BILL NUMBER: AB 493 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ruskin
FEBRUARY 20, 2007
An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 43300) to Chapter
2 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating
to vehicles, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 493, as introduced, Ruskin. Motor vehicle greenhouse gas
emissions: incentive program.
Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the state
agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular
air pollution and as the state agency charged with monitoring and
regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global
warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The state
board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit
equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990
to be achieved by 2020, and is required to adopt rules and
regulations in an open-public process to achieve the maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission
reductions.
This bill would require the state board to create and implement a
clean vehicle incentive program meeting specified requirements, that
would provide rebates to, and require surcharges from, purchasers of
new motor vehicles based on the vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions to
mitigate against emissions of greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.
The bill would create the Clean Vehicle Incentive Account to be
administered by the state board in consultation with the State Board
of Equalization. All funds collected from surcharges would be
required to be deposited into this account and all clean vehicle
discounts would be required to be taken from the account. Moneys in
the fund would be continuously appropriated to the state board to
fund the clean vehicle incentive program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 3 (commencing with Section 43300) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 3. Clean Vehicle Incentive Program
43300. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) According to the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, the transportation sector is the largest
source of greenhouse gas emissions in California.
(b) Multiple independent economic studies indicate that
undertaking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will likely
create long-term economic benefits to the state's economy.
(c) While substantial progress has been made in reducing
smog-forming emissions from new motor vehicles, there remain
disparities in the amount of allowable emissions of criteria
pollutants among the identified categories of exhaust emissions
standards for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks sold in
California.
(d) Monetary incentives can augment existing state vehicle
emissions standards by encouraging automobile buyers to purchase
cleaner vehicles and by encouraging manufacturers to offer more
low-emitting vehicle choices to California consumers.
(e) One-time rebates on the purchase of new motor vehicles that
emit low amounts of greenhouse gases are a reasonable and appropriate
method to incentivize the purchase of these vehicles.
(f) One-time surcharges on the purchase of new motor vehicles that
emit high amounts of greenhouse gases are a reasonable and
appropriate method to disincentivize the purchase of and internalize
the environmental cost to the public of these vehicles.
(g) The creation of a clean vehicle incentive program to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles is a market-based
mechanism that does not create any new regulatory standard under the
law.
(h) Recent studies authorized by the California Environmental
Protection Agency and the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission have found that the impact of global warming
to California residents is likely to be quite severe, especially if
action to curb global warming emissions is not taken.
43300.5. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
article to establish a market-based clean vehicle incentive program
consisting of one-time rebates and one-time surcharges on the
purchase of new motor vehicles to mitigate against emissions of
greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that this program be
self-financing and not increase expenditures from or reduce revenues
into the General Fund.
43301. For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Account" means the Clean Vehicle Incentive Account created by
Section 43313.
(b) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" means a metric, as determined by
the state board, used to compare or identify the emissions from
various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential
derived by multiplying the tons of the gas by the associated global
warming potential.
(c) "Contributory pollutant" means an air toxic pollutant or
contaminant, including, but not limited to, black carbon, carbon
monoxide, and nitrous oxide, for which the state board has determined
contributes to global warming.
(d) "Criteria air pollutant" means an air pollutant for which the
United States Environmental Protection Agency has issued primary or
secondary national air quality standards pursuant to Sections 108 and
109 of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Secs. 7408 and 7409),
including carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, ozone, particulate
matter, and sulfur dioxide.
(e) "Dealer" means dealer as defined in Section 285 of the Vehicle
Code.
(f) "Department" means the Department of Finance.
(g) "Emergency vehicle" means an authorized emergency vehicle as
defined in Section 165 of the Vehicle Code.
(h) "Greenhouse gas factor" means a dollar value, as determined by
the state board, assigned to carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per
mile from a motor vehicle. At the discretion of the state board,
this may be expressed in dollars divided by grams of carbon dioxide
equivalent per mile ($/g CO2 -eq/mi).
(i) "Greenhouse gases" means carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
methane, oxides of nitrogen, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur
hexafluoride, and any other gases that the state board determines
contributes significantly to global warming.
(j) "Motor vehicle" and "vehicle" mean a passenger vehicle,
light-duty truck, or any other vehicle that is subject to the
regulations pursuant to Section 43018.5, whether or not Section
43018.5 remains in effect.
(k) "New motor vehicle" means new vehicle as defined in Section
430 of the Vehicle Code.
(l) "Program" means the Clean Vehicle Incentive Program
established pursuant to this article.
(m) "Retail sale" means a retail sale as defined in Section 6007
of the Revenue and Taxation Code of a new motor vehicle.
(n) "Zero band" means that portion of a linear scale of rebates
and surcharges in which vehicles are assigned neither a rebate nor a
surcharge.
43302. (a) (1) Any California resident who becomes a motor
vehicle owner by purchasing a new motor vehicle at a retail sale in
California shall receive a clean vehicle rebate for the purchase on
or after July 1, 2010, of a new motor vehicle of model year 2011 or
later, determined by the state board to be eligible for a rebate in
the amount assigned by the state board pursuant to regulations
adopted under this article.
(2) The dealer shall clearly indicate the amount of the rebate
owed to the new motor vehicle owner on the purchase receipt and
contract, or lease agreement as applicable.
(3) In order to receive the rebate, the motor vehicle owner shall
file a claim through the dealer at the time of purchase.
(4) The dealer shall facilitate and accept these claims from the
new motor vehicle owner and shall submit these claims to the State
Board of Equalization on a form prescribed by the State Board of
Equalization, in a time, place, and manner determined by the State
Board of Equalization, that shall be accompanied by proof of vehicle
purchase from the dealer. The proof of purchase shall include, at a
minimum, all of the following:
(A) The date when the vehicle was purchased.
(B) The year, make, and model of the vehicle purchased.
(C) The vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle.
(D) The price paid for the vehicle.
(5) The State Board of Equalization shall pay the rebate to the
eligible new motor vehicle owner through electronic funds transfer if
requested by the owner.
(6) No interest shall be paid on any rebate made pursuant to this
article.
(b) (1) Except as otherwise provided for in this article, a person
who becomes a motor vehicle owner by purchasing at a retail sale, on
or after July 1, 2010, a new motor vehicle of model year 2011 or
later, determined by the state board to be subject to an emissions
surcharge, shall pay the emissions surcharge in the amount determined
by the state board pursuant to regulations adopted under this
article.
(2) Dealers shall collect from the new motor vehicle owners the
emission surcharge at the time of retail sale.
(3) Dealers shall clearly indicate the amount of the emissions
surcharge paid by the new motor vehicle owner on the purchase receipt
and contract, or lease agreement as applicable.
(4) All emissions surcharges collected by a dealer shall be owed
to the state and be due and payable to the State Board of
Equalization in a time, place, and manner prescribed by the State
Board of Equalization.
43303. (a) No later than July 1, 2009, the state board, in
consultation with those other agencies that the state board
determines are appropriate, and after at least two public workshops,
shall adopt regulations to create and implement a clean vehicle
incentive program as described in this article.
(b) The regulations shall, consistent with Section 43304,
establish a schedule of one-time clean vehicle rebates and one-time
emissions surcharges for all new motor vehicles not otherwise
excluded in this article.
(c) The schedule of rebates and surcharges shall take effect July
1, 2010, and shall apply to motor vehicles with the 2011 model year
and each model year thereafter.
43304. (a) The state board shall calculate, using a linear scale,
the rebate or surcharge to be applied to any motor vehicle subject
to the program based on the vehicle's emissions of greenhouse gases,
compared to the greenhouse gas emissions of all vehicles of the same
model year that are subject to the program.
(b) To calculate the rebate or surcharge pursuant to subdivision
(a), the board shall determine the difference between a motor vehicle'
s emissions of greenhouse gases, as determined pursuant to Section
1961.1 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, and the
average emissions of greenhouse gases of all vehicles subject to the
program, for a given model year. The difference identified for each
vehicle based on emissions of greenhouse gases shall be multiplied by
a greenhouse gases factor, to determine the amount of the rebate or
surcharge attributed to emissions of greenhouse gases.
(c) The amount determined pursuant to subdivision (b) may be
adjusted to account for one or both of the following, but no
adjustments pursuant to this subdivision shall affect the rebate or
surcharge by a factor larger than 20 percent:
(1) Emissions of contributory pollutants as determined by the
state board.
(2) Emissions of criteria air pollutants based on the vehicle's
criteria pollutant certification category pursuant to Section 1961 of
Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.
(d) Based on the calculations made pursuant to subdivisions (b)
and (c), the state board shall assign a rebate or surcharge to every
motor vehicle subject to this program that reflects its relative
emissions of greenhouse gases and, at the discretion of the board,
its relative emissions of contributory pollutants or criteria air
pollutants, compared to all vehicles for the same model year that are
subject to the program, and subject to all of the following:
(1) The state board shall establish a zero band that includes the
midpoint of the linear scale and includes not less than 20 percent,
nor more than 25 percent, of the fleet of a given model year. Motor
vehicles that fall within the zero band shall not be assigned a
rebate or a surcharge.
(A) The zero band shall be designed, placed, and adjusted along
the linear scale to ensure that vehicle buyers continue to have a
variety of choices among multiple vehicle types, including light
trucks, that are not assigned a surcharge.
(B) The state board shall consider sales-weighted data in
determining the placement of the zero band.
(2) The maximum rebate and surcharge shall not be less than two
thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($2,250) nor more than two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), and no rebate or surcharge
shall exceed the amount of the sales tax on the purchase price of the
motor vehicle.
(3) No rebate or surcharge shall be less than one hundred dollars
($100). Motor vehicles that would otherwise be assigned a rebate or
surcharge of less than one hundred dollars ($100) shall be placed in
the zero band.
(4) The state board may round up or down the assigned rebate and
surcharge amounts to the nearest twenty-five dollars ($25) for each
vehicle.
(e) When setting the schedule of rebates and surcharges for
vehicles of a given model year, the state board shall consider
previous years sales data and projected sales of motor vehicles in
order to ensure that the program will incentivize reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions and be self-financing.
43305. (a) The schedule of rebates and surcharges shall be
designed to ensure that the program will be self-financing and will
generate adequate revenues to do all the following:
(1) Fund the cost of all rebates and surcharge refunds associated
with the program.
(2) Fund all administrative costs associated with the program.
(3) Provide for a reserve within the program equal to
approximately 15 percent of estimated rebates to ensure the account,
to the extent possible, will have a positive balance at the end of
each fiscal year.
(b) If the department determines that the amount of the reserve
specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) is either excessive or
inadequate at the 15-percent level to meet the requirements of
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a), it may direct the state
board to reduce or increase the size of the reserve in a manner to be
determined by the state board.
(c) Once the schedule of rebates and surcharges are set for
vehicles in a specified model year, the schedule may be adjusted no
more than once per model year to meet the requirements of this
section. Any adjustments pursuant to this section shall become
operative on the first day of the first month that commences at least
90 days after the state board formally adopts the adjustment to the
schedule.
(d) The state board shall make annual or biennial adjustments to
the schedule of surcharges and rebates, and the placement of the zero
band, based on recent and anticipated changes in motor vehicle sales
to ensure that the program continues to generate adequate revenues
to meet the requirements of subdivision (a).
43306. (a) The schedule of rebates and surcharges, as adjusted
annually or biennially, shall take effect no earlier than July 1 of
each subsequent year, and be applied to new vehicles of the next
model year accordingly. The state board may make adjustments
biennially only if the state board finds that biennial adjustments
meet both of the following criteria:
(1) The state board determines that the program will remain
self-financing and is not in jeopardy of running a deficit.
(2) The state board determines that it is in the best interests of
achieving the goals of the program to not make adjustments more
often than once every two years.
(b) In the first year of the program, the state board, in
consultation with the State Board of Equalization, may delay
implementation of the rebate eligibility for up to 30 days after the
surcharges initially take effect in order to ensure that adequate
funds are available to fund the program's rebates.
43307. The rebates and surcharges adopted by the state board
shall be assigned to the price of the motor vehicle after applicable
taxes have been added. Sales taxes shall not have an effect on the
assigned rebate or surcharge.
43308. (a) Any California resident who purchases a new motor
vehicle outside of the state that would otherwise have been subject
to an emissions surcharge shall pay the surcharge when the resident
returns to California with the vehicle within 90 days and registers
or is required to register the motor vehicle.
(b) The surcharge shall be paid to the Department of Motor
Vehicles at the time of the vehicle's initial registration. The state
board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Department of Motor
Vehicles shall cooperate to develop procedures to implement this
subdivision.
(c) Vehicles purchased outside of California shall not be eligible
for a rebate.
43309. (a) Any California resident who leases from a dealer a new
motor vehicle, otherwise subject to an emissions surcharge, for a
term of one year or more, shall be assessed and shall pay the
surcharge, but may amortize the surcharge over the life of the lease.
(b) Any California resident who leases from a dealer a new motor
vehicle, otherwise subject to a rebate, for a term of one year or
more shall qualify for and receive the rebate
43310. (a) The State Board of Equalization shall collect all
surcharges and pay all rebates and refunds of surcharges pursuant to
the Fee Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section
55001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code). For purposes
of this article, "feepayer" shall include a motor vehicle owner or
dealer as applicable.
(b) For purposes of this article, refunds and surcharges shall be
treated the same as refunds under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
55221) of Part 30 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
43311. (a) Not later than May 1, 2010, the state board shall make
available to the public, including on the state board's Internet Web
site, the schedule of rebates and surcharges applicable in the
fiscal year following their publication. The updated schedule shall
be made available to the public at the time when it is updated.
(b) The state board shall disseminate information to dealers and
consumers about the program, including, but not limited to, all of
the following:
(1) The state board shall notify licensed dealers about relevant
details of the program, including identifying, to the extent
feasible, motor vehicles that are exempt from the program pursuant to
Section 43312 and providing reasonable assistance to help motor
vehicle dealers carry out the program.
(2) The state board may modify the air pollution label that is
required to be displayed on new motor vehicles sold in the state
pursuant to Section 43200.1, to include specific information on the
applicable clean vehicle rebate or emissions surcharge imposed
pursuant to this article.
(c) Dealers shall be required to clearly display the amount of the
assigned rebate or surcharge for each new motor vehicle available
for sale at the dealership.
43312. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a
new motor vehicle owner shall be refunded the surcharge that would
otherwise be applicable to his or her motor vehicle if that motor
vehicle is in any of the following categories:
(1) Emergency vehicles purchased by any local jurisdiction, county
agency, or municipality.
(2) Motor vehicles purchased or leased by a microbusiness, as
defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code, for identified
work-related purposes to be determined by the state board in
regulations adopted pursuant to this article.
(3) Paratransit and other motor vehicles designed or modified
specifically for the purpose of transporting disabled persons.
(4) Motor vehicles purchased by the state for use in official
state business, except that vehicles purchased or leased for Members
of the Legislature shall be subject to the surcharge.
(5) Motor vehicles purchased or leased by very low income
residents of the state, to be defined by the state board in
regulations adopted pursuant to this article.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, motor
vehicles that meet both of the following conditions are exempt from
this article and shall be identified by the state board pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 43311:
(1) The motor vehicle's primary exhaust is identified by the
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a chemical that
causes cancer.
(2) The motor vehicle is not subject to a state-mandated
inspection and maintenance program.
(c) If a motor vehicle is not identified as an exempt vehicle by
the state board pursuant to this section, but the purchaser of the
vehicle believes that he or she qualifies for an exemption pursuant
to this section, the purchaser shall pay the surcharge at the time of
sale as required by the article, and shall submit an application to
the state board certifying that the vehicle qualifies for the
exemption. The state board shall notify the applicant within 60 days
of receipt of the application of its determination of whether an
exemption will be granted. If the state board determines that the
vehicle owner qualifies for an exemption from the surcharge pursuant
to this section, the state board shall reimburse the applicant for
the value of the surcharge from the account.
(d) The state board shall prepare and make available to dealers
and the public, including on the state board's Internet Web site, an
application for use by motor vehicle purchasers seeking reimbursement
for a surcharge paid for an exempt vehicle pursuant to subdivision
(c). The application shall provide the opportunity for the purchaser
to demonstrate that a vehicle or vehicle purchaser, as applicable,
qualifies for an exemption, specify the period of time within which
the purchaser must apply for reimbursement, and provide reasonable
means for the applicant to challenge the state board's finding if it
determines that a vehicle does not qualify for an exemption.
43313. (a) The Clean Vehicle Incentive Account is hereby created
to be administered by the state board in consultation with the State
Board of Equalization. All emissions surcharges collected pursuant to
this article shall be deposited into the account. Moneys in the
account are continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year
to pay for all of the following:
(1) Clean vehicle rebates.
(2) Refunds of emissions surcharges as allowed for in this
article.
(3) Reimbursing the State Board of Equalization for its
administrative costs of carrying out its responsibilities pursuant to
this article.
(4) Administrative costs of the state board for carrying out its
responsibilities pursuant to this article.
(5) Reimbursing the Department of Motor Vehicles for costs
incurred due to carrying out responsibilities pursuant to Section
43308.
(b) For the initial implementation of this article, the Director
of Finance is authorized to transfer, as a loan, up to nine hundred
thousand dollars ($900,000) from the Motor Vehicle Account in the
State Transportation Fund into the account. This shall be repaid with
interest from the account.
43314. The state board may regularly collect from motor vehicle
manufacturers adequate data to calculate a vehicle's emissions of
greenhouse gases to carry out the provisions of this article. This
article does not require the board to conduct additional vehicle
testing to make the determinations required by this article.
43315. In adopting regulations pursuant to subdivisions (a) and
(b) of Section 43303, the state board shall determine a manner to
account for vehicles that run on an alternative fuel as defined in
Section 43867. The state board shall consider upstream emissions, as
defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 43200.1, in
the development of these regulations.
43316. (a) This article does not conflict with or supersede any
provision of Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500). This
article does not limit the state board in implementing Division 25.5
(commencing with Section 38500).
(b) Enactment of this article shall not be construed to, or be
deemed in, conflict with Section 38597.