SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Bill passed by the California state Senate may eventually require commercial truck drivers to record their hours with onboard computers.

Although the proposal has several steps left before becoming law, if passed, California would become the first state to require the so-called black boxes for truckers. The Bill, if ratified, would go into effect Jan. 1, 2004.

The federal governments of both Canada and the U.S. have considered tying the idea to the on-going Hours-of-Service reform process.