BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2414
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2014

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER  
                                     PROTECTION
                               Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
                  AB 2414 (Ting) - As Introduced:  February 21, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :   Parking facilities: electric vehicle charging.

           SUMMARY  :   Specifies that the use of electricity by state  
          government and other government entities, state officers and  
          employees, or other persons for the charging of an electric  
          vehicle in a department maintained or joint use motor vehicle  
          parking facility is not a gift of public funds prohibited by the  
          California Constitution.  

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Generally prohibits, under the California Constitution, the  
            Legislature from making, or authorizing the making of, gifts  
            of public funds unless it determines that the funds serve a  
            public purpose.  (California Constitution Article XVI Section  
            6) 

          2)Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS) to acquire  
            real property, as specified, and to construct, operate, and  
            maintain motor vehicle parking facilities for state officers  
            and employees, or other persons, as specified.  (Government  
            Code Section (GC) 14678) 

          3)Authorizes DGS to enter into arrangements with other public  
            and state agencies for joint use of motor vehicle parking  
            facilities if the benefit to be derived by the state is  
            commensurate with its participation; prescribe the terms and  
            condition of this parking, including the payment of parking  
            fees in any amounts and under any circumstances as determined  
            by DGS; and establish various rates for parking fees based on  
            location, parking facility, or number of riders in each  
            vehicle.  (GC 14678)

          4)Provides that revenues received by DGS for these motor vehicle  
            parking facilities as designated by the Director of DGS, and  
            under the jurisdiction of any other state agency that has  
            entered into an agreement with DGS for the payment of  
            revenues, be deposited into the General fund and are  








                                                                  AB 2414
                                                                  Page  2

            continuously appropriated to DGS for the construction,  
            operation, and maintenance of motor vehicle parking  
            facilities, as specified.  (GC 14678)   

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel. 

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of this bill  .  This bill clarifies that the use of  
            electricity by officers and employees of any state or  
            government entity or by members of the public for the charging  
            of an electric vehicle in a DGS-managed or joint use parking  
            facility is not an illegal gift of public funds.  The aim of  
            this bill is to encourage the state development and use of  
            electric charging stations.  This bill is author-sponsored.     
             

           2)Author's statement  .  According to the author, "[This bill]  
            ensures that electric vehicle charging stations built in  
            parking areas developed by state government entities are not  
            considered gifts of public funds.  Across the state,  
            government entities are actively working to establish robust  
            electric vehicle charging systems.  While electric vehicle  
            charging stations provide benefits to individuals, they also  
            serve a public purpose.  Electric vehicle charging stations in  
            public parking areas increase the availability and awareness  
            of electric vehicle charging, which serve as an important part  
            of replacing [greenhouse gas]-emitting cars and trucks with  
            clean electric vehicles.

          "This bill ensures government entities can spend more time  
            expanding the installation of electric vehicle charging  
            stations without [worrying about] violating provisions of the  
            gift of public funds, such as not accounting for every  
            incidental cost related to providing electricity and charging  
            stations."  

           3)Prohibition on public gifts  .  Section 6 of Article XVI of the  
            California Constitution prohibits the state and its  
            subdivisions from making, or authorizing the making, "of any  
            gift, of any public money or thing of value to any individual,  
            municipal or other corporation?."  The primary question to be  
            considered when determining whether an appropriation of public  
            funds is considered a gift is whether the funds are used for a  








                                                                  AB 2414
                                                                  Page  3

            private or public purpose.  If they are used for a public  
            purpose, they are not a gift within the meaning of this  
            constitutional prohibition, even if there may be incidental  
            benefit to private persons.  (County of Alameda v. Janssen  
            (1940) 16 Cal.2d 276)  

          Although a court may be unlikely to determine that the provision  
            of electricity through electric charging stations is an  
            unconstitutional gift of public funds that is used for a  
            private purpose, this bill does not prohibit a court from  
            making such a determination because a statute cannot supersede  
            a constitutional provision.  As a result, this bill merely  
            seeks to clarify that providing electricity without charge  
            through electric charging stations in state parking facilities  
            is viewed as having a public purpose, and is therefore not a  
            gift of public funds in violation of the California  
            Constitution.              

           4)Arguments in support  .  According to the California Municipal  
            Utilities Association, "[Our] members currently help  
            facilitate the implementation of electric vehicle charging  
            infrastructure.  Many of these charging stations are located  
            at state and locally owned facilities.  Public awareness of  
            these facilities often starts with public promotion and usage  
            by public officials and state employees.  In furtherance of  
            state policies promoting the transition to an electric vehicle  
            economy, [?] any potential obstacles that may limit state  
            employees and other public officials from accessing electric  
            vehicle charging facilities should be removed."

          The Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) also  
            writes in support, "Our member agencies are actively working  
            to establish a robust electric vehicle charging system  
            throughout California as an important step in replacing  
            [greenhouse gas]-emitting cars and trucks with clean electric  
            vehicles.  Ensuring we don't run afoul of the gift of public  
            funds provisions in existing statute while working to move  
            this important infrastructure forward for our ratepayers and  
            California as a whole is critical to the success of an overall  
            [electric vehicle] deployment."

           5)Previous legislation  .  SB 454 (Corbett), Chapter 418, Statutes  
            of 2013, created the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open  
            Access Act, which prohibited the charging of a subscription  
            fee of persons desiring to use an electric vehicle charging  








                                                                  AB 2414
                                                                  Page  4

            station, prohibited a requirement for persons to obtain  
            membership in any club, association, or organization as a  
            condition of using the station, except as specified, and  
            required the total actual charges for the use of an electric  
            vehicle charging station to be disclosed to the public at the  
            point of sale.  

           AB 1092 (Levine), Chapter 410, Statutes of 2013, required the  
            California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) to adopt,  
            approve, codify, and publish mandatory building standards for  
            the installation of future electric vehicle charging  
            infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and  
            nonresidential development.

          AB 2644 (Butler) of 2012 would have required the CBSC to adopt  
            building standards for the construction, installation, and  
            alteration of electric vehicle charging stations for parking  
            spaces in single-family residential real property.  That bill  
            was held in the Assembly Housing and Community Development  
            Committee.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Municipal Utilities Association 
          Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA)

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Eunie Linden / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)  
          319-3301