BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 459
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Date of Hearing: August 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 459 (Pavley) - As Amended: August 5, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Voluntary vehicle retirement programs
SUMMARY : Establishes a one-year multilingual outreach campaign
in non-attainment areas to encourage low-income vehicle owner
participation in the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP)
which provides funds to retire high-polluting vehicles and
replace them with cleaner ones. Specifically, this bill :
1)States the intent of the Legislature that the California Air
Resources Board (ARB) improve the EFMP to better serve
low-income Californians to help meet clean air goals by
promoting the operation of cleaner vehicles.
2)Requires ARB, in collaboration with the Bureau of Automotive
Repair (BAR) and local air districts, to engage in a one-year
multilingual outreach campaign in non-attainment areas to
increase use of the vehicle replacement portion of the EFMP by
low-income vehicle owners.
3)Specifies that the multilingual outreach campaign be funded
from the High-Polluter Repair or Removal Account, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, with monies from the Vehicle
Inspection and Repair Fund.
4)Requires ARB to report to the Legislature with regard to the
success of multilingual outreach campaign two years after
receiving funding. The report is required to:
a) Describe the costs and short-term emissions-reduction
benefits of the campaign;
b) Measure the emissions reductions gained by the vehicle
replacement incentives;
c) Total the number of replacement vehicle vouchers used;
and,
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d) Provide the year, make, model, and cost of the
replacement vehicles.
1)Requires ARB, in consultation with BAR, to update the EFMP
guidelines to include:
a) Provisions to coordinate the implementation of the
vehicle retirement and replacement components of the
program with the vehicle retirement component of BAR's
Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) to maximize participation
by those eligible under both programs;
b) Provisions to streamline the administration of the
program to simplify participation while maintaining
expenditure accountability;
c) An emphasis of the replacement of high-polluting
vehicles with cleaner vehicles or increased public transit
use;
d) An emphasis on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions through increased vehicle or transit efficiency;
e) Provisions to address consideration of alternative
methods of financial assistance;
f) Provisions to address utilization of the replacement
component of the program;
g) Provisions that allow a requirement in the retirement
program that vehicles eligible for retirement must have
been recently operated on California's roadways;
h) Provisions that allow an option for automobile
dealerships or used car sellers to accept cars for
retirement provided the cars are dismantled consistent with
existing program requirements; and,
i) Provisions to address increased partnerships and
outreach with grass community networks including local
opinion leaders, community nonprofits, churches, PTAs,
automobile dealerships, auto loan institutions, and
employers.
1)Requires that the updated EFMP program continue to be
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administrated by BAR pursuant to guidelines updated and
adopted by ARB.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the smog check program, administered by BAR and
the ARB and requires, generally, vehicles that are registered
in non-attainment areas for ozone or carbon monoxide pollutant
emissions to undergo biennial emission (smog check)
inspections.
2)Requires BAR, in consultation with ARB, to identify target
populations and disseminate information about the smog check
program by all feasible means, including advertisements in
various media and by using grass roots community networks.
3)Establishes CAP, administered by BAR, for the voluntary
retirement of high-polluting passenger vehicles and light to
medium duty trucks from operation in the state through the
purchase and dismantling of these vehicles. The program is
available to owners when their vehicles fail to pass the smog
check inspection. Under CAP, low-income vehicle owners can
receive $1,500 to retire their vehicle.
4)Provides, under the EFMP pursuant to guidelines adopted by ARB
in consultation with BAR, a program for the voluntary
retirement of passenger vehicles and light and medium duty
trucks that are high polluters, pursuant to AB 118 (Núñez),
Chapter 750, Statutes of 2007. Under the EFMP as administered
by BAR, vehicles do not have to fail smog inspection in order
to be eligible for EFMP benefits.
5)Requires EFMP to focus efforts where the greatest air quality
impact can be identified and to consider cost-effectiveness
and impacts on disadvantaged and low-income populations.
Under EFMP, eligible low-income vehicle owners can qualify for
a $2,500 voucher to be used toward the purchase of a newer
vehicle (up to eight years old). EFMP funding from motor
vehicle registration fees are scheduled to sunset on January
1, 2016.
6)Defines "low-income motor vehicle owner" as a person whose
income does not exceed 225% of the federal poverty level, as
published quarterly in the Federal Register by the United
States Department of Health and Human Services.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, retiring older,
high-polluting vehicles is a cost effective way to reduce air
pollution since a small number of high-polluting cars produce
the vast majority of pollution. The author reports that many of
these older, high-polluting vehicles tend to have poor fuel
economy and that these cars, which are often owned by poor
working families, can keep owners trapped in a cycle of paying
high fuel costs and therefore unable to afford newer, cleaner
vehicle with better fuel economy. The author points out that if
a greater number of these high-polluting vehicles are retired
and replaced with cleaner cars, California would have cleaner
air and working families would have lower overall fuel costs.
The author notes that under EFMP, 90% of the approximately $30
million available for the program annually has been spent for
vehicle retirement but that very little of that money has been
spent to provide vouchers to help individuals purchase a new,
cleaner vehicles. According to the author, the available
funding allowed BAR to retire over 12,000 high-polluting
vehicles in the program's first year but to date; only 12
vouchers have been issued.
To help accelerate the rate of retirement for high-polluting
vehicles, the author has introduced this bill which would help
to make the current vehicle retirement program more accessible,
convenient, and financially feasible for low income vehicle
owners. Specifically, this bill would require ARB, in
collaboration with BAR and local air districts, to engage in a
one-year multilingual outreach campaign in non-attainment areas
of the state in an effort to increase the use of the vehicle
replacement program by low income vehicle owners. This bill
calls for the outreach campaign to be funded from the
High-Polluter Repair or Removal Account and upon completion of
the outreach campaign, ARB would be required to report to the
Legislature regarding the success of outreach campaign and
update the EFMP program guidelines with the goal increasing the
effectiveness of and participation in the vehicle retirement
program.
Writing is support of this bill, the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District notes that this bill would have a
significant positive impact on efforts to clean the air in the
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San Joaquin Valley because this region of the state, in
particular, has many low income motor vehicle owners who drive
high-emitting vehicles but cannot afford to replace them. The
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District notes that
many of these vehicle owners are often unaware of the
availability of vehicle replacement program assistance and that
helping to eliminate barriers for participation in the program
would help to get cleaner cars on the road and reduce mobile
source emissions.
Writing in opposition to this bill, the Association of
California Car Clubs (ACCC) raises concerns that scrappage
programs such as CAP and EFMP cause valuable and rare car parts
to be lost rather than allowing these parts to be used for
vehicle restoration projects. ACCC contends that individuals
using the vehicle retirement program frequently scrap cars that
are infrequently used, ultimately doing little to improve air
quality.
Related bills : SB 11 (Pavley) of 2013, extends fees for air
pollution reduction programs, including the EFMP established
under AB 118. A recent amendment to SB 11 provides that
incentives for light-duty vehicle scrappage under the CAP and
the EFMP voucher program be constrained to current statutory
limits. That bill passed this committee on July 1, 2013 (10-3
vote), and is awaiting hearing by the Assembly Natural Resources
Committee today.
AB 787 (Hill), Chapter 231, Statutes of 2010, authorizes BAR to
pay up to $1,500 to a low-income individual and up to $1,000 to
any other individual who retires their vehicle under the CAP
smog check program or EFMP as authorized under AB 118.
SB 901 (Steinberg) of 2011, as introduced, would have
prioritized EFMP expenditures for the highest polluting vehicles
registered in areas that are out of attainment with federal air
quality standards. Those provisions were deleted from
subsequent amendments to that bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Lung Association in California
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
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Breathe California
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
Coalition for Clean Air
Consumer Action
Consumer Federation of California
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Greenlining Institute
Natural Resources Defense Council
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
South Coast Air Quality Management District
Union of Concerned Scientists
ValleyCAN
Opposition
Association of California Car Clubs
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093