BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1527|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1527
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 7/23/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SEN. TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 7/7/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/13/09
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Ashburn, Corbett, Hancock,
Lowenthal, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 6/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Motor vehicle emission reduction projects
SOURCE : CalStart
DIGEST : This bill requires the Air Resources Board to
revise project guidelines for specified emission reduction
programs by January 1, 2011 to allow certain federal and
state funds to be used on a project without being factored
into criteria emission reduction cost-effectiveness
calculations.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Under the Carl Moyer Air Quality Standards Attainment
Program (Carl Moyer Program):
A. Provides grants to offset the incremental cost of
projects that reduce covered emissions from covered
sources in the state, and eligible projects include
new very low or zero-emission covered vehicles or
covered heavy-duty engines, emission-reducing
retrofit of covered engines, purchase and use of
emission-reducing add-on equipment, development and
demonstration of low-emission retrofit technologies
and repower options, and light- and medium-duty
vehicle projects.
B. Until January 1, 2015, prohibits project grants
with a cost-effectiveness value of more than $13,600
per ton of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) reduced in the
state. One and after January 1, 2015, project grants
are prohibited with a cost-effectiveness value of
more than $12,000 per ton of NOx reduced in the
state.
C. Defines "cost effectiveness" to mean the dollars
provided to a project for each ton of covered
emission reduction attributed to a project, and
provides that the cost of covered emission reductions
is the amount of the program grant, including certain
matching funds, plus any other state funds, or funds
under an air pollution control district's control,
provided toward the project.
2.Under the Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program
(GMERP) Law:
A. Projects eligible for funding include replacement,
repower, or retrofit of heavy-duty diesel trucks,
diesel locomotive engines, harbor craft, and cargo
handling equipment; on-shore electrical power; mobile
or portable shoreshide distributed power generation;
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and infrastructure electrification to reduce engine
idling.
B. Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to consider
certain criteria in evaluating projects (e.g.,
emission reduction magnitude; public health benefits;
cost-effectiveness; reduction in greenhouse gases
(GHG); degree to which funds are leveraged from other
sources; total emission reductions a project would
achieve over its lifetime per state dollar invested).
3.Under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program Law:
A. Requires the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission (CEC) to provide
competitive grants, revolving loans, loan guarantees,
or loans to certain interests (e.g., public agencies,
businesses, fleet owners, consumers) to develop and
deploy innovative technologies that change the
state's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the
state's climate change policies.
B. Requires the CEC to provide preferences to those
projects maximizing the program goals based on a
certain project criteria (e.g., consistency with
climate change policy, ability to reduce criteria air
pollutants and air toxics, provide nonstate matching
funds).
This bill:
1.Requires the ARB to revise project guidelines by January
1, 2011, to allow funds from the following programs or
funding sources to be used for a project also funded
under the Carl Moyer Program or the GMERP Law without
those additional funds being factored into the criteria
emission reduction cost-effectiveness calculations under
either of those programs:
A. Federal funding from programs designated to reduce
GHG emissions.
B. Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
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Technology Program Law.
2.Provides that nothing in the above provision:
A. Authorizes expenditure of funds for a project that
does not meet all of the requirements of the
Vehicular Air Pollution Control Law, including
requirements that require cost sharing or matching
funds.
B. Applies if the additional expenditure would not
provide an incremental air quality or GHG emission
benefit greater than what would otherwise be achieved
by the program. Also, ARB cannot exclude funds from
the cost-effectiveness calculation pursuant to the
above provision if it would reduce emission reduction
benefits expected to be achieved from the Carl Moyer
Program, the GMERP, the Alternative and Renewable
Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, or federal GHG
emission reduction programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
ARB regulations $170 $170
Special/
Bond*
*Split between the GMERP bond funds from the California
Ports
Infrastructure, Security, and Air Quality Improvement
Account
(Proposition 1B, and Carl Moyer Program funds.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/09)
CalStart (source)
Azure Dynamics
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California Dump Truck Owners Association
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition
Clean Energy
Sempra Energy
Waste Management
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"AB 1527 is designed to promote better coordination between
state funding programs for clean transportation. The bill
would allow federal and AB 118 funds to be paired with Carl
Moyer or Proposition 1B funds to 'upgrade' projects to
achieve even greater air quality benefits and greenhouse
gas emission reductions. Current guidelines make this
difficult or impossible. While ARB staff has recommended
amending guidelines for Prop. 1B to allow for limited
co-funding, these new guidelines have not yet been adopted
and do not apply to Carl Moyer."
The author's office also notes that "If the funds can be
combined, there is an incentive to 'upgrade' to a more
advanced vehicle technology that provides additional
benefits, in the form of petroleum and GHG emissions
reduction."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan,
Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Block, Duvall
JJA:cm 8/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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