BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2013 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 1, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 2013 (Muratsuchi) - As Amended: March 17, 2014 Policy Committee: TransportationVote:14-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill increases, from 40,000 to 85,000, the number of advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicles (enhanced AT PZEVs-mainly plug-in electric hybrids) allowed access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, regardless of vehicle occupancy levels. FISCAL EFFECT Minor costs to the DMV to issue additional decals, fully offset by fees charged to vehicle owners. COMMENTS 1)Background and Purpose . An HOV lane, commonly referred to as a "carpool" or "diamond" lane, is part of a traffic management strategy designed to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles during peak periods of traffic congestion. These lanes are intended to provide an incentive for commuters to form carpools by offering reduced travel times. Since 1999, HOV lane access has also been authorized for various types of single-occupant, clean-air vehicles in order to incentivize the purchase of such vehicles. SB 535 (Yee) of 2010, implemented a program to provide such access for up to 40,000 enhanced AT PZEVs (identified by DMV-issued green stickers). The new program was originally scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2015, but the sunset was extended to January 1, 2019 by SB 286 (Yee) of 2013. AB 2013 Page 2 As of March 12, 2014, 36,230 green stickers have been issued, and it is expected the current cap will be reached sometime this month. AB 2013 increases the cap to 85,000-a level consistent with a now-expired program that provided single-occupant HOV lane access to hybrid vehicles (the yellow sticker program). 2)Amendment . Because the current cap is expected to be reached imminently, the author requests that the committee adopt an urgency clause. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081