BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 513
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 513
(Beall) - As Amended August 17, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill makes numerous modifications to the Carl Moyer
Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program and local air
district AB 923 incentive programs. Specifically, this bill:
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1)Clarifies that local air districts can continue to levy AB 923
program fees, even after they come into compliance with
National and California Ambient Air Quality Standards
(attainment), in order to maintain compliance with the
standards.
2)Specifies that repowering of school buses and alternative fuel
and electric infrastructure are eligible AB 923 projects.
3)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), in collaboration with
the air districts, to adjust, as specified, the
cost-effectiveness formula used to evaluate project proposals
under the Moyer Program.
4)Allows for leveraging of Moyer Program funds with other public
funding sources, including the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
(GGRF).
5)Recognizes greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, so that funded
projects can achieve both criteria pollutant and GHG emissions
reductions.
6)Allows the ARB to determine additional project categories
under the Moyer Program as necessary to meet state air quality
goals and allows funding for infrastructure projects and
certain additional marine projects.
7)Streamlines and updates program administrative requirements,
and increases the statutory cap on administrative and outreach
expenditures (as a percentage of total program expenditures)
by the ARB and local districts; generally a 0.5% increase for
the ARB and increases of 1.25% for larger districts and 2.5%
for smaller districts.
FISCAL EFFECT:
The Carl Moyer Program is funded through a portion of the smog
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abatement fee included in the annual registration of newer
vehicles ($6) and through a fee on the sale of new tires ($0.75)
that together generate about $69 million annually. ARB disburses
these funds to the local air districts, who implement the
programs in their local jurisdictions.
The AB 923 program is funded from a $2 surcharge on vehicle
registration fees in areas where a local air district's board
has approved the collection of these funds. Currently, 19 of the
states 35 air districts collect these funds, which total about
$50 million annually statewide.
This bill will create unknown, but potentially significant cost
pressures by expanding eligible uses of the funds generated by
both programs. There will also be additional cost pressure on
the GGRF for projects that seek funding from both the GGRF and
the Moyer Program.
The ARB indicates that it will not require additional
administrative resources to implement the provisions of this
bill. The increase in the cap on administrative costs will allow
ARB to spend an additional $350,000 on administration and
$350,000 on outreach annually from current program revenues. The
local districts together would be allowed to spend at least an
additional $860,000 from current Moyer Program revenues on
administration. For the AB 923 program, local districts
together would be allowed to spend an additional $625,000 from
current program revenues on administration annually.
COMMENTS:
Background and Purpose. The Moyer Program, enacted in 1999 and
administered by the ARB and local air districts, funds the
incremental cost of cleaner-than-required vehicles, engines, and
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equipment. The primary objective of the program, which provides
grants through the state's 35 air districts, is to achieve air
quality emission reductions that would not otherwise occur
through regulations or other legal mandates. The Moyer Program
was expanded by AB 923 (Firebaugh), Chapter 707, Statutes of
2004 which authorized an increase in the surcharge local air
districts are allowed to levy on motor vehicle registrations
within their jurisdictions from $4 to $6, expanded the types of
emissions covered by the Moyer Program and increased the tire
fee by $0.75 to fund programs under ARB and local air districts
to mitigate or remediate air pollution caused by tires.
AB 8 (Perea) Chapter 401, Statutes of 2013 extended, until
January 1, 2024, the assessment of the higher tire fee and the
ability of locals to assess the vehicle registration surcharge.
AB 8 also required ARB to convene a workgroup to evaluate the
program. The workgroup identified a number of program
improvements, and many were addressed by ARB in 2014 through
updates to the Moyer Program Guidelines. SB 513 encompasses
recommendations from the work group that require statutory
changes. Specifically, SB 513, in part, clarifies that local air
districts can continue to levy program fees even after they
achieve attainment, makes adjustments to cost-effectiveness
calculations to incentivize the statewide deployment of cleaner
technologies, encourages leveraging of other public funding
sources, recognizes GHG reductions so that funded projects can
achieve both criteria pollutant and GHG emissions reductions,
and streamlines program administration.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 513
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