A law in California that fines port terminals for making truckers sit and idle may soon be expanded to fine terminals even more for making truckers wait in a line.

The law, passed as AB2650 and signed into law by the governor in September 2002, requires every marine terminal in California to operate in a way that keeps trucks from idling any more than 30 minutes while waiting to load or unload.

Marine terminal operators who try to divert trucks to freeways or staging areas away from the ports to avoid the law face an additional fine. And the new law also prohibits the terminals from passing the cost of the fines on to truck owners and operators. Terminal operators could face a $250 fine for every truck left idling more than 30 minutes; if the terminal diverts the idling trucks, that fine expands to $750.

The law also requires each state air quality district to determine the level of monitoring and enforcement necessary based on the truck idling problem that exists within the district.

Under AB1971, introduced this year by Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, those fines would expand to include terminals that make truckers “queue,” or wait in line. It would also expand the duties of air-quality districts to cover queuing trucks as well as idling ones. Lowenthal also sponsored the original law, AB2650.

No hearing is scheduled on the bill yet, but according to the General Assembly’s Web site, a hearing could take place by March 14.