Amended in Assembly June 6, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 5, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent ResolutionNo. 112


Introduced by Assembly Member Hadley

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Cooley, Frazier, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Mark Stone, Ting, Weber, Wilk, and Wood)

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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 and would express the Legislature’s support for specified future emissions test-related actions by the board.

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, The Legislature established the State Air Resources
2Board in 1967 to attain and maintain healthy air quality; and

P2    1WHEREAS, In 2012, the State Air Resources Board initiated
2a testing campaign focused on light-duty diesel vehicles and agreed
3to provide in-kind support to the International Council on Clean
4Transportation and to West Virginia University for their light-duty
5diesel vehicle studies, which led to the discovery that two
6Volkswagen diesel-fueled motor vehicles emitted significantly
7higher levels of oxides of nitrogen in onroad tests than in standard
8emissions tests; and

9WHEREAS, Emissions of oxides of nitrogen have been linked
10to ozone formation, smog, and acid rain; and

11WHEREAS, The concerns raised by the study prompted the
12State Air Resources Board to open an investigation and discussions
13with Volkswagen Group of America (Volkswagen) in 2014; and

14WHEREAS, In December 2014, Volkswagen issued a voluntary
15recall in the United States of some of its diesel-fueled motor
16vehicles from model years 2009 to 2014 after conducting its own
17tests and identifying a recalibration fix that Volkswagen claimed
18would address excess emissions; and

19WHEREAS, The State Air Resources Board, in cooperation
20with the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
21conducted confirmatory testing in 2015; and

22WHEREAS, The State Air Resources Board notified
23Volkswagen in July 2015 that the test vehicles, despite having
24completed the recalibration fix under the voluntary recall, still
25showed emissions that exceeded state and federal limits; and

26WHEREAS, In September 2015, the United States
27Environmental Protection Agency and the State Air Resources
28Board demanded an explanation from Volkswagen and were
29prepared to withhold certification that Volkswagen’s 2016
30diesel-fueled motor vehicles complied with applicable emissions
31standards; and

32WHEREAS, Volkswagen then admitted defeat devices were
33installed on the emissions control equipment on certain
34Volkswagen diesel-fueled motor vehicles; now, therefore, be it

35Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
36thereof concurring,
That the Legislature acknowledges and praises
37the State Air Resources Board for its unwavering diligence and
38dedication to preserving the air quality in the state and its exposure
39of Volkswagen’s circumvention of emissions standards on certain
40diesel-fueled motor vehicles; and be it further

P3    1Resolved, That the Legislature thanks the State Air Resources
2Board for its exemplary work and tenacity in uncovering
3Volkswagen’s emissions control defeat devices; and be it further

4Resolved, That the Legislature supports the State Air Resources
5Board increasing the use of real-world emissions verification
6testing; and be it further

7Resolved, That the Legislature supports the State Air Resources
8Board enhancing its penalty authority for cheating emissions tests
9to deter future efforts to circumvent emissions standards; and be
10it further

11Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit
12sufficient copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate
13distribution.



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