BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1691
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|Author: |Gipson and Cristina Garcia |
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|Version: |5/12/2016 |Hearing |6/29/2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rebecca Newhouse |
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SUBJECT: Vehicular air pollution: vehicle retirement.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP),
which allows for the voluntary retirement of passenger
vehicles and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high
polluters and requires the program be administered by the
Bureau of Automotive Repair pursuant to guidelines adopted by
the California Air Resources Board (ARB). (Health and Safety
Code §44125)
2) Establishes the Charge Ahead Initiative administered by ARB
with the goals of reaching at least one million zero-emission
and near-zero-emission vehicles by January 1, 2023, and
increasing accessibility for disadvantaged, low-income, and
moderate-income communities. ARB is required to establish
programs that further increase access to and direct benefits
for disadvantaged, low-income, and moderate-income communities
and consumers from electric transportation. (HSC §44258 et
seq.)
3) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(also known as AB 32), requires ARB to determine the 1990
statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and approve a
statewide GHG emissions limit that is equivalent to that
level, to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt GHG emissions
reductions measures by regulation. ARB is authorized to
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include the use of market-based mechanisms to comply with
these regulations. (Health and Safety Code §38500 et seq.)
4) Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) in the
State Treasury, requires all moneys, except for fines and
penalties, collected pursuant to a market-based mechanism be
deposited in the fund. (Government Code §16428.8)
5) Prohibits the state from approving allocations for a measure
or program using GGRF moneys except after determining that the
use of those moneys furthers the regulatory purposes of AB 32,
and requires moneys from the GGRF be used to facilitate the
achievement of reductions of GHG emissions in California.
(HSC §39712)
This bill requires ARB to update the EFMP guidelines relative to
EFMP Plus-Up, no later than June 30, 2017 and effective until
July 1, 2022, to:
1)Require each air district with a backlog or wait list of
applicants to submit a plan to ARB with recommendations of how
to eliminate the backlog.
2)Require each air district to take steps to help prevent program
abuse, including, but not limited to, randomly verifying income
eligibility and contacting program participants at least once
after their vehicles are replaced.
3)Require each air district to partner with, and allocate a
minimum amount of outreach funds for community-based
organizations to help ensure program accessibility for the
lowest income DACs in the state. Requires each district to
report to ARB every six months on outreach and partnerships.
4)Require each air district to enhance its pre-screening of
applicants, if determined by ARB to be appropriate.
5)Require each air district to prioritize retirement of vehicles
that are 15 years or older and with more than 75,000 miles.
Background
1) Air pollution in California and the transportation sector. The
federal Clean Air Act, and its implementing regulations are
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intended to protect public health and environmental quality by
limiting and reducing pollution from various sources. Under
the federal Clean Air Act, US EPA establishes National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that apply for outdoor air
throughout the country. These federal standards exist for
several air pollutants due to their negative impact on public
health above specified concentrations, including ozone,
particulate matter (PM), NOx, oxides of sulfur (SOx), carbon
monoxide, and lead. US EPA reviews each NAAQS at five-year
intervals to ensure that the standards are based on the most
recent scientific information.
Regions that do not meet the national standards for any one of
the standards are designated nonattainment areas. The Clean
Air Act sets deadlines for attainment based on the severity of
nonattainment and requires states to develop comprehensive
plans, known as the state implementation plan (SIP), to attain
and maintain air quality standards for each area designated
nonattainment for an NAAQS.
California has some of the most severe air pollution problems
in the country. The South Coast and San Joaquin air basins,
which contain over half of the state's population, are extreme
nonattainment regions (the highest degree of severity) for
ozone pollution and are both nonattainment regions for
particulate matter (PM).
Ground level ozone (or tropospheric ozone) is a primary
component of smog and is formed from the reaction of NOx with
volatile organic compounds in sunlight. Ozone has a number of
negative health effects including irritated respiratory
system, reduced lung function, aggravated asthma and
inflammation and damage of the lining of the lung. Active
children are at highest risk from ozone exposure.
PM can be directly emitted from combustion or can be formed in
the atmosphere when gaseous pollutants such as SO2 and NOx
react to form fine particles. Very fine particulate matter is
particularly dangerous since it burrows deep into the lungs
where it can enter the bloodstream and harm the heart and
other organs. Fine particulate pollution poses an especially
critical health danger for children, the elderly, and people
with existing health problems. Exposure to PM 2.5 is also
linked to cardiovascular disease. A 2010 ARB analysis based
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on scientific assessments by US EPA, reported that
approximately 9,000 people in California are estimated to die
prematurely each year as a result of exposure to fine particle
pollution.
Nationally and statewide, the transportation sector is
responsible for a major fraction of air pollution, and in
particular NOx, which contributes to both ozone and PM
formation. Across the US, motor vehicles emit more than half
of all NOx emissions. In California, the transportation
sector accounts for approximately 80% of the NOx emissions,
and according to ARB, 75% of vehicular air pollution in the
state is caused by just 25% of the fleet.
2) Car scrap program. The Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) was
created to encourage voluntary accelerated vehicle retirement
("car scrap") which provides a monetary incentives to vehicle
owners to retire older, high-polluting vehicles. Under this
program owners who scrap their vehicles are given $1,000
($1,500 for low income consumers) for vehicles that have
failed their last smog test.
3) EFMP and EFMP Plus-Up. Existing state law establishes the
Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP), administered by
the ARB and BAR. EFMP provides for the voluntary retirement
of passenger vehicles and light- and medium-duty trucks that
are high polluters. Unlike CAP, EFMP allows vehicles to be
retired without first having to fail a smog test, and offers a
$1,000 voucher ($1,500 for low-income owners) to retire a
high-polluting vehicle.
EFMP includes a vehicle replacement component, now known as
EFMP Plus-Up, which is operated by the San Joaquin and South
Coast air districts in partnership with ARB (both designated
extreme non-attainment areas for ozone). Under EFMP Plus-Up,
a low-income owner who lives in one of these districts can get
a $2,500 "replacement" voucher in addition to the $1,500 base
EFMP "retirement" voucher. The owner may use the funds to
either purchase a car that is less than eight years old, or to
obtain a public transit voucher. If a low-income owner lives
within a disadvantaged community in one of these air
districts, and wants to purchase a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or
battery electric vehicle, he or she can "stack" additional
incentives on top of these two vouchers. While the program
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allows individuals to trade in their high-polluting cars for
cleaner gas-powered cars, greater incentives are provided if
the individual opts to purchase a hybrid, hybrid-electric, or
fully electric vehicle. Depending on income and the type of
replacement vehicle, the owner can get up to $12,000 total
toward the purchase of a new car.
Funding. EFMP is funded through vehicle surcharges, whereas
EFMP Plus-Up has been funded through GGRF moneys. For
2015-16, funding for EFMP and EFMP Plus-Up is around $12.8
million which ARB estimates will provide incentives for about
1,500 vehicles. In the 2016-17 fiscal year, proposed funding
for both programs totals $37.4 million (of which $30 million
is Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund), and would provide
incentives for about 4,500 vehicles.
EFMP Plus-Up pilot program was funded in FY 2015-16 with
$20million from GGRF. The 2016-17 FY investment plan for
ARB's low carbon transportation investments proposes $30
million from GGRF.
Implementing EFMP Plus-Up. EFMP Plus-Up has been particularly
successful in the San Joaquin Valley, resulting in the
retirement of 292 high-polluting vehicles in the first six
months of the program. The San Joaquin Valley program uses
"grass roots" advertising and outreach to invite low- and
moderate-income vehicle owners to participate in "events"
where they can get a free smog test and undergo pre-screening
to determine whether they are eligible for various incentives.
The South Coast program uses more traditional outreach tools
such as flyers, billboards, and websites. While the South
Coast program is also successful, with a long wait list, it
does not necessarily provide the pre-screening that would
enable staff to prioritize applications for the oldest,
highest polluting cars.
Comments
1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "AB 1691 has been
introduced to help encourage the most efficient use of EFMP
funds within the Plus-Up program, to encourage the replacement
of the oldest and dirtiest cars from California roadways, and
to help the lowest-income individuals and households access
the EFMP programs. To accomplish this, this bill would
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require ARB to update EFMP guidelines by June 30, 2017, to
ensure that districts implementing the program have strategies
in place to eliminate backlogs and waiting lists.
Additionally, this bill would also call upon ARB to ensure the
programs are not misused by requiring income eligibility
verification and follow up with participants. AB 1691 also
calls upon ARB to continuously evaluate the program to
determine where program enhancements might be made."
2) South Coast Air Quality Management District suggested
amendments. The South Coast air district has taken a "support
with amendments" position on this bill. South Coast states
that it does not anticipate having a wait list beyond fiscal
year 2016-17, but also states that clearing the backlog is
partly dependent on state funding levels for EFMP and EFMP
Plus-Up. South Coast asks for amendments to allow a district
to provide backlog information in its quarterly report instead
of requiring a formal plan to ARB. South Coast also requests
amendments to help ensure that the programs are available in
areas of extreme non-attainment; make the vehicle replacement
component available in all districts containing disadvantaged
communities; increase outreach funding; and allocate funding
in equal levels to EFMP and EFMP Plus-Up.
Several of SCAQMD's requested amendments may be partially
addressed in another measure this year, AB 1965 (Cooper),
including expansion of the program to other local air
districts containing disadvantaged communities, and additional
emphasis on funding for outreach.
3) Combining efforts. The Committee will be hearing AB 1965
(Cooper) which also directs ARB to update their EFMP
guidelines, relative to the EFMP Plus-Up program, and requires
the update by July 1, 2018. Specifically, AB 1965 expands the
EFMP Plus-Up program to additional local air districts.
AB 1691 (Gipson), the subject of this analysis, directs ARB to
update their guidelines by June 30, 2017, to reduce and
eliminate backlogs and waitlists for the EFMP Plus-Up program,
and prioritize older, higher-polluting for incentives.
Although the bills are not necessarily conflicting, they
establish different timelines for when these updates to the
EFMP guidelines relative to the EFMP Plus-Up program are
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required. As updating guidelines pursuant to the
Administrative Procedures Act is a time consuming process, and
could result in significant administrative expense, the
authors of these measures may wish to combine efforts going
forward to either consolidate both measures into a single
bill, or, at a minimum, make the dates by which guidelines are
required to be updated consistent.
Due to the timing issues associated with updating the
guidelines, and to make the bill more consistent with AB 1965
(Cooper), an amendment is needed to change the date by which
the guidelines are required to be updated to July 1, 2018.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1965 (Cooper) requires ARB to expand EFMP, relative to EFMP
Plus-Up, in disadvantaged communities and in areas with poor air
quality. This bill will also be heard by this committee today.
SB 1275 (de León, Chapter 530, Statutes of 2014) established the
Charge Ahead Initiative, to provide incentives to increase the
availability of zero-emission vehicles and near-zero-emission
vehicles, particularly to low-income and moderate-income
consumers and disadvantaged communities.
SB 459 (Pavley, Chapter 437, Statutes of 2013) required ARB to
update the EFMP guidelines by June 30, 2015 to, among other
things, focus program assistance on lower-income vehicle owners.
DOUBLE REFERRAL:
This measure was heard in Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee on June 21, 2016, and passed out of committee with a
vote of 7-0.
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT: South Coast Air Quality Management District
OPPOSITION: None received
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