BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1076
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 8, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                   SB 1076 (Emmerson) - As Amended:  June 19, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                             
          TransportationVote:13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires tire pressure gauges used to check vehicle 
          tire pressure pursuant to the state's greenhouse gas (GHG) 
          emission reduction program to be accurate within two pounds.  
          The bill also specifies the standards by which an automotive 
          service provider may consider a tire unsafe and therefore not 
          subject to the requirement to check tire pressure and inflate 
          the tire.  The bill sunsets all of its provisions on January 1, 
          2018.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible state costs, if any.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author intends this bill to provide certainty 
            to automotive service providers concerning their 
            responsibility to check tire pressure, which currently is 
            required by ARB regulation.  The author has expressed concern 
            with the effect on automotive service providers of ARB's 
            ability to alter the regulation in the future.

          2)Background  .  AB 32 (Núñez, Chapter 455, Statutes of 2006) 
            requires California to limit its emissions of GHGs so that, by 
            2020, those emissions are equal to what they were in 1990. To 
            that end, AB 32 requires ARB to quantify the state's 1990 GHG 
            emissions and to adopt, by January 1, 2009, a scoping plan 
            that describes the board's plan for achieving the maximum 
            technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions of GHG 
            emissions reductions by 2020.  








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            In keeping with AB 32, ARB adopted numerous regulations to 
            reduce GHG emissions, including the requirement that 
            automotive service providers check and inflate each vehicle's 
            tires to the recommended tire pressure rating, with air or 
            nitrogen, as appropriate, at the time of performing any 
            automotive maintenance or repair service.  Specifically, the 
            regulation requires an automotive service provider to:

             a)   Indicate on the vehicle service invoice that a tire 
               inflation service was completed and the tire pressure 
               measurements after the service was performed.

             b)   Perform the tire pressure service using a tire pressure 
               gauge with a total permissible error no greater than two 
               pounds per square inch.

             c)   Have access to a tire inflation reference that is 
               current within three years of publication.

             d)   Keep a copy of the service invoice for a minimum of 
               three years and make the vehicle service invoice available 
               to the ARB or its authorized representative upon request.

            According to ARB's regulation, an automotive service provider 
            is not required to check tire pressure or inflate tires if the 
            customer signs an affidavit declining the service.  In 
            addition, the automotive service provider is not required to 
            check tire pressure or inflate a tire if the provider 
            determines the tire to be unsafe, in accordance with standard 
            industry practice, due to tire tread wear, age, tread 
            irregularity or damage.  Notably, this bill, unlike ARB's 
            regulation, does not include age as a factor that may be used 
            by a provider to determine a tire to be unsafe.  The author 
            and the bill's supporters report there is no industry standard 
            on the relationship between tire age and tire safety and, for 
            this reason, objects to inclusion of age among the factors a 
            tire provider may consider.

           3)Flexibility Versus Certainty.   As stated above, the author 
            intends this bill to provide certainty to automotive service 
            providers of their obligation to check tire pressure and 
            inflate tires.  The author and ARB agree codification of the 
            tire pressure regulation will make changing that regulation 
            more difficult in the future.  The author and the bill's 








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            supporters see such inflexibility as desirable.  However, 
            codification of regulatory requirements will limit ARB's 
            ability to modify its regulations in response to changing 
            circumstances or new information. 

           4)Related Legislation.   This bill is similar to SB 211 
            (Emmerson, 2011), which was vetoed by the governor, who cited 
            safety concerns and existence of regulations regarding tire 
            inflation.
                
            5)Support.   This bill is supported by the California Retailers 
            Association and tire industry organizations.

           6)Opposition.   This bill is opposed by the Consumer Attorneys of 
            California, who contend it lessens consumer safety.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081