BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1781|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1781
          Author:   Villines (R)
          Amended:  8/11/10 in Senate 
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE  :  7-1, 6/15/10
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,  
            Pavley, Simitian
          NOES:  Kehoe
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Oropeza
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Neighborhood electric vehicles

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes, until 2016, the City of  
          Fresno to establish a neighborhood electric vehicle  
          transportation plan.

           Senate Floor Amendments of 8/11/10 ensure that the Director  
          of the Department of Transportation considers for approval  
          the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle plan that the bill  
          authorizes only after a review of the plan by the  
          California Traffic Control Devices Committee.

                                                           CONTINUED





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           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law defines a low-speed vehicle as a  
          motor vehicle that is four-wheeled; can attain a speed in  
          one mile of more than 20 miles per hour (MPH) and not more  
          than 25 MPH on a paved, level surface; and has a gross  
          vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds.  Low-speed  
          vehicles are also known as neighborhood electric vehicles  
          (NEVs).  NEVs meet federal motor vehicle safety standards,  
          and one must possess a valid California driver's license to  
          operate an NEV on public streets.

          Existing law generally prohibits NEVs from being operated  
          on any roadway with a speed limit in excess of 35 MPH, but  
          a number of bills have provided exceptions for three  
          communities, as follows: 

          1. AB 2353 (Leslie), Chapter 422, Statutes of 2004,  
             authorized the NEV transportation plan pilot projects  
             until January 1, 2009, for the cities of Lincoln and  
             Rocklin, as follows:

             A.    Each city may establish a "neighborhood electric  
                vehicle transportation plan" for the city or some  
                part of it.  Existing law puts numerous requirements  
                on the adoption of the plan, including consultation  
                with local law enforcement and transportation  
                planning officials.  The plan must accommodate the  
                travel of NEVs by identifying routes and providing  
                for NEV facilities (separate lanes, trails, street  
                crossings, parking, charging stations, etc.), and it  
                may allow NEVs on streets with speed limits over 35  
                MPH where dedicated lanes are provided for NEVs. 

             B.    The cities must work with the Department of  
                Transportation (Caltrans) to establish uniform  
                specifications and symbols for signs, traffic control  
                devices, and right-of-way designation in the plan  
                areas.

             C.    If Lincoln or Rocklin adopts an NEV transportation  
                plan, then the city must report to the Legislature on  
                the plan, its effectiveness, and its impact on  
                traffic flows and safety, and it must make a  
                recommendation to the Legislature on extending the  
                sunset date or expanding the authorization for NEV  







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                transportation plans statewide.

          2. AB 2963 (Gaines), Chapter 199, Statutes of 2008,  
             extended the sunset date on the Lincoln and Rocklin  
             pilot projects from 2009 until January 1, 2012.  In  
             doing so, the bill required the cities jointly or  
             individually if only one proceeds, to report to the  
             Legislature by January 1, 2011, on implementation of  
             their NEV transportation plans.  This report shall be  
             prepared in consultation with Caltrans, the California  
             Highway Patrol (CHP), and local law enforcement and  
             provide specified information on the NEV transportation  
             plans and their implementation.

          3. SB 956 (Correa), Chapter 442, Statutes of 2007, allowed  
             Orange County to establish an NEV transportation plan  
             for Ranch Plan Planned Community under essentially the  
             same criteria as the Lincoln and Rocklin pilot projects,  
             except with a sunset date of January 1, 2013.

          This bill authorizes the City of Fresno, until January 1,  
          2016, to establish a neighborhood electric vehicle  
          transportation plan under the same terms as the pilot  
          projects in Lincoln and Rocklin.  Specifically, this bill:

          1. Permits the city to establish an NEV plan for all city  
             streets within the city, plus Fresno County islands,  
             which are areas of land, streets, and roads under county  
             jurisdiction, but entirely surrounded by the city,  
             provided that the county concurs in inclusion of any  
             island in the city's NEV plan. 

          2. Requires that the city adopt the plan by ordinance or  
             resolution and, prior to adoption, receive comment and  
             review on the plan from the Council of Fresno County  
             Governments and any agency with traffic law enforcement  
             responsibilities in the plan area.  The plan must  
             accommodate the travel of NEVs by identifying routes and  
             providing for NEV facilities (separate lanes, trails,  
             street crossings, parking, charging stations, etc.).

          3. Requires the City, if it develops an NEV plan, to submit  
             the plan to the Director of Caltrans for approval  
             following a review and recommendation by the California  







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             Traffic Control Devices Committee at Caltrans.

          4. Requires the city, if it adopts an NEV plan, to report  
             to the Legislature by November 1, 2014, in consultation  
             with Caltrans, CHP, and local law enforcement.  The  
             report shall describe the NEV transportation plan and  
             its elements, and it shall evaluate the plan's  
             effectiveness, including its impacts on traffic flows  
             and safety.

          5. Sunsets on January 1, 2016.

          6. Contains double-jointing language with AB 584 (Huber).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/15/10)

          Hon. Ashley Swearengin, Mayor, City of Fresno
          City of Fresno
          Fresno County Council of Governments
          Larry Powell, Superintendent, Fresno County Office of  
          Education
          San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  6/15/10)

          California Bicycle Coalition
          California Council of the Blind

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author introduced this bill so  
          that  the City of Fresno may create an NEV plan to provide  
          for and encourage the use of zero emission vehicles.  The  
          author notes that the bill provides for an NEV plan  
          designed and developed to best serve the functional travel  
          needs of the planned area and to have the physical safety  
          of the NEV driver's person and property as a major planning  
          component.  This bill contains many of the same  
          requirements as in the statutes authorizing NEV plan pilots  
          in Orange County, Lincoln, and Rocklin, including a review  
          of this pilot project, which is due in November 2014.

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The California Council of the  







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          Blind opposes this bill because it does not address the  
          safety issues that NEVs pose for pedestrians and especially  
          for visually impaired pedestrians.  NEVs and other electric  
          vehicles emit little sound, and it is vehicle sound on  
          which blind pedestrians rely to detect the presence of  
          vehicles and know when it is safe to cross a street.  The  
          council indicates that it will support the bill if it is  
          amended to require NEVs to emit sufficient sound for blind  
          pedestrians to audibly detect the presence of NEVs.  
           

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,  
            Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,  
            Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra  
            Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,  
            Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman,  
            Norby, Vacancy


          JJA:mw  8/11/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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