BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1204
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1204 (Lara and Pavley)
As Amended August 22, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE : 26-10
TRANSPORTATION 12-2 APPROPRIATIONS 13-4
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|Ayes:|Lowenthal, Linder, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Achadjian, Ammiano, | |Bradford, |
| |Bloom, Bonta, Buchanan, | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Daly, Frazier, Holden, | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| |Nazarian, Quirk-Silva | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Gatto, Waldron |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, |
| | | |Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Creates a new program to be administered by the
California Air Resources Board (ARB) and funded with cap and
trade revenues to develop zero and near-zero emission truck,
bus, and off-road vehicle and equipment technologies and related
projects. Specifically, this bill :
1)Creates the California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle
and Equipment Technology Program (Program) to be administered
by ARB in conjunction with the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission (CEC) using cap and
trade auction proceeds to develop, demonstrate, pilots, and
deploy zero and near-zero emission truck, bus, and off-road
vehicle and equipment technologies with priority given to
projects in disadvantaged communities.
2)Limits expenditure of Program funds for projects that:
a) Develop technology, demonstrate, and pilot commercial
deployment of zero and near-zero emission medium- and
heavy-duty truck technology, including projects that
facilitate clean goods movement with no less than 20% of
funding going toward early commercial deployment of
existing zero and near-zero emission heavy duty truck
technology until January 1, 2018.
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b) Develop zero and near-zero emission bus technology,
demonstrate pre-commercial pilots, and provide early
commercial deployments, including pilots of multiple
vehicles at one site or region;
c) Develop, demonstrate, pilot, and deploy zero and
near-zero emission off-road vehicle and equipment in port,
agricultural, marine, construction, and rail sectors;
d) Develop purchase incentives, including point-of-sale
incentives, for commercially available zero and near-zero
emission truck, bus, and off-road vehicle and equipment
technologies and fueling infrastructure to accelerate
market acceptance; and,
e) Develop projects that support greater commercial motor
vehicle freight efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions reductions, including advanced intelligent
transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, and other
freight information and operations technologies.
3)Requires that ARB, in consultation with CEC, develop guidance,
as specified, for the implementation of the Program.
4)Requires ARB, in consultation with CEC, to create an annual
framework and plan that articulates the overarching vision for
the Program, outlines performance criteria, and describes
agency roles.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown ongoing cost pressures to fund Program expenditures
and grants, likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF).
2)Increased annual costs to ARB, from the GGRF, of approximately
$450,000 to develop eligibility criteria for zero emission bus
and truck retrofits and remanufactures.
3)Increased annual costs to ARB, from the GGRF, of approximately
$200,000 to augment the Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP)
program plan and guidelines to provide guidance to the
Program.
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4)Increased annual costs to ARB, from the GGRF, to develop and
implement non-vehicle projects that support greater freight
efficiency and GHG reductions.
5)One-time costs to the CEC, from the GGRF, to assist in the
development of a multiyear framework and plan. Ongoing
absorbable costs.
COMMENTS : Given that cars and trucks are responsible for nearly
40% of California's GHG emissions; it stands to reason that
addressing transportation sector emissions represents the
logical next step toward achieving the state's emissions
reduction goals. To this end, California has worked diligently
to address transportation sector emissions across many
platforms, but particularly toward replacing existing fleets
(light-duty through heavy-duty) with zero and near-zero
emissions vehicles and equipment. While the light-duty fleet
sector has made much progress, turning over the fleet for
medium- and heavy-duty vehicles has not had the same level of
success despite the fact that these vehicles represent a
significant source of GHG and fine particulate matter emissions.
While programs at ARB and CEC address both light- and heavy-duty
vehicle sectors, the authors believes that additional, focused
efforts are needed for the medium- and heavy-duty zero and
near-zero-emission vehicles and equipment to improve market
penetration and make the purchase and use of this technology a
viable, and affordable option for medium- and heavy-duty fleet
operators. Generally, there are two major programs in place to
address the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector reside within
ARBs and CEC: the AQIP and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program (ARFVTP).
AQIP: AQIP is administered by ARB in consultation with local
air districts. This program is funded through surcharges on
vehicle registration fees, a portion of vessel registration
fees, a portion of the smog abatement fee, and an increase in
the fee for identification plates for various types of vehicles
such as farm trailers and logging vehicles, operated on public
roads.
This program provides competitive grants to fund projects to
improve the air quality impacts of alternative fuels and
vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies. AQIP encompasses
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several programs, including the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck
and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). HVIP, which is
administered by ARB and its contractor, CALSTART, provides
vouchers to California fleet owners to help purchase hybrid and
zero-emission trucks and buses.
ARFVTP: ARFVTP is administered by the CEC and provides funding
for development and deployment of alternative and renewable
fuels and advanced transportation technologies to help attain
the state's climate change goals. Eligible projects include,
for example, development, improvement, and production of
alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels; improvement of
light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle technologies; and
expansion of infrastructure connected with existing fleets,
public transit, and transportation corridors.
To achieve greater widespread deployment of clean medium- and
heavy-duty vehicles, the authors believe that additional
standards and technology studies and development need to be
performed. The authors contend that additional funding is
needed to fully develop and test actual systems, with a focus on
performance improvements and cost reduction. They cite a need
for early demonstration projects to explore performance and
integration challenges which need to be followed up with larger
pre-commercial demonstrations to evaluate real world
performance. Once these systems are developed and tested, the
authors note that targeted incentive programs must be created to
achieve full market penetration.
The authors point out that many of the efforts that are needed
to develop and deploy zero and near-zero emission medium and
heavy duty vehicles, are not fully addressed in AQIP and ARFVTP.
They note that while it may be possible to add these
requirements into AQIP and ARFVTP, they contend that greater
progress would likely be achieved by creating a single
overarching program that is singularly focused on developing and
deploying these vehicles. For example, the development of
studies and advanced research, including advanced technology
business case and feasibility studies to develop standards do
not fall neatly into AQIP or ARFVTP and the same is true for
development of pre-commercial commercial demonstration programs.
The authors note that some existing technological development
and deployment (incentives) programs can be tailored to address
medium- and heavy-duty transportation sector needs, but given
that much of the effort in these programs is currently going
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toward light-duty clean cars, it is unclear whether or not
adding these programs into existing efforts would produce the
desired results.
This concern has led the authors to introduce this bill which
creates a separate and distinct program with the singular focus
of developing and deploying these technologies so that the goal
of fleet turnover can be achieved. The authors believe that by
combining all efforts for this transportation sector into one
program, along with increased investments, will ultimately
result in broad full-scale deployment of these clean vehicles,
particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093 FN:
0005289