Bill Text: CA SB459 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Vehicle retirement: low-income motor vehicle owners.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 437, Statutes of 2013. [SB459 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB459-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 459	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to add Section 44266 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to vehicular air pollution.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 459, as introduced, Pavley. Fuel-efficient vehicles: financial
incentives: middle-income households.
   Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board (state board),
in conjunction with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (energy commission), to develop and administer
a program to provide grants to individuals, local governments,
public agencies, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private
businesses, to encourage the purchase or lease of a new
zero-emission vehicle.
   This bill would require the state board, in consultation with the
energy commission, air pollution control and air quality management
districts, and the Bureau of Automotive Repair, to submit a specified
plan to the Legislature that identifies opportunities to utilize
existing legal authorities to reduce fuel expenditures by
middle-income households by accelerating the adoption of more
fuel-efficient vehicles, as specified. The bill would require the
state board to convene an advisory board to provide guidance in
developing the plan, as specified.
   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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Millions of residents are stuck in an energy trap without
access to alternatives and are forced to spend more of their income
on gasoline, repairs and maintenance, and financing for their cars
than they spend on food, healthcare, and other critical expenses.
   (b) The average household spends $8,300 on transportation every
year, nearly $2,000 more than is spent on food, and $5,000 more than
is spent on health care.
   (c) In 2011, residents spent more than $1 billion on gasoline
every week, of which almost two-thirds left the state.
   (d) A resident who drives a 32-mile-per-gallon car instead of the
average new vehicle will save over $3,000 in fuel expenses over five
years, the average duration of vehicle ownership, and a resident who
drives a typical zero-emission vehicle will save over $9,000 in fuel
over the same number of years.
   (e) Higher up-front purchase costs are one of the primary barriers
to the adoption of more fuel-efficient vehicles, including low- and
zero-emission vehicles.
   (f) There is a direct correlation between increases in gasoline
prices and increases in market prices for fuel-efficient vehicles,
making it more difficult for potential car buyers to purchase more
fuel-efficient vehicles when they are needed most.
   (g) More fuel-efficient vehicles, including low- and zero-emission
vehicles, certified to more stringent emissions standards provide
significant public health benefits by reducing emissions of
smog-forming and toxic air pollution, and are a critical solution to
persistent air quality problems, particularly in air basins that
historically fail to meet multiple National Ambient Air Quality
Standards.
   (h) Currently, the majority of new vehicle buyers and nearly 80
percent of zero-emission vehicle buyers in the state earn over
$100,000 annually.
   (i) Eighty percent of potential tax filers are unable to take full
advantage of federal tax credits that reduce the purchase cost of
plug-in electric vehicles.
   (j) Current automotive lending practices generally fail to account
for the decreased risk of default and enhanced credit-worthiness
associated with buyers and lessors of more fuel-efficient cars,
though some innovative creditors and nonprofit lenders have had
success in the state and in other states issuing lower interest loans
for fuel-efficient vehicles, including car buyers with subprime
credit, who sometimes pay 30 percent interest on auto loans.
   (k) It is in the public interest of the state to help residents
out of the energy trap and into more fuel-efficient cars, including
low- and zero-emissions vehicles, to reduce fuel expenditures,
improve access to jobs, increase disposable income, and deliver
broader public health, environmental, and economic benefits to the
state.
  SEC. 2.  Section 44266 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   44266.  (a) On or before November 1, 2014, the state board, in
consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, districts, and the Bureau of Automotive
Repair, shall submit a plan to the Legislature that identifies
opportunities to utilize existing programs and funding sources to
reduce fuel expenditures by middle-income households by accelerating
the adoption of more fuel-efficient vehicles, including, but not
limited to, low- and zero-emission vehicles.
   (b) (1) In developing the plan, pursuant to subdivision (a), the
state board shall consider a wide range of opportunities, including,
but not limited to, optimizing the use of existing funds, including
the Air Pollution Control Fund, created pursuant to Section 43015;
the Air Quality Improvement Fund, created by Section 44274.5; the
Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, created
by Section 44273; the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund, created by
Section 9886 of the Business and Professions Code; and the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund, created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the
Government Code.
   (2) Pursuant to paragraph (1), the state board shall consider all
of the following, among other strategies, to cost-effectively
optimize the use of existing special funds:
   (A) Whether automotive dealers and lenders can be offered enhanced
incentives to sell or lease more fuel-efficient vehicles, including
low- and zero-emission vehicles.
   (B) Whether consumer automotive loan terms can better reflect the
correlation between vehicle fuel efficiency and loan performance,
rewarding customers who choose more efficient vehicles with better
terms that reflect reduced fuel expenditures.
   (C) Whether public funds can be efficiently used to leverage more
private investment.
   (D) Whether the value of federal tax credits for plug-in electric
vehicle purchases can be passed through to households lacking
sufficient federal tax liability to claim the credits.
   (E) Whether the Consumer Assistance Program, established pursuant
to Section 44062.1 and administered by the Bureau of Automotive
Repair, is achieving the maximum benefits.
   (F) Whether enhanced point-of-sale rebates for middle-income
households can increase the adoption of more fuel-efficient vehicles,
including low- and zero-emission vehicles.
   (c) (1) The state board shall convene an advisory board to provide
guidance in developing the plan pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (2) Membership of the advisory board created pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall include, but is not limited to, experts in banking,
consumer finance, automobile manufacturing, public health,
environmental protection, transportation policy, consumer protection,
and automobile retailing.
   (3) The advisory board shall be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).