AB 544: Vehicles: high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

Existing federal law authorizes, until September 30, 2019, a state to allow low emission and energy-efficient vehicles, as specified, to use lanes designated for high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs). Existing federal law also authorizes, until September 30, 2025, a state to allow alternative fuel vehicles, as defined, and new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles, as defined, to use those HOV lanes.

Existing state law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of HOVs. Existing law also authorizes super ultra-low emission vehicles (SULEV), ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV), advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicles (AT PZEV), or transitional zero-emission vehicles (TZEV), as specified, that display a valid identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to use these HOV lanes until January 1, 2019, or until the date federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, whichever occurs first. Existing law makes the use by a driver of an HOV lane without those identifiers a crime. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to remove individual HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during peak periods of congestion from access by vehicles displaying the identifiers if the department makes specified findings.

This bill would extend the authority of drivers of specified vehicles to use HOV lanes until the date federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, whichever occurs first. The bill would authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue identifiers until the date federal authorization expires, or until the Secretary of State receives a certain notice, whichever occurs first.

The bill would make certain existing identifiers valid until January 1, 2019, would make certain identifiers issued on or after January 1, 2019, valid until January 1, 2022, and would make other identifiers issued on or after January 1, 2019, valid until January 1 of the 4th year after the year in which they were issued, as specified. The bill would provide, subject to exception, that a vehicle may not be issued an identifier more than once. The bill would additionally condition eligibility for the identifiers on the applicant not having received a rebate pursuant to the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project for a vehicle purchased on or after January 1, 2018, unless the applicant meets certain income restrictions. The bill would provide that if these provisions become inoperative, the driver of a vehicle with an otherwise valid decal, label, or other identifier would not be cited for a violation of the HOV lane provisions within 60 days of the date that those provisions became inoperative. The bill would make additional conforming changes.

The bill would repeal these provisions on September 30, 2025.

By extending the operation of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.