BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1076
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1076
AUTHOR: Emmerson
AMENDED: March 19, 2012
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 16, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : CALIFORNIA GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the California Global Warming Solutions Act
of 2006 (CGWSA):
1) Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to
determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
level and approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is
equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020. ARB must
adopt regulations for reporting and verification of GHG
emissions, monitoring and compliance with the program, and
achieving GHG emission reductions from sources or categories
of sources by January 1, 2011, to be operative on January 1,
2012, subject to certain requirements. (Health and Safety
Code �38500 et seq.).
2) Requires the ARB on or before June 30, 2007, to publish and
make available a list of discrete early action GHG reduction
measures that can be implemented prior to the above measures
and limits. On or before January 1, 2010, ARB must adopt
regulations to implement these early action measures, and
these regulations must be enforceable no later than January
1, 2010. (�38560.5). An early action measure regulation
relating to reducing GHG emissions by inflating tires to the
recommended tire pressure rating was effective September 1,
2010 (referred to as the underinflated vehicle tire (UVT)
regulation). (17 Cal. Code Regs. �95550).
3) Requires ARB to prepare and approve a scoping plan for
achieving the maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective reductions in GHG emissions from sources or
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categories of sources of GHGs by 2020. ARB must evaluate the
total potential costs and total potential economic and
noneconomic benefits of the plan for reducing GHGs to the
state's economy, environment, and public health, using the
best economic models, emission estimation techniques, and
other scientific methods. The plan must be updated at least
once every five years. (Health and Safety Code �38561).
4) Authorizes the ARB to adopt GHG emission limits or emission
reduction measures prior to January 1, 2011, imposing those
limits or measures prior to January 1, 2012, or providing
early reduction credit where appropriate. (�38563).
5) Requires the ARB to monitor compliance with and enforce any
rule, regulation, order, emission limitation, emissions
reduction measure, or market-based compliance mechanism
adopted by the ARB. Penalties for violations of the CGWSA
reference other general ARB penalty provisions, including
those authorizing violations to be enjoined. (�38580).
This bill :
1) Sets requirements relating to UVT requirements (#2 above)
that:
a) Require tire pressure gauges used to meet the tire
pressure regulations to be accurate within a range of ?
two pounds per square inch of pressure.
b) Provide that automotive service providers (ASPs) are
not required to check and inflate a vehicle's tires if the
tires are determined to be unsafe, and defines "unsafe
tire."
c) Provide that as of January 1, 2013, there is no
federal, state or industrywide adopted standard regarding
tire age and safety, and requires the ARB to adopt
regulations for purposes of the UVT requirements that are
consistent with National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) regulations establishing a
correlation between tire age and safety, if adopted by
NHTSA.
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2) Sunsets January 1, 2018.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "On September 1,
2010 �ARB] adopted the �UVT regulations]. These regulations
require automotive service providers to inflate their
customers' tires using a tire pressure gauge that must be
accurate within a range of +/- two pounds per square inch of
pressure."
The author notes that this bill "simply codifies the gauge
accuracy of +/- 2 psi, which was a huge compromise reached by
CARB and the �ASPs] that are affected by this regulation."
Current UVT regulations define "unsafe tire" to be due to "tire
tread wear age, tread irregularity, or damage." SB 1076
defines "unsafe tire" by deleting reference to the "age" of
the tire. According to the author, "Because there are no
state or national standards relative to tire safety and age,
ASPs can easily refuse to check and inflate a tire based upon
a fairly large spectrum of independent, arbitrary decisions.
Furthermore, the tire industry is still waiting for the
National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration to adopt a
national standard regarding tire safety and age." SB 1076
requires ARB to adopt UVT regulations consistent with the
federal regulations, if adopted.
2) Background on regulation . As noted above, under the CGWSA
ARB must adopt discrete early action measures by January 1,
2010, and these regulations must be enforceable no later than
January 1, 2010. In addition to the underinflated vehicle
tire (UVT) regulation affected by SB 1076, some other early
action measures include the low carbon fuel standard,
landfill methane capture, and shore power.
According to ARB, the UVT regulation will annually eliminate
700,000 metric tons of GHG emissions; reduce fuel consumption
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by 75 million gallons; and extend the average tire's useful
life by 4,700 miles. ARB also notes the regulation will save
the average Californian $12 per year, about 38% of vehicles
on the road in the state have severely underinflated tires (6
pounds under manufacturer's recommendations) - which
seriously reduce the vehicles handling capabilities, reduce
tread life, and force the engine to work harder thus
increasing the amount of fuel needed. According to Dan
Zielinski, senior vice president with the Rubber
Manufacturers Association when the ARB adopted the
regulation, "Under-inflated tires waste fuel, cause tires to
wear out prematurely and increase drivers' safety risk. This
regulation will help protect California's environment, help
consumers save money in fuel and tire costs, and help
Californians optimize vehicle safety."
Under the UVT regulation, an automotive service provider (ASP)
must: a) check and inflate each vehicle's tires to the
recommended tire pressure rating when performing any
automotive maintenance or repair service, b) indicate on the
vehicle service invoice that a tire inflation service was
completed and the tire pressure measurements after the
services are performed, c) perform the tire pressure service
using a tire pressure gauge with a total permissible error no
greater than ? two pounds per square inch, d) have access to
a Tire Inflation Reference that is current within three years
of publication, and e) keep a copy of the vehicle service
invoice for a minimum of three years and make the service
invoice available to the ARB or its authorized representative
upon request.
There are certain exceptions to the above requirements if: a)
the tires are on a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating
over 10,000 lbs., b) the tires are determined by the ASP to
be unsafe, or c) the customer declines the check and inflate
service. A customer may decline the check and inflate
service if the customer affirms one of the following: a) a
tire pressure check and inflate service was performed within
the last 30 days, or b) a tire pressure check and inflate
service will be performed within the next seven days.
3) Trying again . SB 1076 is similar to SB 211 (Emmerson) of
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2011, except that SB 1076 adds requirements relating to the
adoption of NHTSA standards and sunsets January 1, 2018,
rather than January 1, 2017.
According to Governor Brown in vetoing SB 211:
This bill codifies a tire gauge accuracy requirement that
is already
in regulation and removes tire age as a consideration by
the automotive
service providers when determining whether a tire is
unsafe for use.
This bill is both unnecessary and omits a significant
factor relating to
public highway safety.
The California Air Resource Board's Regulation to Reduce
Greenhouse
Gas Emissions from Vehicles Operation with Under Inflated
Tires
requires automotive service providers to check and inflate
a vehicle's
tires to the manufacturer's recommended pressure at the
time a vehicle
is serviced. This simple action can save 75 million
gallons of gasoline
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 700,000 metric tons
annually.
Placing provisions of ARB's regulation into statute
unnecessarily
limits ARB's ability to revise the regulation in the
future to ensure that
it achieves the greatest air quality improvements and
greenhouse gas
emission reductions possible without legislative action.
Furthermore,
by eliminating "age" as a factor bearing on a tire's
safety, the bill seeks
to circumvent the rulemaking process and overlooks
significant evidence
that age could degrade the performance capabilities of a
tire. In this way,
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the bill disregards the stakeholder participation and
transparency that
were exercised during the rulemaking process.
4) Referral to Transportation and Housing Committee . If this
measure is approved by this committee, the do pass motion
must include the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee.
SOURCE : Senator Emmerson
SUPPORT : California Tire Dealers Association
Les Schwab Tire Centers
OPPOSITION : None on file