California Policy Updates

This is a busy time on the clean transportation technology policy front in California. CARB is busy working alongside EPA and NHTSA on light-duty vehicle standards. CARB officials are working to integrate state-level policies with the federal standards for MY 2017-2025 that are discussed above. One outstanding issue is the interaction that the national program will have with California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program, which mandates production of advanced technology vehicles. Over-compliance with the national standards may allow automakers to eliminate some of their requirements under the ZEV program, but the specifics have not yet been released. Additionally, CARB is working on a Clean Fuels Outlet regulation to increase the availability of alternative vehicle refueling stations. CARB staff will release details of the proposed regulations dealing with light-duty vehicle emissions (both criteria and GHG), ZEV mandates, and refueling infrastructure in late October.
 
The past several weeks have been very busy in the legislative front with the lawmakers scrambling to get their bills out of the legislature and to the Governor for his consideration. CALSTART and several industry partners worked with Assemblyman Wieckowski on a bill (AB 1314) intended to improve the California Energy Commission’s AB 118 clean transportation funding program by removing some bureaucratic hurdles that have slowed the program down. Similarly, AB 900 (Buchanan) aims to spur economic growth by streamlining California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) procedures for certain large-scale development projects, including those related to alternative fuel vehicle manufacturing. Both of these bills are currently on the Governor’s desk.


Contact: Jamie Hall, Policy Director, jhall@calstart.org or 510-307-8774.

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