BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 266
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 266 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: April 9, 2013
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:12-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill extends the sunset dates on granting high-occupancy
vehicle (HOV) driving lane privileges to clean air vehicles.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends the sunset regarding electric vehicles and natural gas
vehicles (the white sticker program), from January 1, 2015, to
January 1, 2020.
2)Extends the sunset regarding advanced partial zero-emission
vehicles (AT PZEV) (the green sticker program), from January
1, 2015, to January 1, 2018.
FISCAL EFFECT
Continued minor ongoing administrative cost (around $60,000) for
the equivalent of one-half position at Caltrans associated with
federally-required analysis and reporting regarding HOV lanes
allowing single-occupant vehicles. With extension of the
sunsets, the one-time $700,000 cost for removing freeway signs
that inform clean vehicle motorists of HOV land privileges would
be deferred.
COMMENTS
1)HOV Background . An HOV lane, commonly referred to as a carpool
or diamond lane, is part of a traffic management strategy
designed to provide an incentive for commuters to form
carpools by offering reduced travel times.
HOV lane access to single-occupant clean air vehicles was
AB 266
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first authorized with AB 71 (Cunneen)/Chapter 330 of 1999, for
super ultra-low emission vehicles and inherently low-emission
vehicles (white sticker vehicles). That access was later
expanded to hybrid vehicles by AB 2628 (Pavley)/ Chapter 725
of 2006, which limited the aggregate number of stickers for
hybrids to 75,000. AB 2600 (Lieu)/Chapter 614 of 2006,
increased the limit on hybrid stickers to 85,000 and extended
AB 2628's sunset date from 2008 to 2011.
DMV reached the 85,000 sticker cap for hybrids in February
2007 and stopped issuing new hybrid stickers at that point,
and the HOV allowance for hybrids was allowed to sunset in
2011.
AB 1500 (Lieu)/Chapter 1500 of 2010 extended the authorization
for natural gas and electric vehicles, however, for five
years, until January 1, 2015. As of May 2012, DMV had issued
less than 20,000 white stickers and approximately 9,000 green
stickers.
2)Purpose . This bill extends the white sticker program until
2020 and the green sticker program to 2018. According to the
author, this is essential to complement recently adopted Air
Resources Board regulations that will require one in seven new
cars sold in California in 2025 to be an electric or other
zero-emission vehicle.
"By providing long-term incentives to consumers for making
green vehicle choices, we can leverage California's position
as the clean technology capital of the world, create good
jobs, and meet our emissions reduction goals that will not be
met without widespread adoption of clean car technology."
3)Related Legislation . SB 286 (Yee), pending in the Senate,
extends both the white and green sticker programs until
January 1, 2018.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081