SB 1076
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO:
AUTHOR:
AMENDED:
FISCAL:
URGENCY:
SB 1076
Emmerson
March 19, 2012
Yes
No
SUBJECT:
CALIFORNIA GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT
HEARING DATE:
CONSULTANT:
April 16, 2012
Randy Pestor
SUMMARY:
Existing law, under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(CGWSA):
1) Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to determine the 1990
statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide GHG
emissions limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020. ARB
must adopt regulations for reporting and verification of GHG emissions,
monitoring and compliance with the program, and achieving GHG emission
reductions from sources or categories of sources by January 1, 2011, to be
operative on January 1, 2012, subject to certain requirements. (Health and
Safety Code §38500 et seq.).
2) Requires the ARB on or before June 30, 2007, to publish and make available a
list of discrete early action GHG reduction measures that can be implemented
prior to the above measures and limits. On or before January 1, 2010, ARB
must adopt regulations to implement these early action measures, and these
regulations must be enforceable no later than January 1, 2010. (§38560.5). An
early action measure regulation relating to reducing GHG emissions by
inflating tires to the recommended tire pressure rating was effective September
1, 2010 (referred to as the underinflated vehicle tire (UVT) regulation). (17
Cal. Code Regs. §95550).
3) Requires ARB to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the
maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in GHG
emissions from sources or categories of sources of GHGs by 2020. ARB must
evaluate the total potential costs and total potential economic and noneconomic
SB 1076
Page 2
benefits of the plan for reducing GHGs to the state’s economy, environment,
and public health, using the best economic models, emission estimation
techniques, and other scientific methods. The plan must be updated at least
once every five years. (Health and Safety Code §38561).
4) Authorizes the ARB to adopt GHG emission limits or emission reduction
measures prior to January 1, 2011, imposing those limits or measures prior to
January 1, 2012, or providing early reduction credit where appropriate.
(§38563).
5) Requires the ARB to monitor compliance with and enforce any rule, regulation,
order, emission limitation, emissions reduction measure, or market-based
compliance mechanism adopted by the ARB. Penalties for violations of the
CGWSA reference other general ARB penalty provisions, including those
authorizing violations to be enjoined. (§38580).
This bill:
1) Sets requirements relating to UVT requirements (#2 above) that:
a) Require tire pressure gauges used to meet the tire pressure regulations to be
accurate within a range of ± two pounds per square inch of pressure.
b) Provide that automotive service providers (ASPs) are not required to check
and inflate a vehicle’s tires if the tires are determined to be unsafe, and
defines “unsafe tire.”
c) Provide that as of January 1, 2013, there is no federal, state or industrywide
adopted standard regarding tire age and safety, and requires the ARB to
adopt regulations for purposes of the UVT requirements that are consistent
with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations
establishing a correlation between tire age and safety, if adopted by
NHTSA.
2) Sunsets January 1, 2018.
SB 1076
Page 3
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “On September 1, 2010 [ARB]
adopted the [UVT regulations]. These regulations require automotive service
providers to inflate their customers’ tires using a tire pressure gauge that must
be accurate within a range of +/- two pounds per square inch of pressure.”
The author notes that this bill “simply codifies the gauge accuracy of +/- 2 psi,
which was a huge compromise reached by CARB and the [ASPs] that are
affected by this regulation.”
Current UVT regulations define “unsafe tire” to be due to “tire tread wear age,
tread irregularity, or damage.” SB 1076 defines “unsafe tire” by deleting
reference to the “age” of the tire. According to the author, “Because there are
no state or national standards relative to tire safety and age, ASPs can easily
refuse to check and inflate a tire based upon a fairly large spectrum of
independent, arbitrary decisions. Furthermore, the tire industry is still waiting
for the National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration to adopt a national
standard regarding tire safety and age.” SB 1076 requires ARB to adopt UVT
regulations consistent with the federal regulations, if adopted.
2) Background on regulation. As noted above, under the CGWSA ARB must
adopt discrete early action measures by January 1, 2010, and these regulations
must be enforceable no later than January 1, 2010. In addition to the
underinflated vehicle tire (UVT) regulation affected by SB 1076, some other
early action measures include the low carbon fuel standard, landfill methane
capture, and shore power.
According to ARB, the UVT regulation will annually eliminate 700,000 metric
tons of GHG emissions; reduce fuel consumption by 75 million gallons; and
extend the average tire’s useful life by 4,700 miles. ARB also notes the
regulation will save the average Californian $12 per year, about 38% of
vehicles on the road in the state have severely underinflated tires (6 pounds
under manufacturer’s recommendations) – which seriously reduce the vehicles
handling capabilities, reduce tread life, and force the engine to work harder thus
increasing the amount of fuel needed. According to Dan Zielinski, senior vice
president with the Rubber Manufacturers Association when the ARB adopted
the regulation, “Under-inflated tires waste fuel, cause tires to wear out
prematurely and increase drivers’ safety risk. This regulation will help protect
SB 1076
Page 4
California’s environment, help consumers save money in fuel and tire costs,
and help Californians optimize vehicle safety.”
Under the UVT regulation, an automotive service provider (ASP) must: a)
check and inflate each vehicle’s tires to the recommended tire pressure rating
when performing any automotive maintenance or repair service, b) indicate on
the vehicle service invoice that a tire inflation service was completed and the
tire pressure measurements after the services are performed, c) perform the tire
pressure service using a tire pressure gauge with a total permissible error no
greater than ± two pounds per square inch, d) have access to a Tire Inflation
Reference that is current within three years of publication, and e) keep a copy
of the vehicle service invoice for a minimum of three years and make the
service invoice available to the ARB or its authorized representative upon
request.
There are certain exceptions to the above requirements if: a) the tires are on a
vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 lbs., b) the tires are
determined by the ASP to be unsafe, or c) the customer declines the check and
inflate service. A customer may decline the check and inflate service if the
customer affirms one of the following: a) a tire pressure check and inflate
service was performed within the last 30 days, or b) a tire pressure check and
inflate service will be performed within the next seven days.
3) Trying again. SB 1076 is similar to SB 211 (Emmerson) of 2011, except that
SB 1076 adds requirements relating to the adoption of NHTSA standards and
sunsets January 1, 2018, rather than January 1, 2017.
According to Governor Brown in vetoing SB 211:
This bill codifies a tire gauge accuracy requirement that is already
in regulation and removes tire age as a consideration by the automotive
service providers when determining whether a tire is unsafe for use.
This bill is both unnecessary and omits a significant factor relating to
public highway safety.
The California Air Resource Board's Regulation to Reduce Greenhouse
Gas Emissions from Vehicles Operation with Under Inflated Tires
requires automotive service providers to check and inflate a vehicle's
tires to the manufacturer's recommended pressure at the time a vehicle
is serviced. This simple action can save 75 million gallons of gasoline
SB 1076
Page 5
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 700,000 metric tons annually.
Placing provisions of ARB's regulation into statute unnecessarily
limits ARB's ability to revise the regulation in the future to ensure that
it achieves the greatest air quality improvements and greenhouse gas
emission reductions possible without legislative action. Furthermore,
by eliminating "age" as a factor bearing on a tire's safety, the bill seeks
to circumvent the rulemaking process and overlooks significant evidence
that age could degrade the performance capabilities of a tire. In this way,
the bill disregards the stakeholder participation and transparency that
were exercised during the rulemaking process.
4) Referral to Transportation and Housing Committee. If this measure is
approved by this committee, the do pass motion must include the action to rerefer the bill to the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
SOURCE:
Senator Emmerson
SUPPORT:
California Tire Dealers Association
Les Schwab Tire Centers
OPPOSITION: None on file