BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 475
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 475 (Butler) - As Amended: March 24, 2011
SUBJECT : Vehicles: offstreet parking: electric vehicles
SUMMARY : Expands the type of vehicles, to include plug-in
electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), which are qualified to use
designated offstreet parking facilities. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Authorizes a local authority, by ordinance or resolution, or a
person in possession of an offstreet parking facility, to
designate stalls for the exclusive purpose of parking and
fueling an electric vehicle (EV), provided that the EV
displays the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV)-issued EV decal.
2)Specifies that an owner or person in lawful possession of a
privately- or locally-owned or operated offstreet parking
facility may, after notifying law enforcement, remove a
vehicle, as specified, from an EV-designated stall if a valid
EV decal is not displayed on the vehicle and the vehicle is
not currently plugged in for fueling purposes.
3)Specifies an EV-designated stall posting must specifically
state that vehicles will be subject to towing, at the owner's
expense, unless an EV decal is displayed on the vehicle and
the vehicle is plugged in for fueling purposes.
4)Defines an EV as any car, truck, or other vehicle that does
not produce tailpipe or evaporative emissions or is a plug-in
hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), as that term is used by the
State Air Resources Board.
5)Specifies that vehicles may not use EV-designated stalls
unless the vehicle has a valid DMV-issued EV decal and the
vehicle is plugged in for fueling purposes.
6)This bill makes related, clarifying amendments.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Existing law requires DMV to issue zero-emission vehicle (ZEV)
decals for the purposes of parking and refueling in designated
recharging parking spaces. Vehicles that qualify for ZEV
decals include cars, trucks, or other vehicles that do not
produce tailpipe or evaporative emissions.
2)Authorizes local authorities or owners or operators of
off-street parking facilities to designate stalls strictly for
vehicles that display a valid ZEV decal and prohibits vehicles
without a ZEV decal from occupying or blocking ZEV-designated
parking spaces.
3)Authorizes the owner or person in lawful possession of an
offstreet parking facility, after notifying the police or
sheriff, to remove a vehicle from a ZEV-designated stall to
the nearest public garage, if a valid ZEV decal is not
displayed on the vehicle.
FISCAL EFFECT : DMV would incur unspecified costs associated
with creating new EV decals, replacing currently-issued ZEV
decals, and processing applications and distributing decals to
newly qualified PHEV owners.
COMMENTS : By introducing this bill, the author intends to make
current ZEV-designated stalls in offstreet parking facilities
accessible to PHEVs so that drivers of PHEVs can utilize
available charging facilities. By providing PHEVs with
increased access to charging facilities, the author hopes to
increase vehicle miles traveled using electricity, which would
decrease dependency on fossil fuels and help California meet its
requirements.
Historically, EVs have been strictly electric, meaning that
electricity alone is used to power the vehicle. These vehicles
use batteries that are charged when plugged into an electricity
power source. Since electricity is the sole power source for
strictly electric vehicles, owners have a heightened awareness
regarding access to charging facilities. In fact, the term
"range anxiety" refers to a strictly electric vehicle owner's
fear of not being able to recharge, having the battery run down,
and being stranded.
As strictly EVs became more prevalent in the 1990s, there was an
interest in providing greater access to EV charging facilities
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to reduce range anxiety. AB 1314 (Havice) Chapter 640, Statues
of 2002, sponsored by the California Public Parking Association,
was introduced to facilitate the establishment of designated
charging stations in parking garages. AB 1314 authorized public
and private parking garages to designate stalls for the
exclusive use of ZEVs that qualified for a DMV-issued ZEV
parking decal. AB 1314, also authorized parking enforcement
provisions that allowed for removal of unauthorized vehicles
from ZEV-designated stalls.
PHEVs were developed to address range anxiety experienced by
strictly electric vehicle owners by providing an alternate power
source. PHEVs use electricity as the primary source of power
but have a gasoline-powered combustion engine that acts as a
back-up in the event there is insufficient battery charge to
complete a trip. The Chevrolet Volt is the first PHEV to come
to the marketplace. Because PHEVs utilize a combustion engine
which, when employed, results in the production of tailpipe
emissions, they do not meet the strict definition of a ZEV, as
provided in AB 1314. As a result, PHEVs do not qualify as a ZEV
and cannot be issued a ZEV decal by DMV or utilize
ZEV-designated parking stalls.
It is unclear how many ZEV-designated stalls exist in public and
private parking garages, however, the DMV notes that only 807
ZEV decals have been issued statewide. The California League of
Cities (League) notes that generally, ZEV-designated parking
stalls are underutilized in the majority of city-owned garages
noting that antiquated or inoperable charging facilities could
be a contributing factor to such low usage.
Supporters of this bill note that promoting the use of PHEVs
will ultimately help California meet its air quality goals and
reduce overall dependence on fossil fuels. Supporters also
suggest that if drivers of PHEVs are provided with convenient
access to parking and charging facilities, the number of miles
driven using combustion engines will be reduced thereby
encouraging future purchases of PHEV or, preferably, strictly
electric vehicles.
Writing in opposition, one EV group expressed concern that
allowing PHEVs to access ZEV-designated stalls, could "edge out"
strictly electric vehicles since it is likely that PHEVs will
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significantly outnumber strictly electric vehicles in the
foreseeable future. These groups argue that strictly electric
vehicles have a greater need to access charging facilities due
to inherent range limitations and, if access to charging
facilities is uncertain, strictly electric vehicle owners will
likely opt to use standard, gasoline powered combustion engine
vehicles to complete required trips, resulting in increased
emissions and reduced consumer confidence in strictly electric
vehicles. It could be argued, however, that the influx of PHEVs
into the marketplace could help to drive installation of
additional charging stations, which would result in an overall
increase in charging opportunities for strictly electric
vehicles. The greater attention to the need for installing
additional charging stations is already evidenced by recent
state and federal government grant programs designed to expand
the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Previous legislation:
AB 1314 (Havice), Chapter 640, Statutes of 2002, allowed local
authorities and parking garage operators to designate spaces for
the exclusive use of ZEVs and authorized the towing of vehicles
and levying of fines for violations of such parking
restrictions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
General Motors (Sponsor)
Golden Gate Electric Vehicle Association
Plug In America
Opposition
LincolNEV
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093
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