AB 8

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law establishes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to provide to specified entities, upon appropriation by the Legislature, grants, loans, loan guarantees, revolving loans, or other appropriate measures, for the development and deployment of innovative technologies that would transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change goals. Existing law specifies that only certain projects or programs are eligible for funding, including block grants administered by public entities or not-for-profit technology entities for multiple projects, education and program promotion within California, and development of alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology centers. Existing law requires the commission to develop and adopt an investment plan to determine priorities and opportunities for the program. Existing law also creates the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board, to fund air quality improvement projects related to fuel and vehicle technologies. This bill would provide that the state board has no authority to enforce any element of its existing clean fuels outlet regulation or other regulation that requires or has the effect of requiring any supplier, as defined, to construct, operate, or provide funding for the construction or operation of any publicly available hydrogen-fueling station. The bill would require the state board to aggregate and make available to the public, no later than June 30, 2014, and every year thereafter, the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles that motor vehicle manufacturers project to be sold or leased over the next 3 years, as reported to the state board, and the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles through April 30. The bill would require the commission to allocate $20 million annually, as specified, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in California. The bill, on or before December 31, 2015, and annually thereafter, would require the commission and the state board to jointly review and report on the progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to design grants, loan incentive programs, revolving loan programs, and other forms of financial assistance, as specified, for purposes of assisting in the implementation of these provisions. The bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2024. The bill, no later than July 1, 2014, would require the state board, in consultation with air pollution control and air quality management districts, to convene working groups to evaluate the specified policies and goals of specified programs. The bill would add intelligent transportation systems as a category of projects eligible for funding under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The bill would require the commission and the state board, in making awards under both the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program, to provide a preference to projects with higher benefit-cost scores, as defined. (2) Existing law creates the enhanced fleet modernization program to provide compensation for the retirement of passenger vehicles, and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. Existing law provides that under this program compensation for retired vehicles for a low-income motor vehicle owner, as defined, is $1,500, and for all other motor vehicle owners, it is $1,000. Existing law authorizes this compensation to be increased by the department based on various factors, including the emissions benefits of the vehicle's retirement. This bill would establish compensation for replacement vehicles for low-income vehicle owners at not less than $2,500, would make this compensation available to an owner in addition to the compensation for a retired vehicle, and would prohibit compensation for all other motor vehicle owners from exceeding the compensation for low-income motor vehicle owners. The bill would instead authorize an increase in the compensation under these programs for either retired or replacement vehicles only for low-income motor vehicle owners as necessary to balance maximizing air quality benefits of the program while ensuring participation by low-income motor vehicle owners, as specified. (3) Existing law, until January 1, 2016, increases vehicle registration fees, vessel registration fees, and specified service fees for identification plates by a specified amount. Existing law requires the revenue generated by the increase in those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and either the Air Quality Improvement Fund or the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2016, imposes on certain vehicles a smog abatement fee of $20, and requires a specified amount of this fee to be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. This bill would extend those fees in the amounts required to make these deposits into the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount until January 1, 2024, at which time the fees would be reduced by those amounts. (4) Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which is administered by the state board, to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions of air pollutants from sources in the state and for funding a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and technology development efforts. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2015, limits the Carl Moyer program to funding projects that reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) . This bill would extend the current authorization for the Carl Moyer program to fund a broader range of projects that reduce emissions until January 1, 2024, and would make other conforming changes in that regard. The bill also would delete obsolete references and make conforming changes to the Carl Moyer program. (5) Existing law authorizes the district board of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District to adopt a surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees applicable to all motor vehicles registered in the counties within that district. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge from $4 to $6 for a motor vehicle whose registration expires on or after December 31, 1990, and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4. This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date. (6) Existing law authorizes each air district that has been designated a state nonattainment area by the state board for any motor vehicle air pollutant, except the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, to levy a surcharge on the registration fees for every motor vehicle registered in that air district, as specified by the governing body of the air district. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to collect that surcharge if requested by an air district, and requires the department, after deducting its administrative costs, to distribute the revenues to the air districts. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge from $4 to $6 and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4. This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date. (7) Existing law imposes, until January 1, 2015, a California tire fee of $1.75 per tire on every person who purchases a new tire, with the revenues generated to be allocated for prescribed purposes related to disposal and use of used tires. Existing law requires that $0.75 per tire on which the fee is imposed be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund with these moneys to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for use by the state board and air districts for specified purposes. Existing law reduces the tire fee to $0.75 per tire on and after January 1, 2015. This bill would instead set the tire fee at $1.75 per tire until January 1, 2024, and reduce the tire fee to $0.75 per tire on and after January 1, 2024. (8) Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from fees and taxes imposed by the state on vehicles to specified purposes, subject to certain exceptions. This bill would require the commission and the state board to ensure that revenues from specified fees imposed on vehicles that are used for purposes of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program are expended in compliance with Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution. (9) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.