California Assembly Bill AB2426 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2426AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Low FEBRUARY 19, 2016 An act to  amend Section 44270.3   add and repeal Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 39950) of Part 2 of Division 26  of the Health and Safety Code, relating to  air resources.   vehicular air pollution.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2426, as amended, Low.  Alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology.   Workplace Charging Station Grant Program.  The California Alternative and Renewable Fuel, Vehicle Technology, Clean Air, and Carbon Reduction Act of 2007 requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to administer the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program to provide financial assistance for the development and deployment of innovative technologies that transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change policies. The act requires the State Air Resources Board to administer the Air Quality Improvement Program to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants, to improve air quality, and to fund research to determine and improve air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies.  Existing law defines various terms for purposes of those programs.   Existing law requires the commission to allocate $20,000,000 annually to fund the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations identified by the State Air Resources Board as being needed, as specified, until at least 100 stations are in operation.   This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in the provision defining those terms.   This bill would require the state board, until January 1, 2021, to establish and implement the Workplace Charging Stations Grant Program to award grants to eligible applicants, as defined, for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in commercial parking facilities for employees and visitors. The bill would require eligible applicants awarded grants pursuant to the program to report annually to the state board on certain usage statistics of the charging stations. The bill would require the state board, on or before July 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a report on the program, as provided. The bill would repeal the above provision on January 1, 2022.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 39950) is added to Part 2 of Division 26 of the   Health and Safety Code   , to read:   CHAPTER 10. WORKPLACE CHARGING STATIONS GRANT PROGRAM 39950. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply: (a) "Eligible applicant" means a commercial property owner or lessee providing parking facilities for employees and visitors. (b) "Program" means the Workplace Charging Stations Grant Program established pursuant to Section 39951. 39951. (a) The state board, until January, 1, 2021, shall establish and implement the Workplace Charging Stations Grant Program to award grants to eligible applicants for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in their parking facilities. (b) (1) The state board may award to an eligible applicant two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for the first Level 2 charging port installed and an additional five hundred dollars ($500) for each additional Level 2 charging port installed. (2) The maximum grant that may be awarded to an eligible applicant pursuant to the program is six thousand dollars ($6,000) per facility. 39952. (a) In considering an application for a grant, the state board shall consider the cost effectiveness of the proposed installation, the potential for timely completion and operation of the electric vehicle charging station, and the overall economic benefits to California of the proposed installation. (b) The state board shall give priority to proposed installations that meet one or more of the following criteria: (1) The eligible applicant has made a binding commitment to make the electric vehicle charging stations readily available to employees and the public at no fee for charging for at least the first three years of the operation of the stations. (2) The charging stations are available to employees and other members of the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (3) The charging stations are installed in disadvantaged communities, as identified pursuant to Section 39711. (4) The charging stations are located at or near a major traffic corridor. 39953. (a) Eligible applicants receiving grants pursuant to this chapter shall report annually to the state board on the following: (1) The number of charging sessions delivered for each charging station for which a grant was awarded. (2) The amount electricity delivered for each charging session. (3) The total amount of time an electric vehicle is plugged in for each charging session. (4) The amount of downtime of each charging station for maintenance and repair. (5) The maintenance or repair events of each charging station. (b) (1) On or before July 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, until July 1, 2020, the state board shall submit a report to the Legislature providing a survey of the data submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) for the prior calendar year, identifying the benefits and problems with the program, and recommending improvements to the program. (2) On or before July 1, 2021, the state board shall submit to the Legislature a final report providing an overall survey of the program and identifying the benefits accrued from the program. (3) The reports required pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall be submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. 39954. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.   SECTION 1.   Section 44270.3 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 44270.3. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: (a) "Benefit-cost score," for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program created pursuant to Section 44272, means a project's expected or potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction per dollar awarded by the commission to the project from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. (b) "Commission" means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. (c) "Full fuel-cycle assessment" or "life-cycle assessment" means evaluating and comparing the full environmental and health impacts of each step in the life cycle of a fuel, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) Feedstock production, extraction, cultivation, transport, and storage, and the transportation and use of water and changes in land use and land cover therein. (2) Fuel production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, transport, and storage, and the transportation and use of water therein. (3) Vehicle operation, including refueling, combustion, conversion, permeation, and evaporation. (d) "Vehicle technology" means any vehicle, boat, off-road equipment, or locomotive, or component thereof, including its engine, propulsion system, transmission, or construction materials. (e) For purposes of the Air Quality Improvement Program created pursuant to Section 44274, the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Benefit-cost score" means the reasonably expected or potential criteria pollutant emission reductions achieved per dollar awarded by the board for the project. (2) "Project" means a category of investments identified for potential funding by the board, including, but not limited to, competitive grants, revolving loans, loan guarantees, loans, vouchers, rebates, and other appropriate funding measures for specific vehicles, equipment, technologies, or initiatives authorized by Section 44274.