BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1275
Author: De León (D)
Amended: 8/22/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/1/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/30/14
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Hancock, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 5/23/14
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters
SENATE FLOOR : 27-9, 05/27/14
AYES: Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De
León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez,
Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Mitchell, Monning,
Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Fuller, Huff, Knight, Morrell, Nielsen, Vidak,
Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Liu, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-24, 8/27/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicle emissions reductions
SOURCE : Coalition for Clean Air
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Communities for a Better Environment
Environment California
Greenlining Institute
Natural Resources Defense Council
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Charge Ahead California
Initiative (Initiative) to provide incentives that increase the
availability of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and
near-zero-emission vehicles (NZEV) vehicles, particularly in
disadvantaged and low-and-moderate-income communities.
Assembly Amendments make numerous amendments which revise and
recast the bill with a similar intent as it left the Senate,
including requiring the Air Resources Board (ARB) commencing
with the Air Quality Improvement Program funding plan for the
2016-17 fiscal year include a specified funding plan that
includes the immediate fiscal year and a forecast of estimated
funding needs for the subsequent two years commensurate with
meeting the goals of this bill; requiring that any moneys
utilized from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) be
consistent with appropriations processes and criteria
established by the GGRF Investment Plan and Communities
Revitalization Act; authorizing ARB to increase the amount of
the mobility option as necessary to maximize the air quality
benefits of the program while also ensuring participation by
low-income motor vehicle owners, as specified; revising
definitions; adding coauthors; and removing the requirement for
ARB to establish an estimate for total funding for a number of
programs under the Air Quality Improvement Program.
ANALYSIS : AB 118 (Núñez, Chapter 750, Statutes of 2007)
establishes the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP), Air
Quality Improvement Program (AQIP), and the Alternative and
Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP). These
programs are funded through surcharges on vehicle registration
fees, a portion of vessel registration fees, a portion of the
Smog Abatement Fee (paid to register vehicles less than six
model years old and therefore exempt from smog check), 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.
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Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program
EFMP provides for the voluntary retirement of passenger vehicles
and light- and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. A
vehicle need not have failed a smog test to qualify for EFMP,
but it must meet ARB's definition of high-polluting. The
vehicle must be currently registered as operable and must have
been continuously registered for two years prior to the
application, unless the owner can provide specified information
to show the vehicle has been operated in the state during that
period. EFMP has a statewide component and a local component.
Under the statewide component, ARB administers a program, in
consultation with the Bureau of Automotive Repair, to retire
high-polluting vehicles. Under this program, EFMP offers a
$1,500 voucher to low-income vehicle owners (household income at
or below 225% of federal poverty level), or a $1,000 voucher to
all other vehicle owners, to retire a high-polluting vehicle.
EFMP retired approximately 25,000 high-polluting vehicles in
2012-13.
Under the local component, ARB administers a program, authorized
in the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the
South Coast Air Quality Management District, to replace
high-polluting vehicles. In addition to the retirement vouchers
described above, the local EFMP program offers:
A $2,500 voucher to low-income vehicle owners (household
income at or below 225% of federal poverty level) to replace a
high-polluting vehicle, by either purchasing a vehicle eight
years old or newer, or using the voucher toward public
transit.
A $2,000 voucher to all other vehicle owners to replace a
high-polluting vehicle by either purchasing a vehicle four
years old or newer, or using the voucher toward public
transit.
EFMP has issued less than two dozen replacement vouchers since
the program's inception in 2010, all in the South Coast Air
Quality Management District.
Air Quality Improvement Program
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ARB administers AQIP in consultation with local air districts.
AQIP provides competitive grants to fund projects to improve the
air quality impacts of alternative fuels and vehicles, vessels,
and equipment technologies. AQIP encompasses several programs:
The Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP), administered by ARB's
contractor, the California Center for Sustainable Energy,
provides rebates of up to $2,500 for purchasing or leasing a
new ZEV or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
The Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive
Project (HVIP), administered by ARB and its contractor
CALSTART, provides vouchers to California fleet owners to help
purchase hybrid and zero-emission trucks and buses.
AB 118 Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects,
administered by ARB, provides grants to local air districts
and other public agencies to fund advanced-technology vehicle,
equipment, or emission-control projects that are not yet
commercialized.
The On-Road Heavy-Duty Vehicle Air Quality Loan Program (Truck
Loan Assistance Program), administered by ARB and the
California Pollution Control Financing Authority, provides
loans to fleets to help implement ARB emissions reduction
regulations related to trucks, buses, and heavy-duty
(tractor-trailer) vehicles.
This bill:
1.Makes a number of findings and declarations regarding
California's poor air quality, the risks it creates, and the
positive impact that the use of ZEVs and NZEVs can have on
improving air quality as well as the health and welfare of all
residents.
2.Establishes the Initiative and requires that it be
administered by the California Air Resources Board (ARB).
3.Describes the goals of the Initiative as:
A. Placing at least one million ZEVs and NZEVs into service
by January 1, 2023;
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B. Establishing a self-sustaining ZEV and NZEV market where
these vehicles are a viable mainstream option;
C. Increasing access to ZEVs and NZEVs for disadvantaged,
low- and moderate-income communities and consumers; and
D. Increasing placement of ZEVs and NZEVs in disadvantaged
communities.
1.Requires that any moneys utilized from the GGRF be consistent
with appropriations processes and criteria established by the
GGRF Investment Plan and Communities Revitalization Act.
2.Requires ARB, in consultation with the California Energy
Commission (CEC), air districts, and the public, to:
A. Develop a funding plan that addresses the immediate
fiscal year and provides a forecast of estimated funding
needs for the next two fiscal years using a range of
projected high and low funding levels needed for the
two-year forecasted period;
B. Update the plan every three years through January 1,
2023;
C. Adopt revisions to CVRP by June 30, 2015, to ensure
rebate levels can be phased down in increments based on
cumulative sales levels and participation in the program is
based on income and to consider converting to
prequalification and point-of-sale rebates or other methods
to increase participation; and
D. Establish programs that further increase access to and
direct benefits for disadvantaged and low- and
moderate-income communities and consumers from electric
transportation such as alternative financing mechanisms.
E. Specify that the provisions do not preclude the Public
Utilities Commission from acting within the scope of its
jurisdiction.
1.Defines a variety of terms.
Background
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EFMP regulations are a work in progress . SB 459 (Pavley) of
2013 (see prior legislation below) requires ARB, in consultation
with the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), to update EFMP
regulations by June 30, 2015. SB 459 requires the guidelines
to include a variety of new policies, including allowing for
retirement and replacement vouchers of larger amounts, focusing
the program more heavily on lower-income owners, and
streamlining program requirements to facilitate participation.
ARB has been soliciting stakeholder input as it drafts the
revised regulations. In March, ARB issued a white paper
describing the proposed revisions; ARB is scheduled to vote on
the final revised regulations in June.
AQIP also being revamped . AB 8 (Perea, 2013) (see prior
legislation below) requires ARB and the Energy Commission to
apply a benefit-cost score, as specified, when determining
projects that will be awarded funds under ARFVTP and AQIP. In
addition, board members directed ARB staff to develop a
long-term vision for AQIP. ARB staff have been conducting
public workshops and soliciting stakeholder input. ARB will
release draft recommendations to the public in May; ARB will
vote on the recommendations in June. The Energy Commission is
similarly revising the solicitation process under ARFVTP.
Comments
According to the author's office, accelerating the deployment of
ZEVs and providing clean transportation choices are essential to
achieving California's healthy air standards and greenhouse gas
reduction targets and to reducing air pollution in the state's
most heavily impacted communities. In addition, the use of
electricity as a transportation fuel can help keep money in the
state, stimulating the economy and insulating family budgets
from gas price spikes, which hit lower-income households
especially hard. The author states that money saved at the pump
by charging up on electricity stays in California, creating 16
times more jobs than money spent on gasoline. Although
California accounts for one-third of the country's electric
vehicle sales, transforming the market to benefit all
Californians will take a sustained, long-term commitment to
better serve the state's most polluted communities.
Prior Legislation
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SB 359 (Corbett, Chapter 415, Statutes of 2013) provides $48
million in additional funding in the current fiscal year to ARB
to support CVRP, HVIP, the Truck Loan Assistance Program, and
EFMP.
SB 459 (Pavley, Chapter 437, Statutes of 2013) requires ARB, in
consultation with BAR, to update the EFMP guidelines as
specified by June 30, 2015.
AB 8 (Perea, Chapter 401, Statutes of 2013) extends until
January 1, 2024, extra fees on vehicle registrations, boat
registrations, and tire sales in order to fund EFMP, AQIP,
ARFVTP, and specified other ARB programs that support the
production, distribution, and sale of alternative fuels and
vehicle technologies, as well as air emissions reduction
efforts. It also suspends until 2024 ARB's authority to require
through regulation any fuel supplier to provide hydrogen fueling
stations and instead allocates up to $220 million of these fee
funds to construct and operate retail hydrogen fueling stations.
AB 8 also extends the authority of local air districts to
impose vehicle registration surcharges in their areas to achieve
air emission reductions from vehicles and off-road engines.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Unknown ongoing cost pressures to fund program expenditures
and grants, likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually
from the GGRF.
Increased annual costs to ARB, from the GGRF, of approximately
$619,000 in 2014-15 and ongoing costs of $454,000 to adopt and
administer components of the specified funding plan.
Increased annual costs to ARB, from the GGRF, of approximately
$495,000 to develop and administer the three new programs in
the bill: loan loss credit reserve enhancement program, car
sharing program and charging infrastructure deployment.
Increased annual costs to ARB, from the GGRF, of approximately
180,000 to oversee the development of the funding plan and new
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disadvantaged community mobility programs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/14)
Coalition for Clean Air (co-source)
Communities for a Better Environment (co-source)
Environment California (co-source)
Greenlining Institute (co-source)
Natural Resources Defense Council (co-source)
American Lung Association in California
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Asthma Coalition of Los Angeles County
Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center (San Joaquin Valley)
Black Business Association
Breathe California
California Center for Sustainable Energy
California Electric Transportation Coalition
California Environmental Justice Alliance
California Interfaith Power & Light
California League of Conservation Voters
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Society for Pulmonary Rehabilitation
California Solar Energy Industries Association
California Thoracic Society
CalPIRG
CALSTART
Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton
Cerebrotech
ChargePoint
City of Baldwin Park
City of Los Angeles
Climate Resolve
Environmental Defense Fund
FAME Corporations
Global Green USA
Health Care Without Harm
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Los Angeles Business Council
Los Angeles County Medical Association
Moms Clean Air Force
Pacoima Beautiful
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Sacramento
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Physicians for Social Responsibility - San Francisco Bay Area
Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP)
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
San Francisco Asthma Task force
San Francisco Medical Association
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Sierra Club California
Solar Energy Industries Association
South Coast Air Quality Management District
St. John's Well Child and Family Centers
TransForm
Union of Concerned Scientists
Valley LEAP
Vote Solar
West Angeles Community Development Corporation
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/27/14)
CalTax
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters state that this bill ensures
that the long-term funding plan, to be developed by ARB, will
improve incentive programs by making them more widely accessible
to a greater segment of the population. They contend that this
will, in turn, increase the number of ZEVs and NZEVs on
California roadways. They note that increased participation in
these programs by disadvantaged, low- and moderate income
individuals and communities will not only help the state achieve
its GHG reduction and clean air goals, but will also ensure that
those who suffer disproportionate impacts of climate and smog
pollution will have ready access to California's clean vehicle
programs.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents state that ARB lacks
authority to raise revenue through the auction of allowances.
They note that given the substantial legal uncertainties
surrounding ARB's authority to impose an auction, expending
proceeds is premature.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-24, 8/27/14
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
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Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina,
Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Fox, Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Jones,
Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Nestande,
Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Harkey, Vacancy
JA:nl 8/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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