BILL NUMBER: AB 1608INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wieckowski FEBRUARY 7, 2012 An act to add Section 44274.8 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to air quality. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1608, as introduced, Wieckowski. Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, air quality improvement projects related to fuel and vehicle technologies. This bill would establish the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project to be administered by the California Center for Sustainable Energy and with funds made available by the state board pursuant to the Air Quality Improvement Program. The bill would require rebates be made available for the purchase of eligible medium- or heavy-duty commercial vehicles from a California manufacturer, as defined, in an amount 40% greater than the rebates made available for the purchase of eligible medium- or heavy-duty commercial vehicles not from a California manufacturer. 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 44274.8 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 44274.8. (a) The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project is hereby established within the Air Quality Improvement Program. The project shall be administered by the California Center for Sustainable Energy, with funds made available by the state board pursuant to this article. Rebates shall be made available from those funds for the purchase of eligible medium- or heavy-duty commercial vehicles from a California manufacturer in an amount 40 percent greater than the rebates made available for the purchase of eligible medium- or heavy-duty commercial vehicles not from a California manufacturer. (b) (1) As used in this section, "California manufacturer" means any sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other business entity that manufactures eligible vehicles in the state and that meets either of the following criteria: (A) The owners or policymaking officers are domiciled in the state and the permanent principal office, or place of business from which the manufacturer's trade is directed or managed, is located in the state. (B) A business or corporation, including those owned by, or under common control of, a corporation, that meets all of the following criteria continuously during the five years prior to selling an eligible vehicle to a rebate recipient: (i) Owns and operates an in-state manufacturing facility that builds or manufactures eligible vehicles. (ii) Is licensed by the state to conduct business within the state. (iii) Employs state residents for work within the state. (2) For the purposes of qualifying as a California manufacturer, a distribution or sales management office or facility does not qualify as a manufacturing facility.