BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1328
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 4, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  SB 1328 (Lowenthal) - As Amended:  June 16, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Natural  
          ResourcesVote:8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to consider the  
          following when adopting or amending regulations to reduce motor  
          vehicle cabin temperature:

          1)Reducing air-conditioning use when motor vehicles are either  
            parked or moving.

          2)Potential conflicts between, and relative benefits of, vehicle  
            temperature requirements and the technologies that provide  
            reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

          3)Flexibility to achieve the maximum possible motor vehicle GHG  
            emissions reduction.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          One-time costs to ARB, potentially in excess of $150,000  
          (equivalent to one position), to the extent ARB chooses to  
          consider adoption of regulation to reduce motor vehicle cabin  
          temperature, which would entail additional analysis per this  
          bill.  (Air Pollution Control Fund)

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author contends this bill provides policy  
            direction to ARB so that, when the board revisits  
            consideration of "cool car" regulation, it will consider a  
            broad range of regulatory options that allow manufacturers  
            flexibility in achieving GHG reduction goals.









                                                                  SB 1328
                                                                  Page  2

           2)Background  .  AB 32 (N??ez, Chapter 455, Statutes of 2006)  
            requires California to limit its emissions of GHGs so that, by  
            2020, those emissions are equal to what they were in 1990.  In  
            keeping with AB 32, ARB has adopted or proposed a number of  
            regulations to achieve the state's GHG reduction goals.  

            In June 2009, ARB adopted the Cool Cars Regulation under its  
            AB 32 authority.  The regulation would have required passenger  
            vehicle manufacturers to reduce the interior temperature of  
            parked vehicles, which would reduce GHG emissions by reducing  
            the need to fuel air conditioner use.  Temperature reductions  
            would have been achieved mainly through the use of window  
            coatings.  However, concern over the coatings' effect on  
            communications devices led ARB to abandon implementation.  ARB  
            is likely to consider regulation with the same goal as Cool  
            Cars in the near future.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081