California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have provided an exemption from the State General Fund portion of the Sales and Use Tax (3.9375 percent) for qualified motor vehicles, which are defined as meeting the following requirements: (1) a vehicle eligible for an incentive under CARB’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP); (2) a zero-emission vehicle over 8,500 Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR); (3) the purchase of the vehicle was not made using a voucher through HVIP; and (4) is a new vehicle. This bill also would have required CARB to maintain an updated website listing vehicle eligibility. This bill would have required the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to provide a report to the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation and the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance on the use of the exemption. This bill would also have specified that for sales made on or after January 1, 2025, the exemption does not apply to transactions where the purchaser has received an HVIP voucher. Finally, this bill provisions would have sunset and been repealed on January 1, 2027. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have changed retention rules surrounding information captured by automatic license plate readers (ALPR).  Current law authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to retain license plate data captured by license plate reader technology for not more than 60 days unless the data is being used as evidence, or for the investigation of felonies. This data can be shared with law enforcement agencies and requires both an ALPR operator and an ALPR end-user, as those terms are defined, to implement a usage and privacy policy regarding that ALPR information. This bill would have required, if the ALPR operator or ALPR end-user is a public agency and not an airport authority, ALPR data be destroyed within 24 hours if it does not match a hot list. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have clarified that for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, gross income does not include moneys awarded to a taxpayer pursuant to the Clean Cars 4 All Program (Article 11 (commencing with Section 44124.5) of Chapter 5 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code). Was not heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, by January 1, 2024, to develop a tool to calculate the average annual gallons of gasoline or diesel that a particular vehicle has used and ensure, when administering incentive programs for light-duty zero-emission vehicles, including but not limited to the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, Clean Cars 4 All, and the Clean Vehicle Assistance program, that incentives awarded under applicable programs be awarded based on the average annual gallons of gasoline or diesel that the applicant’s vehicle consumed. The bill also would have required incentive amounts to be set at a level that maximizes the displacement of gasoline or diesel and the reduction of emissions criteria pollutants per dollar spent. Additionally, the bill would have required, in order to ensure equity is prioritized, that incentive amounts be further modified to ensure that additional per gallon incentive payments are provided to an applicant of a ZEV incentive program if the applicant is either low or moderate income or resides in an under-resourced community. Finally, the bill also would have required, by January 1, 2024 and biennially afterwards, a legislatively mandated report that includes: (1) Actual gasoline or diesel and criteria emissions reduced per dollar spent on ZEV incentives under applicable programs; (2) The impacts of ZEV incentive spending in terms of quantifiable emissions reductions and transportation savings within under-resourced communities and among low- to middle-income individuals; and (3) The changes in annual gasoline and diesel use at local levels by census tract or ZIP Code. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have made explicit the inclusion of Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) as eligible for funding in CARB’s Low Carbon Transportation program and Air Quality Improvement Program. The bill would have also added CHC as eligible for both the California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Program and Caltrans' Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required, beginning January 1, 2035, 100 percent of all newly purchased or contracted school buses of a local educational agency (LEA) to be zero-emission, where feasible. The bill would have defined an LEA as a school district, county office of education, or charter school. If a local educational agency determined that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission school bus was not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, the local educational agency would have been able to request a one-time extension for a term not to exceed five years from CARB. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have prohibited a dealer or retail seller from selling a vehicle equipped with a catalytic converter unless the catalytic converter has been permanently marked with the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle to which it is attached with a label, as specified. The bill would have authorized a dealer or retail seller to impose a reasonable charge on the purchaser of a motor vehicle for complying with this requirement. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB to provide incentives for drayage trucks through existing programs, or to develop and implement the Zero-Emission Drayage Truck Financial Assistance Program, to assist entities serving the ports of the State to meet the above-stated goal by providing financial assistance to offset the cost for the purchase of zero-emission drayage trucks. Was not heard in Senate Transportation Committee.

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Summary

Would have required a core recycler to report the information collected regarding theft of a catalytic converter to the chief of police or the sheriff, as prescribed, and to request to receive theft alert notifications regarding the theft of catalytic converters from a specified theft alert system. Held on suspense in Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have made the possession of a detached catalytic converter a crime, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. The bill would have made this crime inapplicable to a person who demonstrates authorization to possess the detached catalytic converter by providing a certificate of title or registration showing the person’s interest in the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was detached, written authorization from the person holding the certificate of title or registration, or evidence that the catalytic converter was acquired in a lawful transaction. Failed passage in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

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