BILL ANALYSIS
SB 535
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 15, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 535 (Yee) - As Amended: July 6, 2009
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:9-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill allows certain highly fuel-efficient vehicles to
travel in high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes without the
required number of passengers, beginning in 2011. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the DMV, upon request and payment of the required
fee, to issue distinctive decals to the owners of vehicles
meeting the state's enhanced advanced technology partial
zero-emission vehicle (enhanced AT PZEV) standard that have a
65 miles per gallon or greater combined fuel economy rating.
The total number of such stickers is limited to 65,000.
2)Allows vehicles displaying these stickers to travel in HOV
lanes, regardless of whether they meet the lanes' occupancy
requirements, but does not exempt such single-occupant
vehicles from tolls in high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to be
operated on State Routes 10 and 110 by the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority under a congestion
pricing pilot program authorized in current law.
3)Makes the above effective from January 1, 2011 until the
earlier of January 1, 2015 or at any time that the Secretary
of State receives notice from Caltrans that federal law does
not authorize HOV lane access for single-occupant vehicles
with such stickers.
4)Extends the January 1, 2011 sunset for current HOV lane
privileges for vehicles that meet the state's super ultra-low
emission vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and
the federal inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative
SB 535
Page 2
emission standard until the Secretary of State receives the
same notice as in (3).
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor costs to the DMV to issue decals up to the authorized
limit, fully offset by fees charged to vehicle owners.
COMMENTS
1)Background . An HOV lane, commonly referred to as a "carpool"
or "diamond" lane, is part of a traffic management strategy
designed to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles
during peak periods of traffic congestion. These lanes are
intended to provide an incentive for commuters to form
carpools by offering reduced travel times. AB 71
(Cunneen)/Chapter 330 of 1999, extended to certain "Clean Air"
vehicles the privilege of using HOV lanes even when required
occupancy levels are not met. Vehicles meeting AB 71's
standard are generally limited to battery-powered vehicles and
those operating on compressed natural gas, neither of which is
especially prevalent in California's vehicle fleet.
AB 2628 (Pavley)/Chapter 725 of 2004, extended the Clean Air
provisions of AB 71 to hybrid vehicles that achieve 45 miles
per gallon fuel economy. Since allowing large numbers of
hybrids into HOV lanes would reduce the effectiveness of the
lanes, AB 2628 limited the aggregate number of stickers for
hybrids to 75,000 and allowed Caltrans to suspend HOV lane
privileges for hybrids on any particular lane that reaches a
specified level of congestion. AB 2600 (Lieu)/Chapter 614 of
2006, increased the limit on hybrid stickers to 85,000 and
extended AB 2628's 2008 sunset date to 2011. (The DMV reached
the 85,000 sticker cap for hybrids in February 2007 and is no
longer issuing new hybrid stickers.)
In June of 2007, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
requested Caltrans to submit a plan to address "HOV lane
degradation" on California freeways. Caltrans' analysis had
indicated that 54% of its HOV lanes had experienced such
degradation-i.e. the lane does not maintain 45 mph or greater
operating speed during peak commute hours for 90% or more of
180 consecutive workdays. Recognizing that one component of
HOV lane congestion may be the presence of hybrid vehicles,
one of the options that Caltrans is considering is banning
SB 535
Page 3
hybrids in certain HOV lanes, as it is already authorized to
do. Furthermore, absent action by Congress, the current
federal authorization for non-HOVs operating in HOV lanes with
Clean Air stickers is due to expire on September 30 of this
year. (Recently-introduced legislation would extend the
expiration to 2015.)
2)Purpose . This bill allows the DMV to issue up to 65,000 Clean
Air stickers to "enhanced AT-PZEV" vehicles that achieve a
combined fuel economy rating of 65 MPG-commencing on the
January 1, 2011 sunset of the existing authorization for
85,000 fuel-efficient hybrids to operate in HOV lanes.
According to the author, at least five new vehicles meeting
this bill's standard are poised to enter the market: the Chevy
Volt, Fisker Karma, and Chrysler ReEV "range extended electric
vehicles" and the Ford Escape and Toyota Prius plug-in
hybrids. Given the potential for such vehicles to reduce oil
dependency, reduce air pollution and counter the emission of
greenhouse gasses, the author believes the granting of HOV
lanes privileges is an appropriate incentive to potential
buyers of such vehicles.
3)Related Legislation . AB 1500 (Lieu), pending in Senate
Appropriations, extends, until January 1, 2016, the sunset
date for SULEV and ILEV vehicles to use HOV lane without the
required number of passengers.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081