BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 290|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 290
Author: Correa (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 9-0, 3/29/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Neighborhood electric vehicles
SOURCE : Rancho Mission Viejo
DIGEST : This bill extends, from January 1, 2013 until
January 1, 2017, the authority of Orange County to
establish a neighborhood electric vehicle transportation
plan for the Ranch Plan Planned Community.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines a "low-speed vehicle" as
a motor vehicle that is four-wheeled; can attain a speed of
no 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
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on any roadway with a speed limit in excess of 35 MPH, but
a number of bills have provided exceptions for several
communities to run pilot projects, provided that the
following conditions are met:
1. Each local government establishes a "neighborhood
electric vehicle transportation plan" for its
jurisdiction 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 only where dedicated lanes are provided for NEVs.
2. Each jurisdiction works with the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to establish uniform
specifications and symbols for signs, traffic control
devices, and rights-of-way designation in the plan areas
and have Caltrans approval in any instance where an NEV
route in the plan will cross or use a state highway.
3. If a jurisdiction adopts a NEV transportation plan, it
reports to the Legislature on the plan, its
effectiveness, and its impact on traffic flows and
safety, and the jurisdiction makes a recommendation to
the Legislature on extending the sunset date or
expanding the authorization for NEV transportation plans
statewide. These reports are due to the Legislature
about a year before the jurisdiction's NEV plan
authority sunsets.
Communities statutorily authorized to adopt NEV plans are:
Lincoln and Rocklin . 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, and AB 2963 (Gaines), Chapter 199,
Statutes of 2008, extended the sunset date on the Lincoln
and Rocklin pilot projects until January 1, 2012.
Amador County and the cities of Jackson, Sutter Creek,
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and Amador City . AB 584 (Huber), Chapter 437, Statutes
of 2010, allows until 2016, the County of Amador and the
cities of Jackson, Amador City, and Sutter Creek to
establish a neighborhood electric vehicle transportation
plan or plans.
Fresno . AB 1781 (Villines), Chapter 452, Statutes of
2010, authorizes until 2016 the City of Fresno to
establish a NEV plan.
Ranch Plan Planned Community in Orange County . SB 956
(Correa), Chapter 442, Statutes of 2007, authorizes
Orange County to establish a 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 extends the sunset date on the NEV transportation
plan authority in Orange County to January 1, 2017, and
requires that the county submit its report to the
Legislature by November 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/12/11)
Rancho Mission Viejo (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that
this bill, authorizing the Ranch Plan Planned Community NEV
plan, passed in 2007 at the peak of the real estate market.
The real estate market subsequently collapsed and new
housing starts statewide declined to the lowest numbers on
record. The author's office reports that, as a result, the
Ranch Plan development has just recently begun mass
grading and that the current development schedule calls for
the first neighborhoods and homes to be built in 2012, with
the first residents arriving in early 2013.
The developer of Ranch Plan Planned Community, who is the
sponsor of this bill and of SB 956 in 2007, remains
committed to building a complete system of NEV trails
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andfacilities throughout the new community to provide an
environmentally beneficial alternative to automobiles, but
an extension in the report and sunset dates is required to
do so. The proposed 2015 report and 2017 sunset dates will
provide sufficient NEV transportation experience for NEV
users, transportation managers, and law enforcement
officials to provide meaningful information in a report to
the Legislature. The author's office further notes that
the information in this report should differ from some
other NEV transportation plans because NEVs in this
instance are being incorporated into a new community trail
system rather than being added to existing roads and
trails.
RJG:mw 4/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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