BILL NUMBER: SB 1077 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 16, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Lowenthal )
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to add and repeal Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3090)
of Division 2 of, and to repeal Chapter 7 (commencing with former
Section 3100) of Division 2 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1077, as amended, DeSaulnier. Vehicles: mileage-based fee pilot
program.
Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency, which consists
of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the California
Transportation Commission, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the
Department of Transportation, the High-Speed Rail Authority, and the
Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San
Pablo, and Suisun.
This bill would establish a Mileage-Based Fee (MBF) Task Force
within the California Transportation Commission, as specified. The
bill would require the task force to study MBF alternatives to the
gas tax and to make recommendations to the Department of
Transportation and the commission on the design of a pilot program,
as specified. The bill would also authorize the task force to make
recommendations on the criteria to be used to evaluate the pilot
program. The bill would require the task force to consult with
specified entities and to consider certain factors in carrying out
its duties. The bill would require the Transportation Agency, based
on the recommendations of the task force, to develop and implement a
pilot program by January 1, 2016, to identify and evaluate issues
related to the potential implementation of a MBF program in
California. The bill would require the agency to prepare and submit a
report of its findings to the task force, the commission, and the
appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature by no
later than June 30, 2017, as specified. The bill would also require
the commission to include its recommendations regarding the pilot
program in its annual report to the Legislature, as specified. The
bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2018.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) An efficient transportation system is critical for California'
s economy and quality of life.
(b) The revenues currently available for highways and local roads
are inadequate to preserve and maintain existing infrastructure and
to provide funds for improvements that would reduce congestion and
improve service.
(c) The gas tax is an ineffective mechanism for meeting California'
s long-term revenue needs for all of the following reasons because it
will steadily generate less revenue as cars become more fuel
efficient and alternative sources of fuel are identified. By 2030, as
much as half of the revenue that could have been collected will be
lost to fuel efficiency. Additionally, bundling fees for roads and
highways into the gas tax makes it difficult for users to understand
the amount they are paying for roads and highways.
(d) Other states have begun to explore the potential for a
mileage-based fee to replace traditional gas taxes, including the
State of Oregon, which established the first permanent road user fee
program in the nation.
(e) A mileage-based fee program has the potential to distribute
the gas tax burden across all vehicles regardless of fuel source and
to minimize the impact of the current regressive gas tax structure.
(f) Experience to date in other states across the nation
demonstrates that mileage-based user fees can be implemented in a way
that ensures data security and maximum privacy protection for
drivers.
(g) It is therefore important that the state begin to explore
alternative revenue sources that may be implemented in lieu of the
antiquated gas tax structure now in place.
(h) Any exploration of alternative revenue sources shall take into
account the privacy implications, especially those of location data,
which need not be personally identifiable to raise serious privacy
concerns because studies have shown it is easy to reidentify.
SEC. 2. Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3090) is added to
Division 2 of the Vehicle Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7. MILEAGE-BASED FEE PILOT PROGRAM
3090. (a) The Mileage-Based Fee (MBF) Task Force is hereby
established within the California Transportation Commission.
(b) The purpose of the task force is to guide the development and
evaluation of a pilot program to assess the potential for
mileage-based revenue collection for California's roads and highways
as an alternative to the gas tax system.
(c) The task force shall consist of 14 15
members, as follows:
(1) Two members of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of
the Assembly.
(2) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee
on Rules.
(3) Two members of the commission, appointed by the chairperson of
the commission.
(4) Eight Nine members
appointed by the Governor. In making these appointments, the Governor
shall consider individuals who are representative of the
telecommunications industry, highway user groups, the data security
and privacy industry, the transportation research community,
privacy rights advocacy organizations, regional
transportation agencies, and national research and policymaking
bodies, including, but not limited to, the Transportation Research
Board and the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials.
(d) Members of the task force are entitled to compensation and
expenses as authorized by the commission.
(e) The Department of Transportation shall provide staff to the
task force.
(f) The task force shall study MBF alternatives to the gas tax.
The task force shall gather public comment on issues and concerns
related to the pilot program and shall make recommendations to the
department and the commission on the design of a pilot program to
test alternative MBF approaches. The task force may also make
recommendations to the department and the commission on the criteria
to be used to evaluate the pilot program.
(g) In studying alternatives to the current gas tax system and
developing recommendations on the design of a pilot program to test
alternative MBF approaches pursuant to subdivision (f), the task
force shall take all of the following into consideration:
(1) The availability, adaptability, reliability, and security of
methods that might be used in recording and reporting highway use.
(2) The necessity of protecting all personally identifiable
information used in reporting highway use.
(3) The ease and cost of recording and reporting highway use.
(4) The ease and cost of administering the collection of taxes and
fees as an alternative to the current system of taxing highway use
through motor vehicle fuel taxes.
(5) Effective methods of maintaining compliance.
(6) The ease of reidentifying location data, even when personally
identifiable information has been removed from the data.
(7) Risks for privacy concerns when used with other technologies,
such as automatic license plate readers.
(8) Public and private agency access, including law enforcement,
to data collected and stored for purposes of the MBF to ensure
individual privacy rights are protected pursuant to Section 1 of
Article I of the California Constitution.
(h) The task force shall consult with highway users and
transportation stakeholders, including representatives of vehicle
users, vehicle manufacturers, and fuel distributors as part of its
duties pursuant to subdivision (g).
3091. (a) Based on the recommendations of
the MBF Task Force, the Transportation Agency shall develop and
implement, by January 1, 2016, a pilot program to identify and
evaluate issues related to the potential implementation of an MBF
program in California.
(b) At a minimum, the pilot program shall accomplish all of the
following:
(1) Analyze alternative means of collecting road usage data,
including at least one alternative that does not rely on electronic
vehicle location data.
(2) Collect a minimum amount of personal information including
location tracking information, necessary to implement the MBF
program.
(3) Ensure that processes for collecting, managing, storing,
transmitting, and destroying data are in place to protect the
integrity of the data and safeguard the privacy of drivers.
(c) The agency shall not disclose, distribute, make available,
sell, access, or otherwise provide for another purpose, personal
information or data collected through the MBF program to any private
entity or individual unless authorized by a court order, as part of a
civil case, by a subpoena issued on behalf of a defendant in a
criminal case, by a search warrant, or in aggregate form with all
personal information removed for the purposes of academic research.
3092. (a) The Transportation Agency shall prepare and submit a
report of its findings based on the results of the pilot program to
the MBF Task Force, the California Transportation Commission, and the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by no
later than June 30, 2017. The report shall, include, but not be
limited to, a discussion of all of the following issues:
(1) Cost.
(2) Privacy , including recommendations regarding public and
private access, including law enforcement, to data collected and
stored for purposes of the MBF to ensure individual
privacy rights are protected pursuant to Section 1 of Article I of
the California Constitution .
(3) Jurisdictional issues.
(4) Feasibility.
(5) Complexity.
(6) Acceptance.
(7) Use of revenues.
(8) Security and compliance , including a discussion of
processes and security measures necessary to minimize fraud and tax
evasion rates .
(9) Data collection technology, including a discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages of various types of data collection
equipment and the privacy implications and considerations of the
equipment.
(9)
(10) Potential for additional driver services.
(10)
(1 1) Implementation issues.
(b) The California Transportation Commission shall include its
recommendations regarding the pilot program in its annual report to
the Legislature as specified in Sections 14535 and 14536 of the
Government Code.
3093. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Chapter 7 (commencing with former Section 3100) of
Division 2 of the Vehicle Code is repealed.