BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1922
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1922 (Lara) - As Introduced: February 22, 2012
SUBJECT : Heavy-duty vehicles: smoke emissions.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to
amend their regulation relating to the inspection of heavy-duty
diesel motor vehicles for excessive emissions of smoke.
Specifically, this bill requires ARB to amend their heavy-duty
diesel truck regulations to:
1)Provide an exemption, from January 1, 2013, for heavy-duty
commercial diesel trucks 14,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight
rating (GVWR) or higher with 2007 and newer model-year
engines.
2)Provide an exemption, from January 1, 2023, for all heavy-duty
commercial diesel trucks 14,000 pounds of GVWR or higher.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to ARB regulations, requires owners or operators of
heavy-duty diesel motor vehicles to perform regular
self-inspections (smoke opacity tests) of their vehicles to
control excessive smoke emissions from and tampering on
heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses. Specifically, the
regulation requires owners of California-based fleets to
comply with all of the following:
a) All heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles that are 6,000
pounds GVWR or greater in fleets of two or more (except
those equipped with engines that are four years old or less
and those vehicles used exclusively for personal use, such
as motor homes), must be tested annually with a smoke
opacity meter;
b) All heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles must meet the
applicable opacity standards of 55% for pre-1991 engines
and 40% for 1991 and newer engines;
c) All heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles determined to be
in non-compliance must be promptly repaired and brought
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into compliance; and,
d) For each vehicle, records of the initial opacity test,
repair information, post-repair opacity results, and meter
calibration must be maintained for at least two years.
1)Confers authority to ARB to audit the inspection records of
all heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles at the owner/operator
designated fleet location and to test vehicles for compliance.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The ARB Periodic Smoke Inspection Program (PSIP)
requires that diesel and bus fleet owners conduct annual smoke
opacity self-inspections of their vehicles (older than four
years) and repair those with excessive smoke emissions to ensure
compliance. ARB randomly audits fleets, maintenance and
inspection records, and tests a representative sample of
vehicles. All vehicles that do not pass the test must be
repaired and retested. PSIP requires testing for about 400,000
vehicles per year representing about 14,000 California fleets.
A fleet owner that neglects to perform the annual smoke opacity
inspection on applicable vehicles is subject to a penalty of
$500 per vehicle, per year.
Separately, ARB administers the Heavy Duty Vehicle Inspection
Program (HDVIP) that requires heavy-duty trucks and buses to be
inspected for excessive smoke and tampering as well as engine
certification label compliance. Any heavy-duty vehicle
traveling in California, including vehicles registered in other
states and foreign countries, may be tested. Tests are
performed by ARB inspection teams at border crossings,
California Highway Patrol (CHP) weigh stations, fleet
facilities, and randomly selected roadside locations. Although
HDVIP applies to most of the on-road heavy duty fleet, it only
tests a small portion of the fleet, less than 1% (about 17,000
inspections per year). Owners of trucks and buses found in
violation are subject to minimum penalties starting at $300 per
violation.
It is the author's contention that due to the trucking
industry's commitment to exceed clean air standards with its
multi-billion dollar investment, that California has the
cleanest commercial vehicle fleet in the nation. They believe
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that as their industry has worked to equip vehicles with newer
and cleaner engines that exceed smoke emission standards, the
PSIP inspection requirement for heavy-duty vehicle models 2007
or newer and equipped with the new vehicle engines is
unnecessary and should be phased-out. This is especially true
as, they contend, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
requires engines with model years of 2007 or newer to maintain a
smoke opacity of 2%. This means that heavy-duty vehicles with
model years of 2007 or later are being built to satisfy and
exceed the 40% smoke opacity requirement set by the ARB.
Writing in opposition to the bill, the American Lung Association
in California and others indicate that the bill would weaken the
state's emission programs and increase exposures to toxic diesel
particulate matter. They further contend that, "While newer
trucks operate at significantly cleaner levels, emission control
equipment can deteriorate over time, malfunction or an operator
could tamper with engine components leading to excessive harmful
emissions. These emissions might never be caught or corrected
without state testing programs."
In response to the opposition's concerns, the author will be
amending the bill to delete provisions that phase out PSIP in
its entirety beginning 2023. Further, in acknowledging that
newer vehicles invariably pass the annual opacity testing
requirements due to major advances in engines, they contend that
newer (2007 model year and newer) trucks equipped with advanced
emissions control technologies should be exempt from the annual
self-testing requirement until the 10th model year of operation.
By eliminating the phase-out provision, the PSIP program will
continue. The author further contends that nothing in this
proposal affects the requirement that trucks meet the smoke
opacity standard already established or ARB's ability to
randomly inspect trucks at CHP inspection facilities, terminals,
or on the roadside.
Author's amendments : The author will be amending the bill,
pursuant to the above, as follows:
1)Delete the PSIP complete phase out provisions beginning in
2023. Accordingly, the bill no longer would phase out PSIP
after 2023.
2)Allow vehicles 10 years and newer to be exempt from PSIP.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Trucking Association (sponsor)
California Tow Truck Association
Opposition
American Lung Association of California
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Breathe California
California Air Pollution Control Officers
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club California
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093