BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1696
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1696 (Wieckowski) - As Introduced: February 13, 2014
SUBJECT : Alternatively fueled vehicles: incentives
SUMMARY : Adds parking spaces with charging stations for plug-in
hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) to the list of incentives
that the Department of General Services (DGS) and the California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) may provide when
implementing advanced technology vehicle parking incentive
programs in DGS parking facilities and Caltrans park-and-ride
lots.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
requiring the Air Resources Board (ARB) to establish a
statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit and to reduce
GHG emissions to 1990 levels.
2)Assigns Caltrans the responsibility for overseeing the design,
construction, maintenance, and operation of the California
state highway system and related facilities, including park
and ride lots.
3)Assigns DGS the responsibilities of business manager for the
state including property management and fleet administration.
4)Defines "alternatively fueled vehicles" as light-, medium-,
and heavy-duty vehicles that reduce petroleum usage and
related emissions by using advanced technologies and fuels
such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric, natural gas,
or fuel cell vehicles.
5)Requires DGS and Caltrans to develop and implement advanced
technology vehicle parking incentive programs, to the extent
feasible, in public parking facilities of 50 spaces or more
operated by DGS and park-and-ride facilities owned and
operated by Caltrans to incentivize the purchase and use of
alternatively fueled vehicles in the state.
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6)Requires that advanced technology vehicle parking incentive
programs provide meaningful, tangible benefits for drivers of
alternatively fueled vehicles and specifies that incentives
may include preferential parking spaces, reduced fees, and
alternative fueling infrastructure.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, a lack of publicly available
electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure works to
discourage widespread use of EVs in California. Given that
reducing GHG emissions is a statewide priority, the author
believes that installation of EV charging systems should be
emphasized. To accomplish this, the author introduced this bill
which specifically states that DGS and Caltrans, when
implementing advanced vehicle technology incentive programs,
should specifically consider installation of parking spaces with
charging stations for plug-in hybrids and EVs.
Landmark legislation in 2006, AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter 488,
Statutes of 2006, set a near-term goal of reducing GHG emissions
to 1990 levels by the year 2020. An even more ambitious
executive order signed by Governor Schwarzenegger set forth a
longer-term goal of reducing these emissions to 80% below 1990
levels by the year 2050. While the 2020 goal appears to be
within reach, experts advise that reaching the 2050 goal will
require substantial additional efforts.
According to the ARB, the state agency charged with overseeing
and implementing programs to achieve these goals, California's
transportation sector produces nearly 40% of the state's GHG
emissions, due primarily to the state's 25 million passenger
vehicles. California's success in meeting its 2050 goal is
therefore dependent on reducing emissions from these vehicles.
In fact, ARB asserts that, to meet the 2050 GHG reduction goal,
the new vehicle fleet will need to be primarily composed of
advanced technology vehicles, such as electric and fuel cell
vehicles, by 2035 in order to have nearly an entire advanced
technology fleet by 2050.
To support the goal of reducing vehicle emissions, in March 2012
Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-16-2012 to accelerate
the market for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in California by
setting a goal of having 1.5 million ZEVs on the state's
roadways by 2025.
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The California Electric Vehicle Collaborative (PEV
Collaborative) describes the market for EVs as growing stronger
each year. They note that national sales for EVs hit 100,000 in
2013, with roughly 40% of those vehicles being sold in
California. To support these increasing numbers of EV on our
roadways, the PEV Collaborative and other key stakeholders agree
that increasing available charging infrastructure will allow EVs
drivers to extend their range of electric miles driven and
encourage owners of conventional fuel vehicles to purchase EVs.
While most PEV owners rely primarily on home charging to fuel
their vehicles, using home charging alone can restrict EV
driving to a limited range. When charging is available in
public places and at work, EV drivers are able to "top off" or
fully replenish their charge conveniently which allows them
travel more all-electric miles with a concomitant reduction in
GHG emissions. Advocates suggest that workplace and public
charging benefits include building range confidence (reducing
range anxiety), increasing cost savings associated with
extending the all-electric use, and facilitating longer-distance
commuting using in EVs.
Over the last decade, there have been numerous legislative
efforts to facilitate and encourage the installation and use of
alternative fueling stations (most notably EV charging stations)
to help support and incentivize the purchase and use of
alternatively fueled vehicles. AB 2583 (Blumenfield) Chapter
676, Statutes of 2012, specifically required DGS and Caltrans to
develop and implement advanced technology vehicle parking
incentive programs. These programs called for DGS, in public
parking facilities with 50 spaces or more, and Caltrans, in
park-and-ride lots it owns and manages, to provide "meaningful,
tangible benefits for drivers of alternatively fueled vehicles."
AB 2583 suggested a number of benefits that could be provided
including preferential parking spaces, reducing parking fees,
and providing fueling infrastructure.
To date, both DGS and Caltrans have initiated advanced
technology vehicle parking incentive programs for their
respective facilities. Specifically, DGS indicates it recently
completed the installation of 65 EV charging systems in parking
facilities across the state and expects to install up to 200
more EV charging systems over the coming year. DGS has also
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reduced parking rates for alternatively fueled vehicles and
allows these vehicles priority on parking facility waiting
lists. Caltrans indicates it is working toward providing
preferred parking spaces for EVs at a variety of park-and-ride
lots.
In introducing AB 1696, the author is responding to concerns
that DGS and Caltrans may opt to install alternative fueling
stations other than EV charging systems in their facilities as a
method to achieve compliance with AB 2583. This seems
reasonable given that EVs make up the growing majority of
alternatively fueled vehicle types in California.
Related legislation: AB 2565 (Muratsuchi) specifies that owners
of certain parking facilities cannot prohibit the installation
of EV charging systems, under certain conditions. That bill has
been referred back to the Assembly Rules Committee.
Previous legislation : AB 2583 (Blumenfield) Chapter 676,
Statutes of 2012, required DGS and Caltrans to develop and
implement advanced technology vehicle parking incentive programs
in specified DGS- and Caltrans-operated parking facilities to
incentivize the purchase and use of alternative fuel vehicles in
the state.
AB 32 (Nu�ez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006, established the
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires ARB to
establish a statewide GHG emissions limit and to reduce GHG
emissions to 1990 levels.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Union of Concerned Scientists
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093
AB 1696
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