BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 535|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 535
Author: Yee (D)
Amended: 5/6/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/28/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Vehicles: high-occupancy vehicle lanes
SOURCE : General Motors
DIGEST : This bill allows a vehicle that meets the states
super ultra-low emission vehicle standard for exhaust
emissions and the federally inherently low-emission vehicle
standard for evaporative emissions to access high-occupancy
vehicle lanes regardless of vehicle occupancy until the
Director of the Department of Transportation submits a
notice of determination to the Secretary of State that
federal law does not authorize the state to allow these
vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicles lanes regardless of
vehicle occupancy.
ANALYSIS : In 1999, the Legislature passed and the
governor signed AB 71 (Cunneen), Chapter 330, to allow the
following low-emission vehicles to access HOV lanes,
CONTINUED
SB 535
Page
2
regardless of vehicle occupancy:
1. A vehicle that meets the state's super ultra-low
emission vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions
and the federal inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV)
standard for evaporative emissions.
2. A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model year
or earlier that meets the state's ultra-low emission
vehicle (ULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the
federal ILEV standard.
To differentiate these vehicles, the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) issues white stickers to be affixed on the
vehicle. There is no limit on the number of these vehicles
that may be issued white stickers. To date, DMV has issued
9,099 sets of white stickers.
In 2004, AB 2628 (Pavley), Chapter 725, allowed the
following hybrid vehicles to access HOV lanes, pending
approval by the federal government:
1. A hybrid vehicle or an alternative fuel vehicle that
meets the state's advanced technology partial
zero-emission standard (AT PZEV) standard for criteria
pollutant emissions and has a 45 miles per gallon (mpg)
or greater fuel economy highway rating.
2. A hybrid vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model
year or earlier that has a 45 mpg or greater fuel
economy highway rating and meets the state's ULEV,
SULEV, or partial zero-emission vehicle (PZEV)
standards.
The DMV issues these vehicles yellow stickers. The number
of vehicles that may be issued yellow stickers was
ultimately capped at 85,000, a limit which was reached in
2007.
The authority to access HOV lanes expires for all four
types of vehicles on January 1, 2011.
Existing law requires the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to assess, according to a
SB 535
Page
3
specified timeframe, whether HOV lanes have experienced
significant degradation due to access by hybrid vehicles
with yellow stickers. Caltrans is authorized to restrict
single-occupant vehicles with either white or yellow
stickers from accessing segments of HOV lanes during
periods of peak congestion if it finds that the lane has a
specified level of service, the operation of these vehicles
will significantly increase congestion, and it is not
feasible to alleviate congestion by other means.
This bill allows a vehicle that meets that stat's super
ultra-low emission vehicle standard for exhaust emissions
and the federally inherently low-emission vehicle standard
for evaporative emissions to access high-occupancy vehicle
lanes regardless of vehicle occupancy until the Director of
the Department of Transportation submits a notice of
determination to the Secretary of State that federal law
does not authorize the state to allow these to use
high-occupancy vehicles lanes regardless of vehicle
occupancy.
Background
HOV lane degradation . The Federal Highways Administration
(FHWA) granted conditional approval to allow hybrid
vehicles in HOV lanes, as authorized by AB 2628 (Pavley),
in April 2006. FHWA required Caltrans to monitor and
report on the performance of HOV lanes and to take steps to
address degradation (i.e., congestion), if necessary.
In July 2006, after 50,000 yellow stickers were issued to
hybrid vehicles under the program, Caltrans assessed
congestion in the HOV lanes using both the state and
federal standards of performance. Under the state
standard, Caltrans found that the number of congested HOV
lane segments increased from 7 to 12 percent. Under the
federal standard, Caltrans found that approximately 46
percent of HOV lane segments operated under degraded
conditions. While the increased congestion could not be
attributed solely to single-occupant hybrid vehicles
accessing the lanes, FHWA nonetheless asserted that these
vehicles did not have to be the cause of degradation for
Caltrans to take action to reduce HOV lane congestion and
requested that Caltrans develop a plan for improving the
SB 535
Page
4
performance of HOV lanes.
Caltrans submitted the California High Occupancy Vehicle
Lane Degradation Reduction Plan to FHWA in August 2007.
The plan outlines short- and long-term measures to improve
HOV lane performance, including increased enforcement,
improved system management, infrastructure improvements,
public education, and, if necessary, a prohibition of
single-occupant hybrid vehicles from accessing the most
congested segments of the HOV-lane network.
Following the submittal of that plan, Caltrans updated its
analysis of HOV lane degradation and submitted a
supplemental report to FHWA in September 2008. This
updated analysis found that, based on the federal standard,
congestion increased on HOV lanes from 46 percent to 54
percent. Given the growth in both population and number of
registered vehicles, degradation is only likely to worsen.
The Department of Finance estimated California's population
to be 33,873,086 in 2000 and 38,049,462 in 2008, a 12.3
percent increase in eight years. During that same time
period, registrations for passenger vehicles and
motorcycles grew from 19,544,152 to 22,781,390, a 16.6
percent increase. Furthermore, the Department of Finance
projects that California's population will reach 44 million
by 2020, an increase which will be accompanied by growth in
the number of vehicle registrations and demand for highway
travel.
Related legislation
SB 626 (Kehoe) requires the California Public Utilities
Commission to evaluate and implement policies to provide
fueling infrastructure for plug-in hybrid and electric
vehicles.
AB 1500 (Lieu) extends the sunset date to allow certain
low-emission and hybrid vehicles to access HOV lanes,
regardless of vehicle occupancy, from January 1, 2011 until
January 1, 2016.
AB 1502 (Eng) extends the sunset date to allow certain
low-emission vehicles from January 1, 2011 until January 1,
2017, regardless of vehicle occupancy, but maintains the
SB 535
Page
5
January 1, 2011 sunset date for hybrid vehicles.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/19/09)
General Motors (source)
JJA:do 5/21/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****