BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1176
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1176 (Perea)
As Amended June 1, 2015
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Transportation |15-1 |Frazier, Achadjian, |Baker |
| | |Bloom, Chu, Daly, | |
| | |Dodd, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Kim, Linder, | |
| | |Medina, Melendez, | |
| | |Nazarian, O'Donnell, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |13-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
AB 1176
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SUMMARY: Creates the Advanced Low-Carbon Diesel Fuels Access
Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission (Commission) to fund advanced
low-carbon diesel fueling infrastructure projects in disadvantaged
communities. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes declarations regarding the disproportional air quality
impacts experienced by disadvantaged communities as a result of
heavy freight traffic moving along major transportation
corridors; and states the Legislature's intent to direct
resources toward those communities to provide economic and
health benefits.
2)Defines a variety of terms.
3)Creates the Advanced Low-Carbon Diesel Fuels Access Program
(Program) to be administered by the Commission, in consultation
with the Air Resources Board (ARB) to reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions of diesel motor vehicles by providing funding
assistance for projects that expand advanced low-carbon diesel
fueling infrastructure in disadvantaged communities.
4)Provides that the Program be funded from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund (GGRF), established by AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter
488, Statutes of 2006, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
5)Requires the Commission, on or before March 1, 2016, to complete
the following:
a) Develop implementation guidelines for the Program that
AB 1176
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ensure focus on communities with the greatest impact from
vehicular air pollution; and,
b) Select the disadvantaged communities to receive Program
funds, in consultation with the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA).
6)Requires that the Commission give priority to projects that
provide quantifiable benefits to disadvantaged communities,
demonstrate co- or multi-benefits, leverage additional monies,
provide immediate benefits, and include marketing, education and
outreach strategies designed to increase effectiveness.
7)Prohibits the Program from being used to fund projects
undertaken pursuant to state, federal, or local laws.
8)Authorizes the Commission to reprioritize Alternative and
Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) contracts
and extend them by two years if Program requirements are met and
if the project directly benefits disadvantaged communities or is
located within a disadvantaged community.
9)Makes related, technical amendments.
10)Includes an urgency clause.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, ongoing CEC administrative costs of around $400,000 for
three positions to drafting program guidelines, implementing a
rulemaking, reviewing, awarding and monitoring grants, and working
with grantees and recipient communities.
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COMMENTS: Approximately 40% of emissions generated in California
can be attributed to the transportation sector. As a result,
California is making a concerted effort to increase the use of
alternative fuels to help reduce GHG emissions and other toxic air
pollutants associated with conventional petroleum-based fuels. A
number of legislative measures and regulations have targeted at
increasing the use of renewable fuels including. Specifically, AB
1007 (Pavley), Chapter 371, Statutes of 2005, required ARB and the
Commission to develop a plan to increase alternative fuels use in
California and AB 118 (Núñez), Chapter 750, Statutes of 2007,
established the Air Quality Improvement program, administered by
ARB in consultation with local air districts, to provide
competitive grants to fund air quality improvement projects such
as the development and deployment of alternative and renewable
fuels and advanced transportation technologies.
The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), administered by ARB,
established in 2007 through Exectuive Order S-01-07, uses a
market-based, cap and trade, approach to lowering the GHG
emissions from petroleum-based transportation fuels. The LCFS
requires producers of petroleum-based fuels to reduce the carbon
intensity of their products beginning with a 0.25% in 2011 and
culminating in a 10% reduction in 2020. Petroleum importers,
refiners, and wholesalers can either develop their own low carbon
fuel products or buy LCFS credits from other companies that
develop and sell low carbon fuel alternative fuels, such as
biofuels, electricity, natural gas, and hydrogen.
According to the author, the top 25% of disadvantaged communities
are located in the San Joaquin Valley and these communities suffer
from some of the poorest air quality in the state, oftentimes as a
direct result of heavy freight traffic that moves along the nearby
Interstate-5 (I-5) and State Route (SR) 99 corridors. The author
also points out that other disadvantaged communities experiencing
poor air quality as a result of freight movement also lie along
the I-710 and SR 60 corridors near the Ports of Los Angeles and
Long Beach.
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The author believes that these communities could realize
immediate, significant reductions in GHG and criteria pollutant
emissions if the vehicles using these freight corridors had ready
access to low-carbon fueling infrastructure. The sponsor of this
bill, Propel Fuels, indicates that many low-carbon fuel options
are available to consumers, often at lower price points than
conventional diesel, but due to lack of available alternative
fueling infrastructure, these low-carbon diesel options are
underutilized. The sponsor contends that the only thing holding
back widespread use of low-carbon diesel is lack of available
infrastructure. Specifically, he contends that once low-carbon
fuel use is more widespread, there will be immediate GHG
reductions and commensurate air quality benefits. To substantiate
this contention, the sponsor points to studies showing that
renewable diesel can achieve up to 70% GHG reductions when
compared to conventional diesel use.
To make these low-carbon fuels more readily available along key
freight corridors in and near disadvantaged communities, the
author has introduced this bill which would create a program to
fund the installation of low-carbon fueling stations.
Specifically, low-carbon diesel fueling infrastructure would be
located in disadvantaged communities that are disproportionately
impacted by poor air quality, selected using the CalEnviroScreen
census tract information created by CalEPA pursuant to SB 535 (De
León), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012. The alternative fueling
stations would be located near conventional fueling stations and
be available to the public.
Despite being less costly and resulting in fewer emissions, the
sponsor contends that low-carbon diesel is not widely available to
consumers because existing fueling stations are under long-term
contracts with fuel producers to dispense conventional, contracted
fuels and these products utilize all of the station's fueling
storage and dispensing infrastructure (tanks and dispensing
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facilities). The sponsor notes that these contractual
arrangements have made it difficult for low-carbon fuels to "break
into" the conventional fueling marketplace.
The Advanced Low-Carbon Diesel Fuels Access Program, created by
this bill, would provide funding to allow for the installation of
alternative low-carbon fueling infrastructure (tanks, pumps, fuel
lines, etc.) at or near conventional fueling stations along major
freight corridors thereby increasing consumer options for its use.
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0000707