BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          ACR  
          160 (Hadley)


          As Introduced  March 30, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Transportation  |15-0 |Frazier, Linder,      |                    |
          |                |     |Baker, Bloom, Brown,  |                    |
          |                |     |Chu, Daly, Dodd,      |                    |
          |                |     |Gomez, Kim, Mathis,   |                    |
          |                |     |Medina, Melendez,     |                    |
          |                |     |Nazarian, O'Donnell   |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Encourages motorists to not idle their vehicles near  
          places where children congregate.  Specifically, this resolution  
          recounts the dangers of idling in the proximity of children,  
          including:


          1)Idling of motor vehicles contributes to global warming and is  
            linked to asthma, decreased lung function, cardiac disease,  
            cancer, and other serious health problems;








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          2)Children's lungs are still developing and are especially at  
            risk of developing health problems when they are exposed to  
            elevated levels of pollutants.  Monitoring at schools has  
            shown higher levels of benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde,  
            and other air toxics during the afternoon hour coinciding with  
            parents picking up their children;


          3)Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children, the  
            largest cause of school absences, and is the third leading  
            cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15  
            years;


          4)An idling car wastes about half a gallon of gasoline per hour,  
            and a gallon of burned fuel emits about 20 pounds of carbon  
            dioxide;


          5)One minute of idling puts more carbon monoxide into the air  
            than smoking three packs of cigarettes;


          6)Idling produces between 10% and 12% more emissions than  
            driving for the same amount of gas used due to incomplete  
            combustion and ineffective operation of the catalytic  
            converter;


          7)Idling motor vehicles emit particulate matter, nitrogen  
            dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide; and,


          8)On a daily basis, Americans may be burning as much as 3.8  
            million gallons of gasoline from voluntary idling, resulting  
            in about 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide.  Annually, the  
            cumulative effect is the useless burning of 1.4 billion  








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            gallons of gasoline and the emission of 13 million tons of  
            carbon dioxide.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)By way of regulation, prohibits school bus idling for any  
            amount of time at schools and within 100 feet of a school. 


          2)Sets forth minimum penalties for violating this regulation. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.


          COMMENTS:  In December 2002, the Air Resources Board adopted a  
          regulation to limit school bus idling and idling at schools in  
          order to reduce harmful exposure to diesel particulate matter  
          and other pollutants from school buses, school pupil activity  
          buses, youth buses, general paratransit vehicles, transit buses,  
          and heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles that operate at or near  
          schools.


          This regulation requires the driver of a school bus, school  
          pupil activity bus, youth bus, general paratransit vehicle,  
          transit bus, and a commercial motor vehicle to turn off the  
          engine upon arriving at a school and to restart it no more than  
          30 seconds before departing.  In addition, the regulation  
          requires a motor carrier of an affected bus or vehicle to ensure  
          that drivers are informed of the idling requirements, to track  
          complaints and enforcement actions regarding the requirements,  
          and to keep records of such driver education and tracking  
          activities.  Specific idling situations where health, safety, or  
          operational concerns take precedence are exempted from this  
          regulation.  For example, exemptions are provided for idling in  








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          the midst of traffic; to ascertain safe operating conditions of  
          a bus or vehicle; for test, service, repair, or diagnostic  
          purposes; to accomplish work, other than transportation, for  
          which a vehicle was designed (e.g., controlling cargo  
          temperature or operating a lift, drill, etc.); to operate  
          equipment needed by persons with disabilities and heaters or air  
          conditioners for special needs children; to operate defrosters  
          or other equipment to prevent a safety or health emergency; and  
          to recharge a hybrid electric bus or vehicle.  The minimum fine  
          for violating this regulation is $300.


          This resolution encourages all motorists not to idle their motor  
          vehicles near place where children gather.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093  FN:  
          0002763