Amended in Senate March 24, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1204

Introduced by Senators Lara and Pavley

February 20, 2014

An act to add Section 39719 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1204, as amended, Lara. California Clean Truck begin delete and end delete begin insert , end insert Bus begin insert , and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology end insert Program.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, commonly known as cap and trade revenues, to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes.

This bill would create the California Clean Truck begin delete and end delete begin insert , end insert Bus begin insert , and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology end insert Program, to be funded from cap and trade revenues, to fund zero- and near-zero emission truck begin delete and zero-emission end delete begin insert , end insert bus begin insert , and off-road vehicle and equipment end insert technology and related projects, as specified, with preference to be given to projects in disadvantaged communities. The program would be administered by the state board begin insert , in conjunction with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 39719 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

39719.  

(a) The California Clean Truck begin delete and end delete begin insert , end insert Bus begin insert , and Off-Road
Vehicle and Equipment Technology end insert Program is hereby created, to
be administered by the state board begin insert in conjunction with the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
The program, from moneys appropriated from the fund for
purposes of the program, shall fund development, demonstration,
pilot deployment, and commercial deployment of zero- and
near-zero emission truck, bus, and off-road vehicle and equipment
technologies. Priority shall be given to projects located in
disadvantaged communities pursuant to the requirements of
Sections 39711 and 39713 end insert .

begin delete

(b) From funds appropriated from the fund for that purpose, the
state board shall establish a focused medium- and heavy-duty truck
deployment program, with an emphasis on technology development
and demonstration for zero- and near-zero emissions goods
movement. Eligible projects under this subdivision shall include,
but not be limited to, targeted early stage technological
development funding, small scale pilot demonstrations of new
technologies, and larger, commercial scale demonstrations of trucks
operating in real world conditions. Funding made available under
this subdivision shall complement existing efforts in this area at
the State Energy Conservation and Development Commission and
the state board. Preference shall be given to disadvantaged
communities pursuant to the requirements of Sections 39711 and
39713.

(c) From funds appropriated from the fund for that purpose, the
state board shall establish an emerging technology demonstration
program for zero-emission buses to be used in public transportation.
Eligible projects to be funded under the program include projects
recommended by public transit agencies to demonstrate and deploy,
as part of their fleets, advanced fueled vehicles and associated
infrastructure. The objective of the program shall be to demonstrate
zero-emission bus technology at a commercial scale, in order to
clear the path for broader deployment of zero-emission bus
technology throughout the state. Preference shall be given to
disadvantaged communities pursuant to the requirements of
Sections 39711 and 39713.

end delete begin insert

(b) The program shall fund projects in each of the following
areas:

end insert begin insert

(1) Zero- and near-zero emission medium- and heavy-duty truck
technology development, demonstration, and pilot deployment.

end insert begin insert

(2) Zero- and near-zero emission buses. The program shall fund
pilot deployments to demonstrate operation of large numbers of
clean buses in a real world setting, to showcase the following
issues: (A) these vehicles can make direct impacts in disadvantaged
communities, (B) transit operators are currently unable to
economically purchase vehicles of this type because of high costs
and technological uncertainty, which may be overcome through
large pilot deployments, and (C) zero- and near-zero emission
technologies in the bus context, once successfully demonstrated
on a large scale, may find applications in a wide variety of other
heavy-duty vehicles in addition to buses. In that connection, the
state board, in consultation with transit operators, shall develop
solicitations to fund at least two large scale zero- or near-zero
emission bus pilot deployment projects of between 10 and 40 buses,
to be located in or near disadvantaged communities.

end insert begin insert

(3) Development, demonstration, and pilot deployment of zero-
and near-zero emission technologies to be used in off-road vehicles
and equipment, including, but not limited to, port equipment,
agricultural equipment, and marine and rail equipment.

end insert begin insert

(4) Development of commercially available zero- and near-zero
emission trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles and equipment using
streamlined purchase incentives pursuant to the California Hybrid
and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project
(HVIP). The state board shall create a multiyear framework and
plan for HVIP incentives. The plan shall focus on providing
incentives for zero- and near-zero emission medium- and
heavy-duty vehicles as they become commercially available. The
incentives shall be structured to drive acquisition volumes by
reducing payback times for these vehicles. The plan shall provide
long-term certainty about incentives while also remaining flexible
and open to new technologies. The plan shall also examine
opportunities to link HVIP vehicle funding with infrastructure
funding to provide coordinated funding for both vehicles and
related infrastructure. HVIP incentives for plug-in and
zero-emission vehicles in disadvantaged communities shall be
sufficient to increase sales of the cleanest vehicles in communities
where they are needed most.

end insert