BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE       BILL NO: AB 462
          SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN                            
          AUTHOR: B. Lowenthal
                                                         VERSION: 6/7/11
          Analysis by:  Carrie Cornwell                  FISCAL:  no
          Hearing date:  June 14, 2011



          SUBJECT:

          Vehicle registration surcharge:  air districts

          DESCRIPTION:

          This bill allows an air district to use vehicle registration 
          surcharge revenues to replace natural gas fuel tanks and to 
          enhance natural gas fueling dispensers. 

          ANALYSIS:

          Existing law establishes a basic vehicle registration fee of 
          $34, plus a $22 surcharge for additional personnel for the 
          California Highway Patrol, and authorizes local agencies to 
          impose separate vehicle registration fee surcharges in their 
          respective jurisdictions for a variety of special programs, 
          including authorizing a local air district, until January 1, 
          2015, to levy a surcharge of up to $6 on registration fees of 
          motor vehicles registered within that district.  After January 
          1, 2015 the maximum surcharge that an air district may levy is 
          reduced to $4 per registered vehicle.  An air district may only 
          impose the fee if the district board adopts a resolution 
          providing for both the fee and a corresponding program for the 
          reduction of air pollution from motor vehicles in order to meet 
          its obligation under the California Clean Air Act of 1988.

          Upon request from an air district, the Department of Motor 
          Vehicles (DMV) collects these fees upon renewal of a vehicle's 
          registration and, after deducting up to one percent of the fees 
          for administrative costs it incurs, distributes the remaining 
          revenues to the air district based upon the amount of fees 
          collected from motor vehicles registered within that district.

          Under existing law, revenue from the first $4 of the $6 
          surcharge must be used to reduce air pollution from motor 
          vehicles and to carry out related planning, monitoring, 




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          enforcement, and technical studies necessary to implement the 
          California Clean Air Act of 1988.  Revenue from the next $2 may 
          only be used to implement the following programs that the 
          district determines remediate air pollution harms created by 
          motor vehicles on which the surcharge is imposed:

           The purchase of new school buses pursuant to the 
            Lower-Emission School Bus Program adopted by the Air Resources 
            Board (ARB).

           Projects eligible for grants under the Carl Moyer Memorial Air 
            Quality Standards Attainment Program.

           The purchase, retrofit, repower, or addition of equipment for 
            previously unregulated agricultural sources of air pollution 
            that become subject to regulation, but only until the 
            compliance date of the regulation.

           An accelerated vehicle retirement or repair program adopted by 
            ARB.

           This bill  :
          
          1.Adds two projects to the list of programs that an air district 
            may fund using the last $2 of the $6 vehicle registration 
            surcharge: 

                 The replacement of onboard natural gas fuel tanks on 
               school buses owned by a school district that are 14 years 
               of age or older, not to exceed $20,000 per bus.

                 The enhancement of natural gas fueling dispensers 
               operated by a school district with a one-time funding 
               amount not to exceed $500 per dispenser. 

          1.Ensures that should it and AB 470 both get enacted that the 
            second bill enacted will not chapter out the first.

          
          COMMENTS:

           1.Purpose  .  According to the sponsor, the South Coast Air 
            Quality Management District, entities within its jurisdiction 
            have purchased about 1,400 alternative fuel school buses, 
            primarily powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), through the 
            ARB's Lower-Emission School Bus Program.  The fuel tanks on 




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            these buses have a useable life of 15 years.  About 200 of 
            these CNG school buses will reach the end of their 15-year 
            fuel tank lifespan by 2011-12.  The fuel tanks in 100 to 150 
            additional buses will also reach the end of their useable 
            lives each year thereafter.  The price for purchasing a new 
            bus is approximately $169,000, whereas the replacement of fuel 
            tanks costs approximately $20,000 per bus and will extend the 
            life of the bus another 10 to 15 years.  This bill allows 
            local funds to be used for the replacement of fuel tanks for 
            CNG buses that are 14 or more years old, regardless of how a 
            school district originally paid for their purchase.  This will 
            enable air districts to extend the useful life of these 
            cleaner, alternative-fueled buses, relieve public school 
            districts from significant replacement costs, and protect 
            public health and safety.

           2.Clarifying amendment  .  This bill amends the code section that 
            generally authorizes air districts to levy a vehicle 
            registration surcharge to help fund districts' efforts to meet 
            the California Clean Air Act standards, but the Sacramento Air 
            Quality Management District has a separate authorization in a 
            different code section.  The committee may wish to consider 
            amending this bill to make the same changes to this other code 
            section in order to clarify that the Sacramento Air Quality 
            Management District has this authority, as well.  

           3.Related legislation  .  AB 470 (Halderman) allows these air 
            districts to use these same vehicle registration surcharge 
            revenues for the retrofit of existing school buses.  Also on 
            today's agenda in the Senate Transportation and Housing 
            Committee.

           4.Refer to Rules  .  As noted above, this bill is similar to and 
            amends the same section of the Health and Safety Code as AB 
            470, which is also on today's agenda.  AB 470, however, has a 
            second referral to the Environmental Quality Committee and 
            this bill does not.  Therefore, should this bill pass the 
            committee today, the motion should be to pass and re-refer the 
            bill to the Rules Committee, so that the Rules Committee may 
            consider referring this bill to the Environmental Quality 
            Committee.

          Assembly Votes:
               Floor:    58-1
               Trans:    12-0





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          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the Committee before noon on 
          Wednesday,  
                     June 8, 2011)

               SUPPORT:  South Coast Air Quality Management District 
          (sponsor)
                         American Lung Association
                         Bay Area Air Quality Management District
                         California Air Pollution Control Officers 
          Association
                         California Association of School Transportation 
          Officials
                         California Council for Environmental and Economic 
          Balance
                         California School Boards Association
                         California School Employees Assocation
                         Coalition for Clean Air
                         Colton Joint Unified School District
                         Desert Sands Unified School District
                         Los Angeles Unified School District
                         Natural Resources Defense Council
                         Planning and Conservation League
                         Public Transportation Cooperative
                         San Diego Gas & Electric Company
                         Sempra Energy Utilities
                         Southern California Gas Company
                         Union of Concerned Scientists
                         West County Transportation Agency
          
               OPPOSED:  None received.