BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 211|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 211
Author: Emmerson (R), et al
Amended: 8/16/11
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 5-0, 3/29/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Huff, Rubio
NO VOTE RECORDED: Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Simitian
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 5/2/11
AYES: Simitian, Blakeslee, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland, Hancock
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/31/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson,
Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff,
Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete
McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 8/18/11 (Consent)
SUBJECT : California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006: tire
inflation regulation
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SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill, until January 1, 2017, requires the
tire pressure gauges used to meet the Under Inflated
Vehicle Tires regulation be accurate within a range plus or
minus two pound per square inch, and provides that
automotive service providers are not required to inflate a
tire that it determines is an "unsafe tire." Establishes a
definition of "unsafe tire" that differs from the Under
Inflated Vehicle Tire regulation in that it does not
include consideration of age.
Assembly Amendments require, rather than authorize, tire
pressure gauges used to meet the Under Inflated Vehicle
Tire regulations (UVT), provide that an automotive service
provider is not required to inflate a tire that it
determines is an "unsafe tire," and establish a definition
of "unsafe tire" that differs from the UVT in that it does
not include consideration of age.
ANALYSIS : AB 32 (Nunez/Pavley), Chapter 488, Statutes of
2006, charged the State Air Resources Board (ARB) with
monitoring and regulating sources of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions in order to reduce GHG to 1990 levels by the year
2020. The transportation sector produces 38 percent of
human-induced GHG in California, and passenger vehicles
account for 74 percent of the transportation emissions.
In order to address GHG emissions in the near-term, ARB
identified nine early-action measures, one of which was the
UVT that it developed. Under-inflated tires contribute to
GHG emissions by increasing tire rolling resistance, and
therefore, reducing fuel efficiency.
On August 30, 2010, the Office of Administrative Law
adopted the UVT (Section 95550 of Title 17 of the
California Code of Regulations), which became effective on
September 1, 2010. The regulation defines an Automotive
Service Provider (ASP) and requires ASPs to check and
inflate the tires of each passenger car brought in for
service to within two (2) pounds per square inch (psi) of
the recommended tire pressure rating. The ASP is required
to indicate tire inflation service on a vehicle service
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invoice and keep these invoices for a minimum of three
years.
A customer may decline tire inflation service if the
customer can "affirm" that he or she performed a tire
pressure check and inflation service within the last 30
days or that he or she will perform a tire pressure check
and inflation service within the next seven days. In the
event that a customer declines service, the ASP is required
to indicate why tire inflation service was not performed on
the vehicle service invoice.
The UVT also states that penalties may be assessed on an
ASP, according to existing statutory penalty provisions for
air pollution emissions, if the regulation is not followed.
For vehicular air pollution, existing statutory provisions
impose civil or administrative penalties on "motor vehicle
fuel distributors" of $1000 per day to upwards of $250,000
per day, depending on the offense. ARB cites the same
penalty code for any vehicle air pollution regulation.
ARB staff indicates, however, that ARB has yet to develop
an enforcement plan for the UVT, but any potential
enforcement will not take place until after January 1,
2012. This allows time for education and outreach to ASPs
on the requirements of the regulation. ARB staff further
indicate that the aforementioned penalties are maximum
penalties, and air pollution penalties are determined
considering a number of factors, including but not limited
to: the extent of harm caused by the violation, nature and
persistence of the violation, length of time and frequency
of the violation, the financial burden on the violator, and
actions taken to mitigate the violation.
ARB staff assert that penalties will be assessed on ASPs,
not vehicle drivers or owners, and that ASPs that
occasionally fail to offer check and inflate service or
properly mark an invoice would not be cited unless other
known violations have occurred.
This bill:
1. Requires, until January 1, 2017, the tire pressure
gauges used to meet the UTV be accurate within a range
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plus or minus two pound per square inch.
2. Provides that automotive service providers are not
required to inflate a tire that it determines is an
"unsafe tire."
3. Establishes a definition of "unsafe tire" that differs
from UVT in that it does not include consideration of
age.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/11)
California Retailer Association
California Tire Dealers Association
Les Schwab Tire Centers
Rubber Manufacturers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
penalties for the Under Inflated Tires regulation far
outweigh the offense. This bill amends the law so that
'misinflating' tires is non-criminal, minor infractions,
and codifies accuracy specifications for tire pressure
gauges used by automotive service providers. The author's
office believes that "by codifying the accuracy
specifications, the industry will be given comfort that the
specifications cannot be altered at some future date
without prior legislative approval."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 8/18/11 (Consent)
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
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Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Gorell, Hill, Torres, Valadao
JJA:do 8/18/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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