The Coalition is tracking the following bills and others that affect alternative fuels and vehicles throughout the legislative session. July 14 is the last day for policy committees to refer fiscal bills to fiscal committees, and July 21 is the last day for policy committees to hear and report bills. Summer recess begins July 21, provided that the Legislature has passed the state budget bill.
In brief: Requires CARB to approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and allows the cap-and-trade program to run past 2020.
Details: The bill establishes the Compliance Offset Protocol Task Force to approve new offset protocols for a market-based compliance mechanism and to adopt a regulation ensuring that statewide GHGs fall to at least 40 percent below the 1990 level by 2030.
Status: Held on the Assembly floor; could be revived if an urgency clause is added.
In brief: Gives the South Coast AQMD the authority to adopt rules and regulations requiring operators of public and commercial fleet vehicles to purchase and run zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles in the district. Read the fact sheet.
Status: Now a two-year bill.
In brief: Authorizes the cap-and-trade program through 2030 and requires CARB to adopt air pollution emissions standards for industrial facilities that are subject to the cap-and-trade program. Prohibits CARB from allocating allowances to facilities that do not meet the emissions standards, and prohibits facilities from increasing annual GHGs.
Details: Authorizes CARB to adopt or revise regulations that establish a market-based compliance mechanism from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2030, to ensure that GHG emissions fall to at least 40 percent below the 1990 level by 2030. Also authorizes CARB to adopt no-trade zones or facility-specific declining GHG emissions limits in areas where pollution has significant health impacts. Requires CARB to adopt the most effective and equitable mix of emissions reduction measures.
Status: Now a two-year bill.
In brief: Defines a heavy-duty vehicle as having a manufacturer’s maximum gross vehicle weight of 26,001 or more pounds.
Details: Existing law defines a heavy-duty vehicle as having a manufacturer’s maximum gross vehicle weight of 6,001 or more pounds.
Status: Now a two-year bill.
In brief: Allows drivers of high-occupancy vehicles, superlow- and ultralow-emission vehicles, partial zero-emission vehicles, or transitional zero-emission vehicles to use HOV lanes for four years after vehicle identifiers are issued.
Details: These provisions would be repealed on Sept. 30, 2025.
Status: Read first time and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
In brief: Requires that by Dec. 31, 2025, at least 15 percent of all state-purchased vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 19,000 pounds or more be zero emission, and that by Dec. 31, 2030, at least 30 percent of those vehicles be zero emission.
Details: The Coalition has requested amendments to include near-zero options for heavy-duty vehicles, allowing state fleets to start reducing emissions immediately.
Status: Read first time and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
In brief: Extends funding for early commercial deployment of zero- and near-zero-emission heavy-duty truck technology to Jan. 1, 2023.
Details: Existing law requires CARB to allocate, until Jan. 1, 2018, at least 20 percent of funding for a specified class of projects to support the early commercial deployment of market-ready zero- and near-zero-emission heavy-duty truck technology.
Status: Passed the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and re-referred to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.
In brief: Requires the Strategic Growth Council, which awards competitive grants through the Transformative Climate Communities Program, to report to the Legislature on investments made, specific projects funded, and locations selected by Jan. 1, 2019.
Status: Read first time and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
In brief: Enacts the Goods Movement and Clean Trucks Bond Act to authorize $600 million in state general obligation bonds: $200 million for California Transportation Commission projects and programs eligible for funding from the Trade Corridor Improvement Fund; $200 million for CARB projects and programs consistent with the Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program; and $200 million for CARB projects and programs that expand the use of zero- and near-zero-emission trucks in severe or extreme nonattainment areas for ozone and particulate matter.
Details: This bill is subject to voter approval at the June 5, 2018, primary election.
Status: Ordered to the Assembly, read first time, and held at desk.
In brief: Allows a heavy-duty NGV to exceed the state limit on total gross weight for on-road vehicles by up to 2,000 pounds. Requires the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, or the Department of Transportation to estimate by Oct. 1, 2018, the damage caused by heavier vehicles.
Details: The higher weight limit reflects the difference between the weight of a natural gas tank and fueling system and the weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling system. Read the fact sheet.
Status: Held in the Senate Appropriations Committee; died.
In brief: Authorizes CARB to continue to use the cap-and-trade program to regulate sources of GHG emissions and requires the board to adopt a regulation establishing a market-based program of emission limits as part of the cap-and-trade program. The bill establishes the Economic Competitive Assurance Program, which ensures competitive conditions and economic parity among businesses that are subject to the cap-and-trade program and similar sellers that are not, as well as establishing the California Climate Infrastructure Fund, the California Climate Dividend Fund (which makes payments to consumers), and the California Climate and Clean Energy Research Fund. The bill takes effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Details: The initial minimum reserve price for allowances must be set at $20 per allowance, and an initial auction offer price must be set at $30 per allowance. The minimum reserve price increases each quarter by $1.25, and the auction offer price increases by $2.50.
Status: Held in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee; could be revived if an urgency clause is added.