BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1721
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1721 (Linder)
As Amended August 6, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |72-2 |(May 1, 2014) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 11, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Requires clean air vehicles to be granted toll-free or
reduced-rate passage in high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.
The Senate amendments resolve potential chaptering out conflicts
with AB 2013 (Muratsuchi) of the current legislative session.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENT : HOT lanes are increasingly being implemented in
metropolitan areas around the state and the nation. HOT lanes
allow single-occupant or lower-occupant vehicles to use an HOV
lane for a fee, while maintaining free or reduced travel to
qualifying HOVs. The purported benefits of HOT lanes include
enhanced mobility and travel options in congested corridors and
better usage of underutilized HOV lanes.
California is currently in the embryonic stage of what is sure
to be a substantial build out of HOT lanes around the state in
the very near future. MTC, for example, is in the midst of
developing a regional HOT lane network that will extend for
hundreds of miles from Sonoma County in the north to Gilroy in
the south.
While single-occupant clean air vehicles enjoy access to HOV
lanes in California, they do not necessarily enjoy free passage
on toll bridges or toll highways. In fact, clean air vehicles
must pay full fare to use the toll roads in Orange County but
enjoy discounted rates to cross the San Francisco Bay Area
bridges and to use the State Route 91 Express Lanes in Orange
and Riverside Counties.
Last session, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB
AB 1721
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2405 (Blumenfield), Chapter 674, Statutes of 2012, to exempt
clean air vehicles from toll charges equivalent to those imposed
on single-occupant vehicles in HOT lanes. The purpose of that
bill was to give current and future clean air vehicle owners
certainty regarding HOT lane access and to continue to provide a
valuable incentive for purchasing clean air vehicles by
offsetting some of the additional costs associated with the
purchase of new and expensive technology.
Opponents of AB 2405, argued that a proliferation of clean air
vehicles in HOV lanes would add to the congestion that buses
will encounter in those lanes. They also voiced concerns that
allowing clean air vehicles free access to HOT lanes would
reduce the revenue that these lanes will generate, particularly
as the number of these cars grows.
The clean air vehicle program is, indeed, growing. At the time
AB 2405 was signed, the clean air vehicle program was set to
expire on January 1, 2015, the number of allowable white
stickers was limitless, and the number of allowable green
stickers was 40,000. Legislation enacted last year, AB 266
(Blumenfield), Chapter 405, Statutes of 2013, and SB 286 (Yee),
Chapter 414, Statutes of 2013, extended the sunset dates for the
white and the green sticker clean air vehicle programs,
respectively, from 2015 to 2019. Moreover, SB 853 (Budget and
Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 27, Statutes of 2014,
immediately increased from 40,000 to 55,000 the allowable number
of green stickers, and AB 2013 will further increase that number
to 70,000.
While the author acknowledges the importance of reducing
emissions from mobile sources, such as by increasing the use of
clean air vehicles, he believes this policy goal runs afoul of
another important policy goal - transportation infrastructure
financing. The author also has other concerns, including:
1)The state-imposed prohibition against charging single-occupant
tolls on clean air vehicles is an unfunded state mandate
because it interferes with local tolling policy and reduces
revenue available to meet bond repayment requirements.
2)Tolling policy should be left to the agency with direct
financial responsibility. In the case of the Interstate 15
HOT lanes in Riverside County, existing law unfairly requires
Riverside County Transportation Commission to pay a
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potentially hefty risk premium as it seeks to secure federal
loans and sell toll revenue bonds to construct the Interstate
15 express lanes. The author asserts that tolling policy must
be left to the agency with direct financing responsibility.
3)Many clean air vehicles (e.g., all electric vehicles) do not
pay any state or federal excise taxes on motor vehicle fuels,
which are the primary source of funding for maintenance and
repair of California highways. As a result, the author
asserts that clean air vehicle drivers are not paying their
fair share of their impacts on California's deteriorating
roadways. The existing exemption for clean air vehicles in
HOT lanes only exacerbates this inequity.
The author has introduced this bill to require that clean air
vehicles displaying a green or white HOV access decal be granted
toll-free or reduced-rate passage in HOT lanes. In this way,
the original intent of AB 2405 will remain intact - an incentive
to purchase a clean air vehicle - but HOT lane operators will be
better able to manage the related financial implications.
Related legislation: AB 2013 raises the cap on the number of
green clean air vehicle stickers that can be issued from 40,000
to 85,000. AB 2013 is currently pending on the Senate Floor.
SB 853 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 27,
Statutes of 2014, was one of the budget trailer bills and
included provisions to increase the number of allowable green
stickers from 40,000 to 55,000.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0004493