BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 600|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 600
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 5/28/13
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/30/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Vehicles: alternative fuel conversions
SOURCE : California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition
Western Propane Gas Association
DIGEST : This bill requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to
revise its procedures for small manufacturers seeking the ARB
certification of alternative fuel conversion systems.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the ARB to adopt standards
and regulations on all classes of motor vehicles that will
result in, among other things, reductions in motor vehicle
exhaust and evaporative emissions. Under this authority, the
ARB regulates both new and in-use vehicles, engines, and
equipment.
Fuel conversion systems modify vehicles and engines so they can
run on different fuels than the ones for which they were
CONTINUED
SB 600
Page
2
originally designed. Most alternative fuel conversions involve
reconfiguring a gasoline or diesel vehicle or engine to operate
on an alternative fuel such as natural gas, propane, alcohol, or
electricity. Prior to selling a fuel conversion system, a
manufacturer must obtain the ARB certification to ensure that
the vehicle, engine, or equipment meets state emission
standards. The ARB's alternative fuel conversion regulations
apply to all vehicles, regardless of age. Although the ARB has
not updated these regulations since 1995, it is currently
conducting a rulemaking process to consider a number of
revisions.
The federal Clean Air Act prohibits manufacturers from altering
a vehicle or engine from its certified configuration. United
States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) regulations
exempt alternative fuel conversion manufacturers from this
prohibition if they can demonstrate that the conversion does not
compromise emissions compliance with federal clean air
standards. US EPA recently amended its alternative fuel
conversion regulations in an attempt to streamline the
compliance process. Among other things, the revised
regulations:
1. Eliminates the requirement for manufacturers annually to
recertify the Clean Air Act exemption for each vehicle and
engine.
2. Provides three sets of conversion certification
requirements, depending on vehicle and engine age.
3. Allows manufacturers to use one set of data to support the
conversion certification application of a subsequent year's
test group or engine family.
4. Allows manufacturers, for mixed-fuel and dual-fuel
conversions, to submit a statement of compliance in lieu of
test data on the original fuel if the manufacturer can attest
that the conversion maintains original certification
standards.
This bill:
1. Requires the ARB, beginning January 1, 2014, in reviewing
applications from small volume manufacturers for
CONTINUED
SB 600
Page
3
certification of alternative fuel conversion systems, to:
A. Automatically qualify alternative fuel conversion
certifications for after-market certifications on new
vehicles upon manufacturer request.
B. Use commercially available fuel for all required
emissions testing.
C. Conduct evaporative emissions testing on the added
alternative fuel system only when seeking to certify a
dual-fuel vehicle conversion.
2. Requires the ARB, beginning January 1, 2014, to extend a new
vehicle or engine certification until December 31st of the
year following a given model year.
Background
US EPA vs. ARB standards . Federal law authorizes California to
carry out and enforce its own - more stringent - vehicle
emissions regulations for vehicles sold and registered in
California. Federal law also allows other states to adopt
California's emissions regulations for new vehicles, which more
than a dozen states have done or are in the process of doing.
To obtain either federal or ARB certification, a converted
vehicle must meet the same emissions requirements as the
original vehicle. The testing also ensures that the retrofit
system works properly with the on-board diagnostics system to
warn the driver, and record for a smog check technician, when
emissions exceed approved levels. One of the key differences
between federal and state fuel conversion regulations is that
federal regulations provide different sets of requirements for
different vehicle ages; for example, US EPA regulations allow a
manufacturer to sell an after-market system under an expired
certification if the system is to be installed on a vehicle that
is more than two model years old. In addition, the revised
federal regulations allow manufacturers to combine vehicle and
engine test groups, alleviating some of the costs to demonstrate
emissions benefits of alternative fuel systems.
Previous legislation
SB 724 (Dutton, 2011) would have required the ARB to respond
CONTINUED
SB 600
Page
4
within 30 working days to an application for certification of a
new, carryover, or partial carryover on-road or off-road
vehicle, engine, or equipment family. The Legislature passed SB
724 without a single "no" vote but Governor Brown vetoed the
bill. His veto message stated that "this bill could interfere
with the iterative information gathering application approval
process, thereby rushing the process and inadvertently allowing
vehicles with defective emission components on the market."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, annual costs
of $483,000 (Motor Vehicle Account) for 3 positions at the ARB.
This includes one-time staff and workload costs to update the
regulatory package and testing procedures for alternative fuel
conversion certifications as well as ongoing costs for
additional workload.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition (co-source)
Western Propane Gas Association (co-source)
Clean Energy
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that the ARB
review and certification of a fuel conversion application can
take more than three months, while the US EPA performs the same
review in approximately two weeks. Conversion companies
estimate that testing and paperwork for the US EPA certification
costs around $50,000, while the ARB certification can run
$300,000 or more. In addition, the ARB-required test fuel can
cost $100 per gallon for natural gas as compared to $2 per
gallon for commercially available fuel. By lowering the costs
and review time for certification, this bill enables small
volume manufacturers of alternative fuel conversion systems to
get cleaner vehicles on the road more quickly.
JA:d 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
CONTINUED
SB 600
Page
5
**** END ****
CONTINUED