined use by golf
carts and regular vehicular traffic and to prescribe rules and
regulations therefor. (4) It added our section 21716 to prohibit
the operation of golf carts on any highway except in a speed zone
of 25 miles per hour or less. And (5), it added section 24001.5 to
specify that golf carts (as defined in section 345) were only to be
subject to the equipment requirements of the Vehicle Code that were
applicable to motorcycles. (Stats. 1968, ch. 1303, §§ 1-5,
respectively.)
Three things are worthy of note regarding the 1968 golf
cart legislation. One is that the 25 mile per hour speed limit for
the highways upon which golf carts would be permitted to operate
under section 21716 had been deliberately set by a Senate amendment
on June 28, 1968; prior thereto, the speed limit of the zone in
which they could operate had been fixed at 35 miles per hour. We
surmise that the lower limit was imposed for safety reasons because
it would be more consistent with the 15 mile per hour operational
limit of golf carts as defined in section 345 (cf. fn. 1(b), ante).
Second, it is to be particularly noted that sections
21716 and 21115 came into the legislation at different times. AB
840 contained the addition of section 21716 to the Vehicle Code to
restrict the operation of golf carts to speed zones of 25 miles per
hour or less early in its gestation, and at a time when any
addition of section 21115 was still in the offing. Thus when
section 21716 was already considered, no mention yet was made of
local authorities being able to designate portions of highway for
combined golf cart and regular traffic use. That provision only
came about with a Senate amendment on July 20, 1968 when section
requirements that apply to motorcycles rather than the equipment
requirements for passenger cars." (Report of Committee Consultant
To Committee Members On AB 840, Assembly Committee On
Transportation and Commerce, supra.)
This document is properly considered in determining the
Legislature's purpose for enacting AB 840. (See e.g., Southern
Cal. Gas Co. v. Public Utilities Com. (1979) 24 Cal. 3d 653, 659;
People v. Martinez (1987) 194 Cal. App. 3d 15, 22; Ventura v. City of
San Jose (1984) 151 Cal. App. 3d 1076, 1080; Southland Mechanical
Constructors Corp. v. Nixen (1981) 119 Cal. App. 3d 417, 427; People
v. Swinney (1975) 46 Cal. App. 3d 332, 342; Maben v. Superior Court
(1967) 255 Cal. App. 2d 708, 713.)
10. 90-302
21115 was added to the Bill. (Sen. amdt. to AB 840, July 20,
1968.)
Third, it is to be noted that no mention was made at all
in the 1968 legislation about local authorities being able to
prescribe speed limits as part of the rules and regulations that
they could adopt for a combined use highway. As we shall see, that
specific authority was not to be granted until 1970. (Stats.,
1970, ch. 792, p. 1507, § 1.)
In the 1968 statutory scheme devised for golf cart
operation, section 21716 was the primary section. It established
a maximum speed limit for golf carts operating on any street or
highway in the State, independent of any action a local authority
might take under section 21115, for that section made no mention of
speed limits.10 However, if a local authority did designate a
portion of a local street or highway for combined golf cart and
regular vehicular traffic under the section 21115, golf carts
operating on it would not have to be registered with the Department
of Motor Vehicles. And thus is solved the confusion of what
section 21115 makes legal beyond that which section 21716 already
permitted: Under section 21716, golf carts could already be driven
on streets and highways in speed zones of 25 miles per hour or
less, but they had to first be registered by the DMV. Now on a
section 21115 street or highway it would be legal to drive them
without that registration.
As noted, sections 21716, 24001.5, 4019, and 345 remain
today as they were enacted in 1968. However, section 21115 was
subsequently amended three times (Stats. 1970, ch. 792, supra;
Stats. 1977, ch. 124, supra; Stats 1989, supra) and the first of
those amendments specifically gave local authorities, authority to
set speed limits on the one half mile portion of street or highway
that they would designate for combined golf cart and regular
vehicular traffic use. We therefore must look to that legislation
to see if it was meant to change the statutory scheme established
for golf carts in 1968.
The 1970 Legislation. Section 21115 was amended in 1970
by SB 35. (Stats. 1970, ch. 792,supra.) The major reason for the
legislation was that residents of a particular adult residential
golfing/retirement community found that the ½ mile limit of highway
10
If there were any doubt as to the primacy of section 21716
over section 21115 we would, "`as a last resort ... apply the rule
that the later provision in point of position controls the earlier
provision although both are in the same statute and passed at the
same time.' (People v. Moroney [1944] 24 Cal. 2d 638, 645.)"
(Hartford Acc. etc. Co. v. City of Tulare (1947) 30 Cal. 2d 832,
835.) Section 21115 was added by section 3 of Chapter 1303 of the
Statutes of 1968; section 21716 was added by section 4.
11. 90-302
that could be designated by their local authority under section
21115 to exempt golf carts from Vehicle Code registration, was not
sufficient to permit many of them to drive from their homes to the
community golf course. (See e.g., Letter from the Bill's author,
Senator Nejedly, to Governor Reagan (Aug. 26, 1970), post;
Description of SB 35, Assembly Transportation Committee, post;
Letter from Senator Nejedly to J.W. Dent, Member of the Assembly
(July 31, 1970); Letters from the Rossmoor Walnut Creek Golden Rain
Foundation to the Bill's author (Oct. 3, 1969 and Jan. 7, 1970);
Letter from the Rossmoor Golf Club to the Golden Rain Foundation
(Oct. 22, 1969).)
The initial solution to the problem was to increase the
length of local highway adjacent to a golf course that a local
authority could designate for combined golf cart and regular
vehicular use from ½ mile to 1½ miles. (See SB 35 as introduced in
the Senate on January 12, 1970.) However, that approach was
abandoned on February 19, 1970, when the Bill was amended in the
Senate to speak instead of local authorities designating only local
highways "within or bounded by a real estate development offering
golf facilities" for any combined use. (See Sen. amendments to SB
35, February 19, 1970.)11
But more important for our purposes, SB 35 was also
amended on February 19th to specifically mention that the rules and
regulations that a local authority might adopt to govern a combined
use highway under section 21115, could include the establishment of
speed limits. The kernel of what is now sentence #4 of the section
was added as follows:
"Such rules and regulations may establish speed
limits and other operating standards but shall not
require that golf carts conform to any requirements of
11
The authority of local agencies to designate local highways
"adjacent to a golf course and between the golf course and the
place where golf carts are parked or stored" for combined golf cart
and regular vehicular traffic use was reinstated when SB 35 was
amended for a final time, in the Assembly, on July 15, 1970. [It
is interesting to note that those amendments were drafted by the
Legislative Counsel at the behest of the author of the original
1968 golf cart legislation (AB 840) because he did not wish to see
that repealed. (See Letter, D.E. Whittington, Deputy Legislative
Counsel, to K. Cory, Member of the Assembly, dated July 13, 1970;
Memorandum, J.A. Nejedly to J.W. Dent, Member of the Assembly,
dated July 31, 1970.)] The half mile limit for such a designation
on a highway outside a development, originally imposed in 1968, was
also reinstated at the same time. (See, Ass. amendments to SB 35
of July 15, 1970; Letter of D.E. Whittington, supra; Legislative
Analyst's Analysis of SB 35, July 21, 1970.)
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this code with respect to equipment, registration, or
licensing."
Thus, with this and the other amendments that were made
to section 21115 in 1970, the section took form as it essentially
appears today: A local authority could designate up to one half
mile of a local street or highway adjacent to a golf course, or a
local street or highway within a "real estate development offering
golf facilities", for combined golf cart and regular vehicular
traffic use, if it found that the street or highway was designed
and constructed to safely permit that usage. And a local authority
was given specific power to establish speed limits on the highways
it designated for that combined use. Under section 4019, golf
carts could be driven on section 21115 highways without having to
be registered (or perforce licensed) with the Department of Motor
Vehicles.12
It might appear from the 1970 amendment to section 21115
that local authorities, which could now set speed limits on
combined use highways, could do so independently of section 21716,
and that the primacy of the latter section, established in the 1968
legislation, had been reversed and now depended on local action.
However, documents in the legislative history show that that was
never intended to be the case.
As mentioned, the purpose for the 1970 amendment to
section 21115 was to accommodate residents of certain communities
offering golf facilities who lived more than one half mile from
their golf course and could not drive their golf carts on the local
streets from their homes to the course without first having to
register them with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Other than
making that accommodation, by permitting local authorities to
designate all local streets within such a development for combined
golf cart and regular vehicular traffic use to give them the
benefits of section 21115, the 1970 legislation was not meant to
change the basic scheme of golf cart regulation that had been
established in 1968. And specifically, although the matter of
12
Section 21115 was once again amended in 1977. (Stats. 1977,
ch. 124, p. 560, § 1.) The amendment extended to one mile, the
length of highway outside a "real estate development offering golf
facilities" that a local agency could designate for combined golf
cart and regular vehicular traffic use. It also limited the
equipment requirement of section 24001.5 to golf carts operated on
combined use highways during darkness.
In 1989 the section was again amended. (Stats. 1989, ch.
389, p. ___, § 1.) Other than specifying that a local agency could
provide "crossing zones" as part of the rules and regulations it
would establish for a combined use street or highway, the amendment
is not significant for our purposes.
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local authorities establishing speed limits was now mentioned in
section 21115, the legislative documents are replete with
statements indicating that any street designated for combined use
would still have to have a maximum speed limit of 25 miles per
hour.
For example, we read the following in a description of SB
35 by the Assembly Transportation Committee:
"This bill was introduced at the request of the
residents of the Rossmoor community in Walnut Creek.
Rossmoor is a special community built for adults. [¶]The
purpose of SB 35 is to permit Rossmoor residents to drive
to and from their community golf course in a golf cart
that has not been registered with DMV. However, the
following Vehicle Code provisions regulating golf carts
would still be retained:
"1. The street on which the golf cart is driven must
be posted at 25 miles per hour or less.
"2. The driver of the cart must have a license.
"3. The golf cart must have certain prescribed
equipment.
"...." (Emphasis added; see also ( Memorandum of
J.A. Nejedly to J.W. Dent, supra.)
A similar description of SB 35 is found in the letter from the
author of the Bill commending it to Governor Reagan for signature
into law (Letter of State Senator John A. Nejedly to Governor
Reagan, supra)13 and similar statements were contained in a press
release by the author when it was signed into law (Press Release,
Office of Senator John A. Nejedly, September 4, 1970).
It is therefore seen that the 1970 legislation was
neither meant to change the general scheme of golf cart regulation
set in 1968, nor the specific need for a street designated by a
local authority for combined golf cart and regular vehicular use to
13
"This letter is to respectfully request your favorable
consideration of my Senate Bill 35. [¶][¶]Specifically, the bill
permits unregistered golf carts to be ridden within a real estate
development of the type having a security gate and golf facilities.
[¶]However, certain Vehicle Code provisions relating to golf carts
would still be retained; namely, (1) the street on which the golf
cart is driven must be posted at 25 mph or less; (2) the driver of
the golf cart must have a license; (3) the golf cart must have
certain prescribed equipment." (Emphasis added.)
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have a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less, which limit had
been deliberately set by the legislature in 1968.
With this general background, we can proceed to answer
the specific questions that were asked.
1. Operating Golf Carts On Local Streets And Highways
When A Local Authority Has Not Acted Under Section 21115. We are
first asked whether golf carts may be operated on local streets and
highways, with speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less, if a
local agency has not acted under section 21115 to designate
portions of highways under its jurisdiction for combined golf cart
and regular traffic use. We conclude that they may, provided that
they are properly registered and equipped.
We have seen in our examination of the legislative
history of the State golf cart legislation how the Legislature has
carefully provided rules for the operation of golf carts on the
State's highways. Sections 21716 and 21115 must not only be
construed in relation to each other, but also in the context of
that entire statutory framework in which they were wrought. (Cf.
Turner v. Board of Trustees (1976) 16 Cal. 3d 818, 826; Moyer v.
Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd, supra, 10 Cal. 3d at 230; People v.
Moroney (1944) 24 Cal. 2d 638, 642; Earl Ranch, Ltd. v. Industrial
Acc. Com. (1935) 4 Cal. 2d 767, 769; Marrujo v. Hunt (1977) 71
Cal. App. 3d 972, 977.) When we look to that whole package the
pieces of our puzzle fall into place.
We saw that the 1968 legislation was meant to provide
special statutory rules for the operation of golf carts on the
streets and highways of the State, and that sections 21716 and
21115 were part of them, but had separate and independent reasons
for their respective enactment. Section 21716 was meant to set
forth a carefully considered general rule for the operation of golf
carts on streets and highways: the section does not prohibit their
operation, but does provide that they may only be operated in speed
zones of 25 miles per hour or less. As with other motor vehicles
(cf. §§ 415, 670, supra), they can be operated if they are
registered (§ 4000), properly equipped (per § 24001.5), and have an
appropriate license plate displayed (§§ 4850, 5200-5202). Thus, a
golf cart which is properly equipped and registered may be operated
upon a public highway having a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or
less by a licensed operator in accordance with traffic laws because
nothing in the Vehicle Code prohibits such operation. (Cf. Ex
Parte Daniels (1920) 183 Cal. 636, 639 ["The streets of a city
belong to the people of the state, and every citizen has a right to
the use thereof, subject to legislative control...."]; accord,
Rumford v. City of Berkeley, supra, 31 Cal.3d at 549; Escobedo v.
State of California (1950) 35 Cal. 2d 870, 875-876; City of
Lafayette v. County of Contra Costa, supra, 91 Cal.App.3d at 753.)
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Section 21115 was never meant to, and does not detract
from that. The section had a completely different reason for being
enacted, viz, to provide a special rule to govern the operation of
golf carts in the special situation of specifically designated one-
half mile portions of local streets and highways where they could
be driven without first being registered with the Department of
Motor Vehicles (§ 4019), or perforce having the indicium of
registration, a license, displayed.
We therefore conclude that golf carts may be operated on
local streets and highways with a speed limit of 25 miles per hour
or less, even if a local agency has not taken action under section
21115 to designate them for combined golf cart and regular
vehicular traffic use. However, before a golf cart may be so
driven it must first be registered with the Department of Motor
Vehicles, bear a Department issued license plate, and have
appropriate equipment (§ 24001.5).
2. Local Agency Action Affecting Golf Cart Operation.
Our second question asks the extent to which local authorities may
extend or restrict the operation of golf carts on local streets and
highways. Specific inquiry is made as to (a) whether section 21716
limits the action local authorities may take under section 21115 to
permitting the operation of golf carts on combined use highways
which have a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less; (b) whether
local authorities acting under section 21115 can permit the
operation of golf carts in crossing zones where the speed limit of
the intersecting street exceeds 25 miles per hour; and (c) whether
local authorities can prohibit the use of golf carts on local
streets and highways altogether.
Speed Limit Of Designated Highway. As we have seen,
local authorities were given the specific authority to set speed
limits for combined use highways in the 1970 amendment that was
made to section 21115. But as we have demonstrated, the
legislative history of that amendment makes it clear beyond doubt's
peradventure that when a local authority acts under the section, it
may only designate those local streets and highways that have speed
limits of 25 miles per hour or less for combined golf cart and
regular vehicular traffic use. The general prohibition set in
section 21716 against golf carts operating otherwise was never
meant to be overridden.
The legislature has given local authorities the power to
decrease speed limits to 25 miles per hour on certain streets. (§
22358.) That would then permit the street to qualify for
designation as a combined use highway. But we believe the
Legislature intended section 21716 to be an absolute ban on golf
carts operating on any portion of highway having a speed limit
exceeding 25 miles per hour. As mentioned, that limit was
deliberately set with traffic safety in mind, given the 15 mile per
hour operational limit of a golf cart (cf. § 345). We therefore
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conclude that a local agency may not permit the operation of golf
carts on local streets and highways with speed limits in excess of
25 miles per hour.
Crossing Zones. Specific concern was raised whether a
local agency, acting under section 21115, may permit the operation
of golf carts in crossing zones which traverse a street or highway
that has a speed limit of more than 25 miles per hour. We conclude
it may not.
Local authorities may only regulate traffic on public
streets to the extent that they have been expressly authorized to
do so in the Vehicle Code, and unless an express authorization
appears therein, a local authority has no power in the area.
(§ 21; see Rumford v. City of Berkeley, supra, 31 Cal.3d at 550;
City of Lafayette v. County of Contra Costa, supra, 91 Cal.App.3d
at 749; 73 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen., 13, 15, supra; 68 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen.
101, 102, supra.) Moreover, any delegation of a power to local
authorities to regulate traffic "is [to be] strictly construed...."
(Rumford v. City of Berkeley, supra at 550, 553; see also, City of
Lafayette v. County of Contra Costa, supra at 756; People v. Moore
(1964) 229 Cal. App. 2d 221, 228; 73 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen., supra; 67
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 1, 4, supra.)
Section 21115 was amended last year to permit local
authorities to establish "crossing zones" for golf cart use. (SB
48; Stats. 1989, ch. 389, supra.) We understand a "crossing zone"
to be a corridor that is designated across a street or highway that
runs through a golf course, to permit golf carts to go from one
part of the course to another.
However, when a local agency acts to establish a crossing
zone it does so by authority of section 21115. That section
empowers local authorities to designate portions of certain
highways for combined use by golf carts and regular vehicular
traffic and to adopt rules and regulation to govern that traffic.
The designation then permits the operation of golf carts on the
highways so designated in accordance with those rules and
regulations. Section 21115 specifically provides that the rules
and regulations may include the establishment of "crossing zones".
But it must not be forgotten that the rules and regulations that a
local agency adopts under the section are meant for the regulation
of traffic on a combined use highway . Thus the rules and
regulations themselves apply only to highways or portions of
highways that have been designated for combined use, but as we have
shown, it is only those areas of highway that have speed limits of
25 miles per hour or less that may be so designated. Thus, the
crossing zones contemplated by section 21115 may only be located in
a designated portion of a highway that has a speed limit of 25
miles per hour or less. The section does not permit the operation
of a golf cart in a crossing zone across a highway having a speed
limit greater than 25 miles per hour.
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In section 21716 the Legislature has plainly spoken: "No
person shall operate a golf cart on any highway except in a speed
zone of 25 miles per hour or less." (§ 21716; emphasis added.) A
crossing zone, though traversing a highway, is nonetheless on the
highway it traverses. (Cf. § 365 ["intersection"].) Under section
21716 golf carts may not be operated there if the speed limit of
the highway at that point is more than 25 miles per hour, because
the zone in which the cart would operate would not be one of 25
miles per hour or less.
Lastly, we have seen how when 21716 was adopted in 1968,
the Legislature deliberately set 25 miles per hour as the maximum
speed limit that streets and highways could have if golf carts were
to be operated upon them. That limit, we surmised, was
purposefully set because the Legislature considered its 10 mile an
hour differential from a golf cart's upper operational limit to be
the maximum that could be permitted on a combined use highway and
still be consistent with traffic safety on it. But those traffic
safety considerations for a combined use highway are just as
compelling in the situation where a golf cart crosses a street or
highway, as when it travels along it. Whether a golf cart travels
parallel with regular vehicular traffic along a highway, or travels
perpendicular to the highway and the vehicular traffic's flow, the
difference between the cart's maneuverability and capabilities and
that of the regular vehicular traffic is still there.
We therefore conclude that local authorities may not
establish crossing zones across local streets or highways that have
speed limits in excess of 25 miles per hour.
A Local Authority Prohibiting The Use Of Golf Carts On
Local Streets Altogether. The final specific inquiry made
regarding the scope of local authorities powers to expand or
restrict the operation of golf carts on local streets and highways,
is whether they can ban their operation altogether. The question
as asked came in the context of section 21115, i.e., if local
authorities do not act under that section to designate a local
street or highway for combined golf cart and regular traffic use,
are golf carts thereby precluded from using it.
We answered that in question one: golf carts may be
operated on any street or highway with a speed limit of 25 miles
per hour or less independent of section 21115, and no action by a
local authority is necessary to effect that permission. We find
now that no action by a local agency under section 21115 can affect
it.
Again, local authorities may only regulate traffic on
public streets to the extent that they have been expressly
authorized to do so in the Vehicle Code, and unless an express
authorization appears therein, a local authority has no power in
the area. (§ 21; see, Rumford v. City of Berkeley, supra, 31
18. 90-302
Cal.3d at 550; City of Lafayette v. County of Contra Costa, supra,
91 Cal.App.3d at 749; 73 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 13, 15, supra; 68
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 101, 102, supra.) As we have shown, section
21115 is positive in thrust; it adds to one's ability to drive a
golf cart on certain local streets and highways because it enables
one to avoid the necessity of first having to register the vehicle.
(§ 4019.) The section and its legislative history are devoid of
any indication that it was meant to derogate from the basic ability
of being able to drive a properly registered golf cart on a local
street, as long as its speed limit is 25 miles per hour or less.
We therefore conclude that under section 21115, local authorities
may not prohibit the operation of golf carts on local streets or
highways, either through action or inaction.
However, the primary statute governing local control over
highway uses is not section 21115, but rather section 21101 of the
Vehicle Code. (Cf. 67 Ops.Cal.Atty. Gen. 1, 5, supra.) There, in
subdivision (c) of the section, the Legislature has given local
authorities the power to adopt rules and regulations "[p]rohibiting
the use of particular highways [under their jurisdiction] by
certain vehicles ...." (§ 21101, subd. (c); emphasis added.)
The Legislature's use of the word "certain" to describe
the vehicles that local authorities can prohibit from using
particular local streets and highway, indicates that it did not
wish to define or particularize them on a statewide basis, but
intended instead to leave the matter of saying exactly which types
of classes of vehicles might be prohibited from using particular
local highways to local discretion, as local conditions warranted.
(Cf. 73 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 13, 19, supra.) Thus,
"In 55 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 178 (1955) we ... said that
[although the phrase 'certain vehicles' was not defined
(Id. at 182)], it was broad enough to permit a city or
county to prohibit the use of particular highways or
streets by certain classes of vehicles, such as those
determined to be excessively noisy. (Id. at 183.) Our
conclusion was cited in City of Lafayette v. County of
Contra Costa, supra, 91 Cal. App. 3d 749 in support of the
proposition that subdivision (c) would permit a city to
prohibit certain classes of vehicles, "such as trucks, or
tractors, or oversize or 'excessively noisy' vehicles, or
those lacking air-inflated tires," from using particular
highways. (Id. at 756 fn. 2.) In 67 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen.
1, supra, we again considered the subdivision and
concluded that the phrase 'certain vehicles' gave local
agencies some limited authority to restrict the roads on
which certain cargoes, such as hazardous material, might
be transported in the jurisdiction. (Id. at 5-7.) (73
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. at 19, supra.)
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By parity of reasoning, we conclude that if local
conditions warrant, a local agency could ban golf carts from
particular local streets under section 21101, subdivision (c).
But a caveat is in order. In 67 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 1,
supra, we noted that a number of qualifications had to accompany
the grant of authority under section 21101, subdivision (c).
Pertinent here were (a) that a local authority could not use that
authority to thwart the application of other state laws (cf. 55
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 178, 183, supra), and (b) that "as in all cases
regarding the exercise of police powers, the [local action] must
not be 'arbitrary, unreasonable, or confiscatory.' [Citations.]"
(67 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen., supra at 6.) That means, in part, that
there must be a valid governmental objective to be served and the
means adopted to achieve it are reasonably related to doing so.
(Cf. Skyline Materials, Inc. v. City of Belmont (1961) 198
Cal. App. 2d 449, 455; Neary v. Town of Los Altos Hills (1959) 172
Cal. App. 2d 721, 726.)
A total ban on the operation of golf carts on all local
streets and highways would not be justified under section 21101,
subdivision (c). Such action would not come within the specific
grant of authority to "prohibit[] the use of particular highways by
certain vehicles" because the word "particular" means something
less than all. (Webster's Third New Intnl. Dict. (1971 ed.) at p.
1646; see also, Neary v. Town of Los Altos, supra, 172 Cal.App.2d
at 728.) However, it is possible that valid, compelling, and
legitimate reasons might exist for a local authority to find it
necessary to ban golf carts from a particular local street or
highway, and that a decision to do so would be proper under the
circumstances. For example, if some problem was being caused by
the operation of golf carts on a particular street or highway which
could only be solved by prohibiting their operation on it, action
taken by a local authority to ban the carts would be proper.
Further, that action would no more impinge on state law, than would
action taken by a local authority under subdivision (c) to ban any
other type of vehicle that could otherwise travel on local streets
and highways.
We therefore conclude that while local authorities may
not ban golf carts from operating on all local streets and
highways, they may prohibit their operation on particular local
streets and highways under section 21101, subdivision (c), if that
action is called for to remedy untoward circumstances brought about
by the operation of the carts on the streets.
In answer to question two then we conclude as follows:
Generally speaking, local authorities may not restrict golf carts
from operating on any public highway within their jurisdiction
having a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less, if the carts
have been registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and are
properly equipped as required by the Vehicle Code. However, if
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circumstances warrant, they may ban golf carts from using
particular streets and highways under section 21101, subdivision
(c). If a local authority designates a portion of highway for
combined use by golf carts and regular vehicular traffic under
section 21115, then golf carts that are not registered with or
licensed by the DMV may be used upon them. But local authorities
may not permit golf carts to be operated on streets and highways
with speed limits in excess of 25 miles per hour, or in a crossing
zone that traverses such a street or highway.
****
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