SB 1213: Zero- and near-zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles: incentives: transparency.

(1) Existing law establishes the California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program, to be administered by the State Air Resources Board in conjunction with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission). The program funds eligible projects, including, among others, projects for technology development, demonstration, precommercial pilots, and early commercial deployments of zero- and near-zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty truck technology, including projects that help to facilitate clean goods movement corridors. Existing law establishes the Clean Transportation Program, administered by the Energy Commission, to provide, among other things, competitive grants and revolving loans to specified entities for those entities to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California’s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state’s climate change policies.

This bill would require, within the California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program, the state board and the Energy Commission, beginning January 1, 2027, to condition the inclusion of any medium- or heavy-duty vehicle model in specified incentive programs, including the Clean Transportation Program, on the receipt of the pricing data specified below.

(2) Existing law establishes the state board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The state board, in this capacity, administers the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (project) under which the agency issues a limited number of vouchers to incentivize the purchase and use of zero-emission commercial vehicles.

This bill would require the state board, in order to support the deployment of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles through the project, to annually reevaluate the cap on the purchase of unredeemed state vouchers issued through the project, as specified. The bill would also require the state board to periodically reevaluate whether or not taxes should be included when determining the maximum share of vehicle cost incentivized through the project.

This bill, beginning January 1, 2027, would require a state agency administering any medium- or heavy-duty vehicle incentive program that receives funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, including, but not limited to, the project, and any program that receives funding through the California Clean Fuel Reward through the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations, or through the Clean Transportation Program, to condition the inclusion of any medium- or heavy-duty vehicle model in that program upon certain transparency requirements. The bill would require these transparency requirements to include, among other things, the original equipment manufacturer providing the manufacturer suggested retail price for all zero-emission vehicle models offered for sale in California that may be funded by the above-described incentive programs and receipt by the administering agency of a final itemized purchase order, as provided.

This bill would require the state board, in coordination with the Energy Commission, to compile and make publicly available on its internet website in an aggregated format that anonymizes and protects the confidentiality of specified information, the data provided pursuant to these requirements. The bill would also authorize the state board to recover previously dispersed incentive funds that are found to have been dispersed based on data that was knowingly and intentionally misrepresented. The bill would require suspension of a vehicle model’s eligibility for the above-described incentive programs for failure to comply with the reporting requirements, following a notice and a reasonable opportunity to cure the failure to comply.

(3) Existing law establishes the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet Purchasing Assistance Program within the Air Quality Improvement Program to make financing tools and nonfinancial supports available to operators of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets to enable those operators to transition their fleets to zero-emission vehicles.

The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2028, and in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, to explore alternative financing opportunities to encourage the deployment of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and report its findings regarding these alternative financing opportunities to the Legislature. The bill would require this report to include, but not be limited to, incentives with a specific focus on encouraging new entries into the market, spurring market competition, and prioritizing manufacturing within the state, an evaluation of ways to de-risk and scale up the participation of private investors in the market for affordable zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including used vehicles, and an exploration of increasing deployment and decreasing costs by retrofitting internal combustion medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission.