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

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-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 459	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 8, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to  add Section 44266 to   amend
Sections 44062.3 and 44070.5 of, and to add and repeal Section
44062.5 of,  the Health and Safety Code, relating to vehicular
air pollution.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 459, as amended, Pavley.  Fuel-efficient vehicles:
financial incentives: middle-income households.  
Vehicle retirement: low-income motor vehicle owners.  
   (1) Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance program, referred to as a smog check program, developed,
implemented, and administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The duty of enforcing and administering the program is vested in the
Chief of the Bureau of Automotive Repair within the department.
Existing law requires the department to permit vehicle retirement for
a motor vehicle that has been continuously registered in the state
for at least 2 years prior to vehicle retirement, and that fails any
type of smog check inspection lawfully performed in the state.
Existing law requires the department to pay a person who retires his
or her vehicle $1,500 for a low-income motor vehicle owner, as
defined, and $1,000 for all other motor vehicle owners, and
authorizes additional payments above these amounts based on
consideration of specified criteria.  
   This bill would authorize the department to provide other forms of
financial assistance for a motor vehicle owner when providing
additional payments above those amounts, as specified.  
   (2) Existing law provides for a repair assistance program
available to an individual whose maximum income level does not exceed
225% of the federal poverty level and who is the owner of a motor
vehicle that has failed a smog check inspection or received a notice
to correct. Existing law requires the bureau to permit vehicle
retirement of a motor vehicle that is a high polluter and that has
been continuously registered in the state for at least 2 years or
otherwise proven to have been driven in the state for the last 2
years, as specified, prior to vehicle retirement. Existing law
requires the bureau to pay a person for the voluntary retirement of a
high-polluting motor vehicle $1,500 for a low-income motor vehicle
and $1,000 for all other motor vehicle owners, and authorizes
additional payments above these amounts based on consideration of
specified criteria.  
   This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2014,
to establish a one-year pilot program to provide financial
assistance to low-income motor vehicle owners, as defined, for the
voluntary retirement of a gross-polluting vehicle, as specified. The
bill would prohibit the department from requiring proof of
registration for the last 2 years prior to acceptance into the
program.  
   (3) Existing law requires the department to develop and
continuously conduct a public information program, in consultation
with the State Air Resources Board, designed to develop and maintain
public support and cooperation for the smog check program, as
specified.  
   This bill would require the department, for purposes of that
public information program, to engage in multilingual outreach to
underserved communities about the benefits of the program. The bill
also would require the department to include car dealerships in the
public information program.  
   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.    Section 440   62.3 of the
  Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:

   44062.3.  (a) The owner of a motor vehicle that has been
continuously registered in the state for at least two years prior to
vehicle retirement, and that has failed the most recent smog check
inspection for that vehicle, may retire the vehicle from operation at
a dismantler under contract with the Bureau of Automotive Repair, at
any time after learning of the smog check failure. The department
shall pay a person who retires his or her vehicle under this section
one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for a low-income motor
vehicle owner, as defined in Section 44062.1, and one thousand
dollars ($1,000) for all other motor vehicle owners. The department
may pay a motor vehicle owner more than these amounts based on
factors, including, but not limited to, the age of the vehicle, the
emission benefit of the vehicle's retirement, the emission impact of
any replacement vehicle, and the location of the vehicle in an area
of the state with the poorest air quality  or may provide other
forms of financial assistance  .
   (b) The department shall permit vehicle retirement pursuant to
subdivision (a) for any motor vehicle that has been continuously
registered in the state for at least two years prior to vehicle
retirement, and that fails any type of smog check inspection lawfully
performed in the state.
   SEC. 2.    Section 44062.5 is added to the  
Health and Safety Code   , to read:  
   44062.5.  (a) On or before July 1, 2014, the department shall
establish a one-year pilot program to provide financial assistance to
low-income motor vehicle owners, as defined in Section 44062.1, for
the voluntary retirement of a gross-polluting vehicle. A vehicle
retired pursuant to this section shall have been reasonably
demonstrated to the department to have been operated primarily in the
state for the last two years prior to acceptance into the pilot
program. The department shall not require proof of registration for
the last two years prior to acceptance into the program.
   (b) The department shall report to the appropriate committees of
the Legislature, as part of the supplemental report required pursuant
to line item 1111-002-0582 of Chapter 268 of the Statutes of 2008,
the number of vehicles retired pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and, as
of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2016, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

   SEC. 3.    Section 44070.5 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   44070.5.  (a)  The department shall develop and continuously
conduct a public information program, in consultation with the state
board. The program shall be designed to develop and maintain public
support and cooperation for the motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance program and shall include information on all of the
following:
   (1)  The health damage caused by air pollution.
   (2)  The contribution of automobiles to air pollution and the
gross polluter problem.
   (3)  Whether a motorist's vehicle could be a gross polluter
without the motorist knowing.
   (4)  The importance of maintaining a vehicle's emission control
devices in good working order and the importance of the program.
   (b)  That information shall be disseminated by all means that the
department determines to be feasible and cost-effective, including,
but not limited to, television, newspaper, and radio advertising and
trailers in movie theaters. The department may also utilize grass
roots community networks, including local opinion leaders, churches,
the PTA,  automobile dealerships,  and the workplace.
Extensive marketing research shall be performed to identify the
target population. 
   (c) The department shall engage in multilingual outreach to
underserved communities about the benefits of the program. 

  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).