Senate BillNo. 39


Introduced by Senator Pavley

December 1, 2014


An act to amend Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 39, as introduced, Pavley. Vehicles: high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

Existing federal law, until September 30, 2017, authorizes a state to allow specified labeled vehicles to use lanes designated for high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs).

Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of HOVs. Under existing law, until January 1, 2019, or until federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, those lanes may be used by certain vehicles not carrying the requisite number of passengers otherwise required for the use of an HOV lane, if the vehicle displays a valid identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Until January 1, 2015, existing law authorizes the DMV to issue no more than 55,000 of those identifiers. On and after January 1, 2015, existing law authorizes the DMV to issue no more than 70,000 of those identifiers.

This bill would increase the number of those identifiers that the DMV is authorized to issue to an unspecified amount.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

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SECTION 1.  

Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code is amended
2to read:

3

5205.5.  

(a) For purposes of implementing Section 21655.9,
4the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee
5determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the
6department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section,
7distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly
8distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles:

9(1) A vehicle that meets California’s super ultra-low emission
10vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal
11inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission
12standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section
1388.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

14(2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or
15earlier and meets California’s ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV)
16standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard.

17(3) A vehicle that meets California’s enhanced advanced
18technology partial zero-emission vehicle (enhanced AT PZEV)
19standard or transitional zero-emission vehicle (TZEV) standard.

20(b) The department shall include a summary of the provisions
21of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice,
22or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can
23be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs.

24(c) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual
25HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak
26congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a),
27following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows:

28(1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C,
29as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government
30Code.

31(2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles
32described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will
33significantly increase congestion.

34(3) The finding shall also demonstrate the infeasibility of
35alleviating the congestion by other means, including, but not
36limited to, reducing the use of the lane by noneligible vehicles or
37further increasing vehicle occupancy.

P3    1(d) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain
2a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs
3described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to
4the department.

5(e) (1) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the
6California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation
7with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify
8the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle.
9Each decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall
10display a unique number, which number shall be printed on, or
11affixed to, the vehicle registration.

12(2) Decals, labels, or other identifiers designed pursuant to this
13subdivision for a vehicle described in paragraph (3) of subdivision
14(a) shall be distinguishable from the decals, labels, or other
15identifiers that are designed for vehicles described in paragraphs
16(1) and (2) of subdivision (a).

17(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of
18paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the department shall issue no
19more thanbegin delete 70,000end deletebegin insert _____end insert distinctive decals, labels, or other
20identifiers that clearly distinguish a vehicle specified in paragraph
21(3) of subdivision (a).

22(2) The department may issue a decal, label, or other identifier
23for a vehicle that satisfies all of the following conditions:

24(A) The vehicle is of a type identified in paragraph (3) of
25subdivision (a).

26(B) The owner of the vehicle is the owner of a vehicle for which
27a decal, label, or other identifier described in paragraph (1) was
28previously issued and that vehicle for which the decal, label, or
29 other identifier was previously issued is determined by the
30department, on the basis of satisfactory proof submitted by the
31owner to the department, to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total
32loss salvage vehicle.

33(C) The owner of the vehicle applied for a decal, label, or other
34identifier pursuant to this paragraph within six months of the date
35on which the vehicle for which a decal, label, or other identifier
36was previously issued is declared to be a nonrepairable vehicle or
37a total loss salvage vehicle.

38(g) If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving as
39the Bay Area Toll Authority, grants toll-free and reduced-rate
40passage on toll bridges under its jurisdiction to a vehicle pursuant
P4    1to Section 30102.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, it shall also
2grant the same toll-free and reduced-rate passage to a vehicle
3displaying an identifier issued by the department pursuant to
4paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a).

5(h) (1) Notwithstanding Section 21655.9, and except as
6provided in paragraph (2), a vehicle described in subdivision (a)
7that displays a decal, label, or identifier issued pursuant to this
8section shall be granted a toll-free or reduced-rate passage in
9high-occupancy toll lanes as described in Section 149.7 of the
10Streets and Highways Code unless prohibited by federal law.

11(2) (A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll
12imposed for passage on a toll road or toll highway, that is not a
13high-occupancy toll lane as described in Section 149.7 of the
14Streets and Highways Code.

15(B) On or before March 1, 2014, paragraph (1) does not apply
16to the imposition of a toll imposed for passage in lanes designated
17for tolls pursuant to the federally supported value pricing and
18transit development demonstration program operated pursuant to
19Section 149.9 of the Streets and Highways Code for State Highway
20Route 10 or 110.

21(C) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll
22charged for crossing a state-owned bridge.

23(i) If the Director of Transportation determines that federal law
24does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by
25distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles described
26in subdivision (a) to use highway lanes or highway access ramps
27for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the
28Director of Transportation shall submit a notice of that
29determination to the Secretary of State.

30(j) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2019,
31or the date the federal authorization pursuant to Section 166 of
32Title 23 of the United States Code expires, or the date the Secretary
33of State receives the notice described in subdivision (i), whichever
34occurs first, and, as of January 1, 2019, is repealed, unless a later
35enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1,
362019, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative
37and is repealed.

38

SEC. 2.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
39immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
P5    1the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
2immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

3In order to ensure, at the earliest possible time, that new owners
4of certain qualifying clean alternative fuel vehicles will be eligible
5for participation in the program, and to provide long-term
6incentives for consumers of clean alternative fuel vehicles, it is
7necessary that this act take effect immediately.



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