BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2013
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 1, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                 AB 2013 (Muratsuchi) - As Amended:  March 17, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                               
          TransportationVote:14-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill increases, from 40,000 to 85,000, the number of  
          advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicles (enhanced AT  
          PZEVs-mainly plug-in electric hybrids) allowed access to  
          high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, regardless of vehicle  
          occupancy levels.

           FISCAL EFFECT 


          Minor costs to the DMV to issue additional decals, fully offset  
          by fees charged to vehicle owners.


           COMMENTS  

          1)Background and Purpose  . An HOV lane, commonly referred to as a  
            "carpool" or "diamond" lane, is part of a traffic management  
            strategy designed to reduce the number of single occupancy  
            vehicles during peak periods of traffic congestion. These  
            lanes are intended to provide an incentive for commuters to  
            form carpools by offering reduced travel times.

            Since 1999, HOV lane access has also been authorized for  
            various types of single-occupant, clean-air vehicles in order  
            to incentivize the purchase of such vehicles. SB 535 (Yee) of  
            2010, implemented a program to provide such access for up to  
            40,000 enhanced AT PZEVs (identified by DMV-issued green  
            stickers).  The new program was originally scheduled to sunset  
            on January 1, 2015, but the sunset was extended to January 1,  
            2019 by SB 286 (Yee) of 2013.  








                                                                  AB 2013
                                                                  Page  2


            As of March 12, 2014, 36,230 green stickers have been issued,  
            and it is expected the current cap will be reached sometime  
            this month. AB 2013 increases the cap to 85,000-a level  
            consistent with a now-expired program that provided  
            single-occupant HOV lane access to hybrid vehicles (the yellow  
            sticker program).

           2)Amendment  . Because the current cap is expected to be reached  
            imminently, the author requests that the committee adopt an  
            urgency clause.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081