BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 2013
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Muratsuchi
VERSION: 4/2/14
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: Yes
Hearing date: June 10, 2014 URGENCY: YES
SUBJECT:
High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes: low-emission vehicles
DESCRIPTION:
This bill raises the cap on the "green sticker" Clean Air
Vehicle program, which allows certain low-emission vehicles to
access HOV lanes with a single occupant.
ANALYSIS:
An HOV lane, also known as a carpool lane, aims to promote and
encourage ridesharing, thereby alleviating traffic congestion
and improving air quality. Depending on the particular HOV
lane, a vehicle must have a minimum of either two or three
occupants in order to access the lane.
Existing federal law authorizes states, until September 30,
2017, to allow certain low-emission and energy-efficient
vehicles with a single occupant to use HOV lanes. A state that
enacts such a policy must monitor its HOV system and report to
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the impact these
vehicles have on highway operations. If these vehicles cause a
degradation of HOV lane operations, the state must limit or
discontinue clean air vehicle use of the lanes. Federal law
deems that an HOV lane is degraded if vehicles operating in the
lane fail to maintain a minimum average operating speed
(generally 45 miles per hour) during 90 percent of the time over
a consecutive 180-day period during morning or evening weekday
peak-hour periods. Federal law requires states to take action
on degraded facilities within 180 days of identifying them as
degraded. If a state fails to comply, FHWA may impose
sanctions, including withholding payment of federal funds and
withholding approval of projects.
Existing state law exempts certain clean, alternative-fuel
vehicles from HOV lane occupancy requirements, so that a vehicle
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with just one occupant may use an HOV lane if it displays a
Clean Air Vehicle sticker. The state has implemented three
clean air vehicle HOV sticker programs in recent years:
White HOV stickers. AB 71 (Cunneen), Chapter 330, Statutes of
1999, established the "white sticker program," which allows
vehicles that meet certain strict emission standards to drive
in carpool lanes with a single occupant. These vehicles are
typically pure battery electric vehicles, dedicated compressed
natural gas or liquid petroleum gas vehicles, and hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles, such as the BMW i3EV, Chevy Spark EV, Fiat
500e, Ford Focus EV, Honda Civic CNG, Honda Fit EV, Hyundai
Tucson Fuel Cell, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model
S, and Toyota RAV4 EV, among others. State law places no
limit on the number of stickers that can be issued; as of May
5, 2014, the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had
issued 47,516 white stickers. This program expires on
January 1, 2019.
Yellow HOV stickers (expired). AB 2628 (Pavley), Chapter 725,
Statutes of 2004, established the "yellow sticker program,"
which granted HOV lane access to certain single-occupant,
hybrid or alternatively fueled vehicles. DMV began issuing
yellow stickers for the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid in
April 2006, when the FHWA granted conditional approval of the
program. The number of vehicles that might be issued these
stickers was ultimately capped at 85,000, a limit that was
reached in 2007; all yellow stickers expired on July 1, 2011.
Green HOV stickers. SB 535 (Yee), Chapter 215, Statutes of
2010, established the "green sticker program," which allows
certain single-occupant vehicles - generally, plug-in hybrid
vehicles that meet the Air Resources Board's (ARB)strictest
emissions standard - to drive in carpool lanes. The vehicles
eligible to date for green stickers are the BMW i3 Rex,
Cadillac ELR, Chevrolet Volt, Ford C-Max Energi, Ford Fusion
Energi, Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid, and Toyota Prius Plug-in.
State law limits the number of green stickers that DMV may
issue to 40,000. The green sticker program began on January
1, 2012; on May 9, 2014, DMV issued the 40,000th sticker.
This program expires on January 1, 2019.
Pursuant to federal law, state law authorizes the state
Department of Transportation (Caltrans), if it is able to
attribute unacceptable congestion levels to clean vehicles, to
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ban them from HOV lanes.
This bill raises the cap on the green sticker program from
40,000 to 85,000.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author states that green stickers promote the
growth and sale of alternative fuel vehicles by incentivizing
consumers to purchase the next generation of advanced
technology vehicles. The author states that this bill would
accommodate growing participation in this successful program
at a time when the market for these vehicles is at a critical
juncture. Promoting the development and sale of
alternative-fuel vehicles will help California reach its clean
air and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
2.Do single-occupant vehicles clog carpool lanes ? Federal law
requires a state that allows clean vehicles to use an HOV lane
to submit an annual report to FHWA on HOV lane performance.
Federal law also requires a state, if it finds that clean
vehicles cause degradation of HOV lane operations, to limit or
discontinue clean air vehicle use of these lanes.
Caltrans submitted its most recent HOV lane degradation report
to FHWA in November 2011. This report showed that
approximately 43 percent of HOV lanes in California were
degraded during the first half of the year and approximately
49 percent were degraded during the second half of the year.
This increase occurred despite the fact that the state law
allowing 85,000 hybrid vehicles with yellow stickers to access
HOV lanes expired on July 1, 2011. According to Caltrans,
this increase has been observed in prior years and is
associated with seasonal increases in traffic volume, not with
clean vehicles. Caltrans identified factors such as vehicles
from HOV lanes merging into general-purpose lanes at the end
of the HOV lane, "rubbernecking" due to traffic incidents on
the freeway, and inclement weather resulting in lower speeds,
as key causes of HOV lane congestion.
Caltrans submitted an action plan to FHWA in July 2013. The
plan did not propose to ban clean vehicles from HOV lanes
because, according to the plan, "These vehicles constitute a
very low percentage of users of HOV lanes. Furthermore,
prohibiting these vehicles runs counter to an existing
Governor's Executive Order that directs State agencies to take
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action to support and incentivize the purchase of these
vehicles."
In January 2014, FHWA rejected Caltrans' 2011 action plan.
Caltrans is currently developing a new action plan to improve
HOV lane performance, which reportedly would not include
removal of clean air vehicles, but would include raising
vehicle occupancy levels. For example, the plan could propose
requiring three occupants in a vehicle, rather than two, in
order to access an HOV lane. Excluding double-occupant
vehicles from HOV lanes, while preserving the right of
single-occupant clean vehicles to access them, would appear to
violate the basic purpose of HOV lanes - namely, to promote
carpooling.
Writing in opposition to this bill, the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission notes that "over 40 percent of the
state's HOV lanes that were monitored by Caltrans failed to
meet the performance standard set in federal law ? the system
is not working optimally today and unfortunately, AB 2013 will
simply make matters worse." In addition, there is no cap on
white sticker issuance, and DMV has already issued more than
47,000 white stickers. The committee may wish to consider the
extent to which allowing 45,000 more single-occupant vehicles
into HOV lanes will increase HOV lane degradation and
undermine the policy objectives of encouraging carpooling and
reducing traffic congestion.
3.Should the cap be lifted ? As noted on the ARB website
regarding the yellow sticker program, "The California
legislature limited the time of this early hybrid vehicle
program to help promote and encourage development of newer
plug-in hybrid and other zero-emissions technologies."
Automakers are already working to develop these technologies
in response to the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFÉ) and Greenhouse Gas Emissions standards, which aim to
increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 miles per
gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025. Automakers
argue, however, that producing the cars does no good if
consumers are not motivated to buy them; the green sticker
program provides consumers incentives to do so.
4.A critical blow . When this committee heard SB 286 last April
(see "Related Legislation"), DMV had issued 10,881 green
stickers. In June 2013, when this committee heard AB 266
(see "Related Legislation"), this number had risen to 14,524.
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Green sticker issuance has continued to increase dramatically,
and on May 9, 2014, DMV issued the final green sticker allowed
pursuant to the 40,000 cap. Supporters argue that the
elimination of this incentive will deal a critical blow to
clean car sales, as green stickers are a primary incentive to
buy low-emission vehicles.
5.Does HOV access incentivize clean car purchases ? It appears
that HOV lane access is no longer a primary driver of clean
car purchases. The Center for Sustainable Energy released a
set of survey results at the Governor's ZEV summit in March
2014 showing that HOV lane access was the primary reason a
consumer bought a vehicle for 16 percent of Nissan Leafs, 27
percent of Chevy Volts, and 57 percent of Toyota Priuses,
purchased or leased prior to the third quarter of 2012.
However, HOV lane access accounted for only 15 percent of
Nissan Leaf, 20 percent of Chevy Volt, and 34 percent of
Toyota Prius purchases or leases in the fourth quarter of
2013. The fourth quarter 2013 results also included Tesla
purchases, none of which were attributable to a desire for HOV
lane access. For the fourth quarter 2013 purchases, nearly
half of Nissan Leaf (48 percent) and Chevy Volt (48 percent)
purchases or leases, as well as 34 percent of Toyota Prius
purchases or leases, were attributable to a desire to save
money on fuel (this factor was not in evidence in Tesla
purchases).
6.How many incentives are enough ? The ARB's Clean Vehicle
Rebate Program (CVRP) provides rebates of up to $2,500 for the
purchase or lease of a new zero-emission vehicle or plug-in
hybrid electric vehicle. CVRP is so heavily utilized that the
program ran out of funding midyear; the ARB voted in April
2014 to establish a waiting list to keep the program going
until the beginning of the new fiscal year in June. In
addition, the US Department of Energy offers a $7,500 federal
tax credit for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and clean
vehicles tend to enjoy free parking in commercial garages,
among other benefits. The committee may wish to consider
whether it is necessary to continue offering the green sticker
incentive in addition to these other lucrative incentives.
7.Social equity concerns . For a variety of reasons,
low-emission vehicles often have higher purchase prices than
comparable gasoline-powered vehicles. These higher purchase
prices generally make low-emission vehicles that qualify for
HOV lane access unaffordable for lower-income drivers. (Note
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that the CCSE survey referenced above indicates that over half
of CVRP recipients earn more than $150,000 per year.)
Legislation passed in 2012, AB 2405 (Blumenfield), Chapter
674, Statutes of 2012, exempts low-emission vehicles from
tolls in high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. Thus,
single-occupant vehicles with green stickers not only have
access to HOV lanes, but can drive in HOT lanes for free.
Some may question whether it is appropriate to be able to
"buy" single-occupant access to lanes that were originally
intended to promote ridesharing.
8.Assembly Budget Subcommittee action . On May 22, 2014, the
Assembly Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation approved
trailer bill language increasing the cap on green stickers by
10,000, "to ensure that program would continue in the near
term as the legislative process continues to deliberate the
long-term program design" in this bill.
RELATED LEGISLATION:
AB 1721 (Linder), also being heard by this committee today,
provides toll-free or reduced-rate passage for certain
single-occupant, low-emission vehicles with a Clean Air Vehicle
program sticker.
SB 286 (Yee), Chapter 414, Statutes of 2013, extends the sunset
date on the green sticker program from January 1, 2015 to
January 1, 2019, or until federal authorization expires,
whichever comes first.
AB 266 (Blumenfield), Chapter 405, Statutes of 2013, extends the
sunset date on the white sticker program from January 1, 2015 to
January 1, 2019, or until federal authorization expires,
whichever comes first.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 63-4
Appr: 14-1
Trans: 14-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 4,
2014.)
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SUPPORT: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (sponsor)
California Electric Transportation Coalition
California Manufacturers and Technology
Association
Ford Motor Company
Orange County Transportation Authority
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
South Coast Air Quality Management District
OPPOSED: Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Transportation Authority of Marin