Amended in Senate June 12, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 2, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2013


Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi

February 20, 2014


An act to amend Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code, relating to begin deletevehicles, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.end deletebegin insert vehicles.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2013, as amended, Muratsuchi. Vehicles: high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

Existing federal law, until September 30, 2017, authorizes a state to allow specified labeled vehicles to use lanes designated for high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs).

Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of HOVs. Under existing law, until January 1, 2019, or until federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, those lanes may be used by certain vehicles not carrying the requisite number of passengers otherwise required for the use of an HOV lane, if the vehicle displays a valid identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Existing law authorizes the DMV to issue no more than 40,000 of those identifiers.

This bill would increase the number of those identifiers that the DMV is authorized to issue tobegin delete 85,000.end deletebegin insert 70,000.end insert

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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Vote: begin delete23 end deletebegin insertmajorityend insert. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code is amended
2to read:

3

5205.5.  

(a) For purposes of implementing Section 21655.9,
4the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee
5determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the
6department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section,
7distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly
8distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles:

9(1) A vehicle that meets California’s super ultra-low emission
10vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal
11inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission
12standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section
1388.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

14(2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or
15earlier and meets California ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV)
16standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard.

17(3) A vehicle that meets California’s enhanced advanced
18technology partial zero-emission vehicle (enhanced AT PZEV)
19standard or transitional zero-emission vehicle (TZEV) standard.

20(b) The department shall include a summary of the provisions
21of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice,
22or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can
23be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs.

24(c) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual
25HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak
26congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a),
27following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows:

28(1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C,
29as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government
30Code.

31(2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles
32described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will
33significantly increase congestion.

P3    1(3) The finding shall also demonstrate the infeasibility of
2alleviating the congestion by other means, including, but not
3limited to, reducing the use of the lane by noneligible vehicles or
4further increasing vehicle occupancy.

5(d) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain
6a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs
7described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to
8the department.

9(e) (1) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the
10California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation
11with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify
12the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle.
13Each decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall
14display a unique number, which number shall be printed on, or
15affixed to, the vehicle registration.

16(2) Decals, labels, or other identifiers designed pursuant to this
17subdivision for a vehicle described in paragraph (3) of subdivision
18(a) shall be distinguishable from the decals, labels, or other
19identifiers that are designed for vehicles described in paragraphs
20(1) and (2) of subdivision (a).

21(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of
22 paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the department shall issue no
23more thanbegin delete 85,000end deletebegin insert 70,000end insert distinctive decals, labels, or other
24identifiers that clearly distinguish a vehicle specified in paragraph
25(3) of subdivision (a).

26(2) The department may issue a decal, label, or other identifier
27for a vehicle that satisfies all of the following conditions:

28(A) The vehicle is of a type identified in paragraph (3) of
29subdivision (a).

30(B) The owner of the vehicle is the owner of a vehicle for which
31a decal, label, or other identifier described in paragraph (1) was
32previously issued and that vehicle for which the decal, label, or
33other identifier was previously issued is determined by the
34department, on the basis of satisfactory proof submitted by the
35owner to the department, to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total
36loss salvage vehicle.

37(C) The owner of the vehicle applied for a decal, label, or other
38identifier pursuant to this paragraph within six months of the date
39on which the vehicle for which a decal, label, or other identifier
P4    1was previously issued is declared to be a nonrepairable vehicle or
2a total loss salvage vehicle.

3(g) If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving as
4the Bay Area Toll Authority, grants toll-free and reduced-rate
5passage on toll bridges under its jurisdiction to a vehicle pursuant
6to Section 30102.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, it shall also
7grant the same toll-free and reduced-rate passage to a vehicle
8displaying an identifier issued by the department pursuant to
9paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a).

10(h) (1) Notwithstanding Section 21655.9, and except as
11provided in paragraph (2), a vehicle described in subdivision (a)
12that displays a decal, label, or identifier issued pursuant to this
13section shall be exempt from toll charges imposed on
14single-occupant vehicles in high-occupancy toll lanes as described
15in Section 149.7 of the Streets and Highways Code unless
16prohibited by federal law.

17(2) (A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll
18imposed for passage on a toll road or toll highway, that is not a
19high-occupancy toll lane as described in Section 149.7 of the
20Streets and Highways Code.

21(B) On or before March 1, 2014, paragraph (1) does not apply
22to the imposition of a toll imposed for passage in lanes designated
23for tolls pursuant to the federally supported value pricing and
24transit development demonstration program operated pursuant to
25Section 149.9 of the Streets and Highways Code for State Highway
26Route 10 or 110.

27(C) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll
28charged for crossing a state-owned bridge.

29(i) If the Director of Transportation determines that federal law
30does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by
31distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles described
32in subdivision (a) to use highway lanes or highway access ramps
33for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the
34Director of Transportation shall submit a notice of that
35determination to the Secretary of State.

36(j) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2019,
37or the date the federal authorization pursuant to Section 166 of
38Title 23 of the United States Code expires, or the date the Secretary
39of State receives the notice described in subdivision (i), whichever
40occurs first, and, as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later
P5    1enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1,
22019, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative
3and is repealed.

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4

SEC. 2.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
5immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
6the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
7immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

8In order to ensure, at the earliest possible time, that new owners
9of certain qualifying clean alternative fuel vehicles will be eligible
10for participation in the program, and to provide long-term
11incentives for consumers of clean alternative fuel vehicles, it is
12necessary that this act take effect immediately.

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