Amended in Assembly May 5, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 112

Introduced by Assembly Member Hadley

January 7, 2016

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 112—Relative to the State Air Resources Board.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 112, as amended, Hadley. State Air Resources Board.

This measure would thank the State Air Resources Board for its exemplary work and tenacity in uncovering the emissions control defeat devices on certain diesel-fueled Volkswagen motor vehicles begin insert and would express the Legislature’s support for specified future emissions test-related actions by the board end insert .

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Legislature established the State Air Resources
Board in 1967 to attain and maintain healthy air quality; and

WHEREAS, begin delete A May 2014 study by researchers at West Virginia
University, done in collaboration with the International Council
on Clean Transportation, discovered end delete begin insert In 2012, the State Air
Resources Board initiated a testing campaign focused on light-duty
diesel vehicles and agreed to provide in-kind support to the
International Council on Clean Transportation and to West
Virginia University for their light-duty diesel vehicle studies, which
led to the discovery end insert that two Volkswagen diesel-fueled motor
vehicles emitted significantly higher levels of begin delete nitrogen oxides end delete
begin insert oxides of nitrogen end insert in onroad tests than in standard emissions tests;
and

WHEREAS, begin delete Nitrogen oxide emissions end delete begin insert Emissions of oxides of
nitrogen end insert have been linked to begin delete smog end delete begin insert ozone formation, smog, end insert and
acid rain; and

WHEREAS, The concerns raised by the study prompted the
State Air Resources Board to open an investigation and discussions
with Volkswagen Group of America (Volkswagen) in 2014; and

WHEREAS, In December 2014, Volkswagen issued a voluntary
recall in the United States of begin delete all end delete begin insert some end insert of its diesel-fueled motor
vehicles from model years 2009 to 2014 after conducting its own
tests and identifying a recalibration begin delete fix; end delete begin insert fix that Volkswagen
claimed would address excess emissions; end insert and

WHEREAS, The State Air Resources Board, in cooperation
with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, begin delete said it
wanted to do confirmatory tests of the tests Volkswagen ran in
2014, and the State Air Resources Board did so in May end delete begin insert conducted
confirmatory testing in end insert 2015; and

WHEREAS, The State Air Resources Board notified
Volkswagen in July 2015 that the test vehicles, despite having
completed the recalibration fix under the voluntary recall, still
showed emissions that exceeded state and federal begin delete limits, and the
State Air Resources Board deemed the initial recall ineffective; end delete
begin insert limits; end insert and

WHEREAS, In September 2015, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and the State Air Resources
Board demanded an explanation from Volkswagen and were
prepared to withhold certification that Volkswagen’s 2016
diesel-fueled motor vehicles complied with applicable emissions
standards; and

WHEREAS, Volkswagen begin insert then end insert admitted defeat devices were
installed on the emissions control equipment on certain
Volkswagen diesel-fueled motor vehicles; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature acknowledges and praises
the State Air Resources Board for its unwavering diligence and
dedication to preserving the air quality in the state and its exposure
of Volkswagen’s circumvention of emissions standards on certain
diesel-fueled motor vehicles; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature thanks the State Air Resources
Board for its exemplary work and tenacity in uncovering
Volkswagen’s emissions control defeat devices; and be it further

begin insert

Resolved, That the Legislature supports the State Air
Resources Board increasing the use of real-world emissions
verification testing; and be it further

end insert begin insert

Resolved, That the Legislature supports the State Air
Resources Board enhancing its penalty authority for cheating
emissions tests to deter future efforts to circumvent emissions
standards; and be it further

end insert

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit
sufficient copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate
distribution.