California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1851

Introduced by Assembly Members Gray and Ting

February 10, 2016

An act to amend Section 44274 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vehicular air pollution.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1851, as introduced, Gray. Air Quality Improvement Program.

Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program that is administered by the State Air Resources Board for the purposes of funding projects related to, among other things, reduction of criteria air pollutants and improvement of air quality. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2024, that a portion of the registration fees for motor vehicles and vessels be deposited into the Air Quality Improvement Fund and, upon appropriation, be expended for the implementation of the program.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 44274 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

44274.  

(a) The Air Quality Improvement Program is hereby
created. The program shall be administered by the state board, in
consultation with the districts. The state board shall develop
guidelines to implement the program. Prior to the adoption of the
guidelines, the state board shall hold at least one public hearing.
In addition, the state board shall hold at least three public
workshops with at least one workshop in northern California, one
in the central valley, and one in southern California. The purpose
of the program shall be to fund, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, air quality improvement projects relating to fuel and
vehicle technologies. The primary purpose of the program shall
be to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants, improve air
quality, and provide funding for research to determine and improve
the air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuels and
vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies.

(b) The state board shall provide preference in awarding funding
to those projects with higher benefit-cost scores that maximize the
purposes and goals of the Air Quality Improvement Program. The
state board also may give additional preference based on the
following criteria, as applicable, in funding awards to projects:

(1) Proposed or potential reduction of criteria or toxic air
pollutants.

(2) Contribution to regional air quality improvement.

(3) Ability to promote the use of clean alternative fuels and
vehicle technologies as determined by the state board, in
coordination with the commission.

(4) Ability to achieve climate change benefits in addition to
criteria pollutant or air toxic emissions reductions.

(5) Ability to support market transformation of California’s
vehicle or equipment fleet to utilize low carbon or zero-emission
technologies.

(6) Ability to leverage private capital investments.

(c) The program shall be limited to competitive grants, revolving
loans, loan guarantees, loans, and other appropriate funding
measures that further the purposes of the program. Projects to be
funded shall include only the following:

(1) Onroad and off-road equipment projects that are cost
effective.

(2) Projects that provide mitigation for off-road gasoline exhaust
and evaporative emissions.

(3) Projects that provide research to determine the air quality
impacts of alternative fuels and projects that study the life-cycle
impacts of alternative fuels and conventional fuels, the emissions
of biofuel and advanced reformulated gasoline blends, and air
pollution improvements and control technologies for use with
alternative fuels and vehicles.

(4) Projects that augment the University of California’s
agricultural experiment station and cooperative extension programs
for research to increase sustainable biofuels production and
improve the collection of biomass feedstock.

(5) Incentives for small off-road equipment replacement to
encourage consumers to replace internal combustion engine lawn
and garden equipment.

(6) Incentives for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and
equipment mitigation, including all of the following:

(A) Lower emission schoolbus programs.

(B) Electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid onroad and off-road
medium- and heavy-duty equipment.

(C) Regional air quality improvement and attainment programs
implemented by the state or districts in the most impacted regions
of the state.

(7) Workforce training initiatives related to advanced energy
technology designed to reduce air pollution, including
state-of-the-art equipment and goods, and new processes and
systems. Workforce training initiatives funded shall be broad-based
partnerships that leverage other public and private job training
programs and resources. These partnerships may include, begin delete though end delete
begin insert but end insert are not limited to, employers, labor unions, labor-management
partnerships, community organizations, workforce investment
boards, postsecondary education providers including community
colleges, and economic development agencies.

(8) Incentives to identify and reduce emissions from
high-emitting light-duty vehicles.

(d) (1) Beginning January 1, 2011, the state board shall submit
to the Legislature a biennial report to evaluate the implementation
of the Air Quality Improvement Program established pursuant to
this chapter.

(2) The report shall include all of the following:

(A) A list of projects funded by the Air Quality Improvement
Account.

(B) The expected benefits of the projects in promoting clean,
alternative fuels and vehicle technologies.

(C)  begin delete Improvement end delete begin insert The improvement end insert in air quality and public
health, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and the progress
made toward achieving these benefits.

(D) The impact of the projects in making progress toward begin insert the end insert
attainment of state and federal air quality standards.

(E) Recommendations for future actions.

(3) The state board may include the information required to be
reported pursuant to paragraph (1) in an existing report to the
Legislature as the state board deems appropriate.