BILL NUMBER: SB 1299	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lowenthal

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 42280) to
Division 18 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1299, as introduced, Lowenthal. Vehicles: vehicle miles
traveled fee (VMT).
   Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles and the
Department of the California Highway Patrol to each shall file, at
least monthly with the Controller, a report of money received by the
department covering all fees for applications accepted by the
department and all other moneys received by the Department of Motor
Vehicles under the Vehicle Code and, at the same time, to remit all
money so reported to the Treasurer.
   Existing law requires, not later than January 10 of each 4-year
period after January 10, 1985, the Secretary of the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency to submit a report to the
Legislature on a study of the fees imposed under the Vehicle Code,
including any finding or recommendation on changes in the fees
necessary to generate sufficient revenues for the Motor Vehicle
Account in the State Transportation Fund to finance those operations
of state government to be financed from those revenues.
   This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to
develop and implement, by January 1, 2012, a pilot program designed
to assess the following issues related to implementing a vehicle
miles traveled (VMT) fee in California. The bill would also require
the department to prepare and submit a specified report of its
findings to the policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature no
later than June 30, 2012.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 42280) is added to
Division 18 of the Vehicle Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 3.  VEHICLES MILES TRAVELED (VMT) FEE


   42280.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Public
Law 109-59), established the National Surface Transportation Policy
and Revenue Study Commission to examine the condition and future
needs of the nation's surface transportation system, as well as
short- and long-term alternatives to the fuel tax.
   (b) The search for an alternative means of revenue is driven by a
combination of factors, including the diminishing value of the fuel
tax, declining supplies of conventional petroleum-based fuels, and
increasingly fuel-efficient vehicles. These factors contribute to a
growing disparity in the revenue needed to fund the transportation
system with the revenue available.
   (c) After months of study, the commission issued its report in
December 2007. Among its recommendations was consideration of a
mileage-based user fee, also referred to as a vehicle miles traveled
(VMT) fee.
   (d) Implementing a VMT fee, however, involves a number of
technological and institutional challenges, including establishing
the method for calculating the mileage driven, the process by which
mileage data is transmitted to a tax collection agency, contingencies
to address potential equipment failures, adequate privacy
protections, and a strategy for transitioning from the fuel tax to
this new method of fee payment.
   42281.  (a) The department shall develop and implement, by January
1, 2012, a pilot program designed to assess the following issues
related to implementing a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee in
California:
   (1) Different methods for calculating mileage.
   (2) Processes for transmitting data to protect the integrity of
the data and ensure drivers' privacy.
   (3) Types of equipment that may be required of the state and of
drivers in order to implement a VMT fee, including a discussion of
the advantages and disadvantages of the equipment and contingencies
in the event of equipment failure.
   (b) The department shall prepare and submit a report of its
findings to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature no later than June 30, 2012. The report shall include,
but not be limited to, all of the following elements:
   (1) Recommendations regarding how best to implement a VMT fee in a
manner that minimizes confusion and inconvenience to California's
drivers while also ensuring their privacy.
   (2) Given the technological and institutional demands associated
with implementing a VMT fee, a discussion of different processes that
may be used to transition from the fuel tax to a VMT fee over time.
   (3) A discussion of issues the Legislature may wish to consider
when evaluating whether and how to implement a VMT fee.