BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1076
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1076 (Emmerson)
          As Amended  June 19, 2012
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :38-0  
          
           TRANSPORTATION      13-0        APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal,         |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey,          |
          |     |Jeffries, Achadjian,      |     |Blumenfield, Bradford,    |
          |     |Blumenfield, Bonilla,     |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
          |     |Buchanan, Eng, Galgiani,  |     |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto,   |
          |     |Logue, Wagner, Norby,     |     |Hall, Hill, Lara,         |
          |     |Portantino, Solorio       |     |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio, Wagner           |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Establishes standards for tire pressure gauges and 
          conditions when tires do not warrant checking.  Specifically, 
           this bill  :  

          1)Requires Automotive Service Providers (ASPs) to use tire 
            pressure gauges that are accurate within a range of plus or 
            minus two pounds per square inch of pressure.  

          2)Establishes that an ASP is not required to check and inflate a 
            vehicle's tire if the tire shows any of the following:  

             a)   Damage penetrating or exposing the reinforcing plies, 
               including cuts, cracks, punctures, or excessive wear;  

             b)   Tread depth worn to 2D32 of an inch or less on any area 
               of the tread;  

             c)   Indication of internal separation, such as a bulge, a 
               local area of irregular tread wear indicating possible 
               tread or belt separation, or damage of reinforcing plies; 
               and,  

             d)   Defacement or removal of a U.S. Department of 
               Transportation tire identification number.  








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          1)Declares the intent of the Legislature that the above list is 
            exclusive and exhaustive.  

          2)Sunsets the bill's provisions on January 1, 2018.  

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to determine 
            the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and 
            approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is equivalent to 
            that level, to be achieved by 2020.  Requires ARB to adopt 
            regulations for reporting and verification of GHG emissions, 
            monitoring and compliance with the program, and achieving GHG 
            emission reductions from sources or categories of sources by 
            January 1, 2011, to be operative on January 1, 2012, subject 
            to certain requirements.  

          2)Requires ARB, on or before June 30, 2007, to publish and make 
            available a list of discrete early action GHG reduction 
            measures that can be implemented prior to the above measures 
            and limits.  On or before January 1, 2010, requires ARB to 
            adopt regulations to implement these early action measures no 
            later than January 1, 2010.  

          3)Establishes, pursuant to ARB regulation and as an early action 
            measure relating to reducing GHG emissions, the underinflated 
            vehicle tire regulation that requires ASP to inflate tires to 
            the recommended tire pressure rating or not check and inflate 
            tires if the tires are in an unsafe condition.  Requires ASP 
            to perform the tire pressure service using a tire pressure 
            gauge with a total permissible error no greater than plus or 
            minus two pounds per square inch (psi).  Defines "unsafe tire" 
            to mean "any tire considered unsafe in accordance with 
            standard industry practices, due to tire tread wear, age, 
            tread irregularity, or damage.  Examples include any tire with 
            exposed ply or cord, sidewall crack, bulge, knot, or ply 
            separation."  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, negligible, if any, state costs.  

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author's office, this bill seeks to 
          codify the requirement under ARB's underinflated vehicle tire 








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          program (UVTP) that ASPs must inflate their customers' tires 
          using a tire pressure gauge that must be accurate within two 
          psi.  The author contends that this standard was a significant 
          compromise between the industry and ARB and do not want this 
          standard changed in the regulation.  This bill also seeks to 
          provide some clarity when a tire, due to its condition, is too 
          dangerous for ASPs to inflate.  

          On September 1, 2010, ARB adopted its UVTP as an early-action 
          measure to achieve GHG reductions as required by AB 32 (Nunez 
          and Pavley) Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006.  These regulations 
          require an ASP to check and inflate the tires of each passenger 
          car brought in for service, unless the ASP determines that the 
          tire is unsafe.  An "unsafe tire" is defined in the regulation 
          as a tire determined unsafe due to tire tread wear, age, tread 
          irregularity, or damage.  

          According to ARB, the UVTP regulation will annually eliminate 
          700,000 metric tons of GHG emissions; reduce fuel consumption by 
          75 million gallons; and extend the average tire's useful life by 
          4,700 miles.  ARB also notes the regulation will save the 
          average Californian $12 per year, about 38% of vehicles on the 
          road in the state have severely underinflated tires (6 pounds 
          under manufacturer's recommendations) - which seriously reduce 
          the vehicles handling capabilities, reduce tread life, and force 
          the engine to work harder thus increasing the amount of fuel 
          needed.  

          Les Schwab Tire Centers, writing in support of this bill, 
          contends that "This is essentially a consumer protection bill.  
          ARB admits there is no consensus within the tire industry 
          regarding tire age and safety, yet it insists on mandating "age" 
          as a safety standard.  This has caused widespread confusion 
          within the industry and will probably result (if it hasn't 
          already) in a type of consumer fraud where an unscrupulous 
          industry member will inform a consumer that he or she needs new 
          tires due to a self-serving "age" standard when, in fact, the 
          tires are still safe and functional.  Regrettably, ARB's primary 
          concern in establishing the regulation is hydrocarbon reduction 
          and not the prevention of consumer fraud."  

          This bill attempts to clarify when a tire does not have to be 
          checked and inflated without the use of age as a guide.  This 
          bill is substantially similar to SB 211 (Emmerson) of 2011, 








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          which was vetoed by the governor.  In his veto message, the 
          governor indicated that SB 211 "codifies a tire gauge accuracy 
          requirement that is already in regulation and removes tire age 
          as a consideration by the automotive service providers when 
          determining whether a tire is unsafe for use.  This bill is both 
          unnecessary and omits a significant factor relating to public 
          highway safety? Placing provisions of ARB's regulation into 
          statute unnecessarily limits ARB's ability to revise the 
          regulation in the future to ensure that it achieves the greatest 
          air quality improvements and greenhouse gas emission reductions 
          possible without legislative action.  Furthermore, by 
          eliminating "age" as a factor bearing on a tire's safety, the 
          bill seeks to circumvent the rulemaking process and overlooks 
          significant evidence that age could degrade the performance 
          capabilities of a tire.  In this way, the bill disregards the 
          stakeholder participation and transparency that were exercised 
          during the rulemaking process."  

          This bill appears to be a second attempt to undo the ARB's UVTP 
          regulation relative to the determination of an "unsafe" tire and 
          does not seem to address the concerns as expressed by the 
          governor in his veto message.  Furthermore, the majority of ASPs 
          that provide automotive services other than tire manufacturers 
          and sellers are not concerned with the current ARB regulations 
          and have not indicated support of this bill.  Lastly, this bill 
          is opposed by the Consumer Attorneys of California who contend 
          it lessens consumer safety.  
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :   Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 


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