BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1076|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1076
Author: Emmerson (R)
Amended: 8/23/12
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/16/12
AYES: Simitian, Blakeslee, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/24/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 5/31/12
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Strickland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 67-9, 8/27/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Tire gauges and conditions
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SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes standards for tire
pressure gauges and conditions when tires do not warrant
checking.
Assembly Amendments make specific tire standards.
ANALYSIS : AB 32 (Nunez, Pavley), Chapter 488, Statutes
of 2006, charged the Air Resources Board (ARB) with
monitoring and regulating sources of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions in order to reduce GHG to 1990 levels by the year
2020. The transportation sector produces 38% of
human-induced GHG in California, and passenger vehicles
account for 74% of the transportation emissions.
In order to address GHG emissions in the near-term, ARB
identified nine early-action measures, including the Under
Inflated Vehicle Tires (UVT) regulation. Under-inflated
tires contribute to GHG emissions by increasing tire
rolling resistance, and therefore, reducing fuel
efficiency.
On August 30, 2010, the Office of Administrative Law
adopted the UVT regulation (Section 95550 of Title 17 of
the California Code of Regulations), which became effective
on September 1, 2010. The regulation defines an Automotive
Service Provider (ASP) and requires ASPs to check and
inflate the tires of each passenger car brought in for
service to within two pounds per square inch (psi) of the
recommended tire pressure rating. The UVT regulation
requires an ASP to indicate tire inflation service on a
vehicle service invoice and keep these invoices for a
minimum of three years.
The UVT regulation exempts an ASP from checking and
inflating a tire if the ASP determines that the tire is
unsafe. An unsafe tire, as defined in the regulation, is
any tire determined so 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.
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This bill:
1. Requires ASPs to use tire pressure gauges that are
accurate within a range of plus or minus two pounds psi
of pressure.
2. Establishes that an ASP is not required to check and
inflate a vehicle's tire if the tire is determined to be
an unsafe tire.
3. Defines "unsafe tire" to mean any tire considered unsafe
in accordance with standard industry practices due to
tire tread wear, tread irregularity, or damage.
Provides examples that include any tire with an exposed
ply or cord, a sidewall crack, a bulge, a knot, or a ply
separation.
4. Sunsets this bill's provisions on January 1, 2018.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill seeks to codify
the requirement under ARB's underinflated vehicle tire
program (UVTP) that ASPs must inflate their customers'
tires using a tire pressure gauge that must be accurate
within two psi. The author's office contends that this
standard was a significant compromise between the industry
and ARB and does 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 (Núñez 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
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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 (six 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 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,
2011), which was vetoed by the Governor. In his veto
message, the Governor indicated that the bill "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
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way, the bill disregards the stakeholder participation and
transparency that were exercised during the rulemaking
process."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/12)
California Tire Dealers Association
Les Schwab Tires Centers
Rubber Manufacturers Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 67-9, 8/27/12
AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Buchanan, Butler,
Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Roger Hernández, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight,
Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza,
Miller, Mitchell, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
John A. Pérez
NOES: Alejo, Ammiano, Brownley, Hill, Jones, Skinner,
Torres, Williams, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fong, Furutani, Halderman, Monning
DLW:k 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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