BILL NUMBER: AB 1394 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT CHAPTER 627 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 21, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 25, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 23, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 14, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Levine and Montanez FEBRUARY 21, 2003 An act to add Article 13 (commencing with Section 44297) to Chapter 9 of Part 5 of Division 26 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1394, Levine. Air pollution: Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program: particulate matter. Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board. Under the program, the state board is authorized to make grants for the purchase of low-emission, heavy-duty engines for vehicles, equipment, vessels, and locomotives in order to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and authorizes the administration of the program to be delegated to air pollution control districts and air quality management districts. This bill would expand the Carl Moyer program to include heavy-duty fleet modernization projects that reduce emissions of NOx or particulate matter. The bill would make any project that replaces an old engine or vehicle with a new engine or vehicle that meets more stringent emission standards, or that provides the equivalent emission reductions of that replacement combined with the purchase of a specified new very low or zero-emission vehicle, a heavy-duty fleet modernization project eligible for funding under the program. The bill would also require the state board, at its first opportunity following January 1, 2005, to revise the existing grant criteria and guidelines to incorporate heavy-duty fleet modernization projects that reduce emissions of NOx or particulate matter, and would authorize those guidelines to define eligible costs to include monitoring and verifying compliance with the requirements of the bill. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Emissions of particulate matter, including, but not limited to, coarse particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), lodge deep into the lungs and contribute to a wide range of adverse health impacts, including, but not limited to, increased infant morbidity and mortality, reduced lung function, increased respiratory symptoms in asthmatics and nonasthmatics, and increased emergency room visits. (b) Ninety-nine percent of the state's population live in areas that fail to meet the state's ambient air quality standard for PM10. (c) Particulate matter emissions can have community-level impacts, with the potential for adverse health effects greatest in those communities with the heaviest concentration of PM emission sources. (d) Diesel particulate matter has been identified by the State Air Resources Board as both a carcinogen and a toxic air contaminant. According to the state board, particulate matter from diesel-fueled engines contributes more than 70 percent of the known risk from toxic air contaminants in the state today. (e) Diesel engines are durable, and it is not uncommon for a heavy-duty diesel vehicle to stay on the road for 30 years. These oldest diesel engines contribute disproportionately to the state's oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and PM emission inventories. A diesel truck produced between the years of 1975 and 1983 emits 10 times as much NOx, and six times as much PM, as a diesel truck that meets current standards. (f) Owners of the oldest heavy-duty diesel vehicles tend to be relatively low-income independent owner-operators who provide short-haul services, usually within a single air district and concentrated in specified industrial sectors, including, but not limited to, port operations. (g) The Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (Ch. 9 (commencing with Sec. 44275) Pt. 5, Div. 26, H. & S.C.) has successfully encouraged the adoption of cleaner diesel and alternative fueled heavy-duty engines. However, the program is not currently designed to remove oldest, heaviest polluting vehicles or to replace them with newer, lower emission vehicles, in large part because the owners of the oldest trucks cannot afford to buy a vehicle that qualifies for incentives under the program. (h) It is in the public interest to pursue all cost-effective efforts consistent with the Carl Moyer program, to retire from service the oldest, heaviest polluting heavy-duty diesel trucks and replace them with newer, lower emission vehicles. SEC. 2. Article 13 (commencing with Section 44297) is added to Chapter 9 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: Article 13. Heavy-Duty Fleet Modernization Projects 44297. (a) The state board, acting within its existing authority, shall, at its first opportunity following January 1, 2005, revise the grant criteria and guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 44287 to incorporate projects described in subdivision (c). (b) The guidelines may define eligible costs to include monitoring and verifying compliance with this article. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a project that meets either of the following criteria constitutes a heavy-duty fleet modernization project and thus is eligible for funding under the program, if it complies with the guidelines established by the state board pursuant to subdivision (a): (1) Replaces an old engine or vehicle with a newer engine or vehicle certified to more stringent emissions standards than the engine or vehicle being replaced, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 44281. (2) Provides the equivalent emission reductions as would be gained by a project that combines both of the following: (A) The purchase of a new very low or zero-emission covered vehicle pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 44281. (B) The replacement of an old engine or vehicle with a newer engine or vehicle certified to more stringent standards than the engine or vehicle being replaced, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 44281. (c) In establishing guidelines pursuant to subdivision (a), the state board shall consider any existing heavy-duty fleet modernization program carried out by a district. The state board shall design a program that, to the extent feasible, includes fleet owners, independent truck owners, heavy-duty vehicle dealers, districts, and other participants it determines appropriate from existing local programs. (d) The grants provided pursuant to this article shall provide moneys to offset the incremental cost of projects that reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). (e) The state board shall determine an appropriate weighted cost-effectiveness standard for projects intended to reduce particulate matter.