Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to publish a penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties relating to vehicular air pollution, as specified.

Existing federal regulations regulate the manufacture of glider vehicles, defined as new motor vehicles produced from a glider kit, as defined, or otherwise produced as a new motor vehicle with a used or remanufactured engine.

This bill would make a person who operates a glider vehicle, as defined, in violation of specified emission standards or other requirements for glider vehicles to be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation. The bill would prohibit the above-described requirement for the publication of a penalty policy from being construed as providing discretion to the state board to reduce that minimum civil penalty. The bill would require all moneys collected by the state board to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund and be available upon appropriation.

Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to publish a penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties relating to vehicular air pollution, as specified.

Existing federal regulations regulate the manufacture of glider vehicles, defined as new motor vehicles produced from a glider kit, as defined, or otherwise produced as a new motor vehicle with a used or remanufactured engine.

This bill would make a person who operates a glider vehicle, as defined, in violation of specified emission standards or other requirements for glider vehicles to be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation. The bill would prohibit the above-described requirement for the publication of a penalty policy from being construed as providing discretion to the state board to reduce that minimum civil penalty. The bill would require all moneys collected by the state board to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund and be available upon appropriation.

Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to publish a penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties relating to vehicular air pollution, as specified.

Existing federal regulations regulate the manufacture of glider vehicles, defined as new motor vehicles produced from a glider kit, as defined, or otherwise produced as a new motor vehicle with a used or remanufactured engine.

This bill would make any a person who operates a glider vehicle, as defined by the state board, on or after January 1, 2019, defined, in violation of a vehicular pollution law, order, rule, or regulation, as specified, that establishes specified emission standards or other requirements for glider vehicles, vehicles to be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation. The bill would provide that prohibit the above-described requirement for the publication of a penalty policy shall not be from being construed as providing any discretion to the state board to reduce a that minimum civil penalty for a violation described in this provision below that minimum. penalty. The bill would require all moneys collected by the state board to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund and be available upon appropriation.

Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to publish a penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties relating to vehicular air pollution, as specified.

Existing federal regulations regulate the manufacture of glider vehicles, defined as new motor vehicles produced from a glider kit, as defined, or otherwise produced as a new motor vehicle with a used or remanufactured engine.

This bill would make any person who operates a glider vehicle vehicle, as defined by the state board, on or after January 1, 2019, in violation of a vehicular pollution law, order, rule, or regulation, as specified, that establishes emission standards or other requirements for glider vehicles, subject to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation. The bill would provide that the above-described requirement for publication of a penalty policy shall not be construed as providing any discretion to reduce a civil penalty for a violation described in this provision below that minimum.

This bill would require the state board to review, update, and publish the above-described penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties no later than July 1, 2019.

Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to publish a penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties relating to vehicular air pollution, as specified.

This bill would require the state board to review, update, and publish the above-described penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties no later than July 1, 2019.

Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to publish a penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties relating to vehicular air pollution, as specified.

This bill would require the state board to review, update, and publish the above-described penalty policy for specified civil or administrative penalties no later than July 1, 2019.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2564

Author:(Rodriguez and Reyes)

As Amended Ver:June 13, 2018

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: TRANS.

SUMMARY: Subjects any operator of a glider vehicle, as defined by the California Air Resources Board (ARB), to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation of the state's vehicular air pollution control laws and regulations, and prohibits ARB from reducing the penalty for any reason.

The Senate amendments:

1. Define a "glider kit" either as a new vehicle that lacks an engine, transmission, or axle or as any other new equipment substantially similar to a motor vehicle intended to be completed with the installation of a previously used engine.
2. Define a "glider vehicle" as a new motor vehicle produced from a glider kit and the installation of a used or remanufactured engine.
3. Require all funding generated from this civil penalty to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state cost.

COMMENTS: Under current law, the ARB and/or local air pollution control districts are authorized to impose civil or administrative penalties for a variety of violations of state air pollution laws and regulations. Administrative penalties of up to $100,000 may be assessed for certain violations. Fine and penalty revenues are generally deposited in the APCF (where they are available, upon appropriation of the Legislature, for environmental cleanup, abatement, or pollution prevention) or the General Fund.

ARB has articulated three main goals of its enforcement program:

1. To foster compliance;
2. To deter violations; and,
3. To create a level playing field for the community ARB regulates. ARB currently handles approximately 2,000 violations a year, and has a long history of obtaining compliance along with substantial penalties. In over 99% of its cases, ARB engages violators in a settlement process to reach resolutions, but where appropriate, ARB refers the matter to a prosecutor, usually the Attorney General, for civil litigation or criminal prosecution. ARB and the courts are required to consider several factors when determining the amount of an administrative or civil penalty – including the harm to the public, the compliance history of the defendant, preventative efforts made by the defendant, and other factors.

This bill creates a new civil penalty for individuals caught driving a glider vehicle that violates California's air pollution laws and regulations. A glider kit is a truck chassis with frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes, but no engine or drivetrain. The term is analogous to an aircraft with no engine being a glider. A glider kit becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. The problem arises when engines are salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. Despite the fact that these glider vehicles look like brand new trucks, their earlier model year engines often do not comply with the state's air pollution standards.

ARB states that glider vehicles can emit up to 450 times more diesel particulates and 40 times more NOx than trucks with air-pollution compliant engines. Further, ARB estimates that if only 7% of the trucks operating in California today were non-compliant glider vehicles, it would wipe out the entire emission benefit of the state's diesel regulations.

According to the author, glider vehicles without modern emissions controls are cheaper to purchase and operate than vehicles compliant with the state's air pollution standards; this fact, combined with the fact that glider vehicles are visually indistinguishable from new trucks with compliant equipment, creates a significant incentive for operators to skirt the law. Further, operators of non-compliant glider vehicles have a market advantage over the operators who have agreed to comply with the state's air pollution standards, creating an unfair playing field for the trucking industry.

The author contends that this bill will protect both community air quality and compliant truck operators by creating a minimum penalty for those caught operating non-compliant gliders in California.

Committee Comment: While the $25,000 penalty for violation of this bill seems high, the California Trucking Association as the sponsor of the bill argues it is reasonable for two reasons. First, the high penalty is important to sufficiently deter operators from considering implementing glider vehicles in the state. Supporters argue that the threat needs to be significant enough or scofflaws may believe it is worth the risk to try and operate gliders. Second, supporters of the bill believe the amount is justified because it is relatively equivalent to the price differential between a new truck with the state-mandated clean air components and that of a fully-operable glider vehicle.

Analysis Prepared by: Eric Thronson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0003812

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2564

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/6/18

AYES: Wieckowski, Stone, Gaines, Hill, Skinner

NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara, Stern

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/19/18

AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Monning, Stern, Wieckowski

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0, 5/17/18 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Civil penalties: glider vehicles

SOURCE: California Trucking Association

DIGEST:

This bill (1) establishes, after January 1, 2019, a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 on any operator of a glider vehicle, as defined, for violations of the state’s vehicular air pollution control laws and regulations, (2) prohibits the Air Resources Board (ARB) from reducing the penalty, and (3) requires all moneys collected by ARB pursuant to this bill to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund (APCF) and be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law:

1. Sets, through the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) and its implementing regulations, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants, designates air basins that do not achieve NAAQS as nonattainment, allows only California to set vehicular emissions standards stricter than the federal government, and allows other states to adopt either the federal or California vehicular emissions standards. (42 U.S.C. §7401 et seq.)
2. Requires, under the FCAA, “glider vehicles” to comply with emissions standards for new vehicles, as specified. (40 C.F.R Parts 9, 22, 85, 86, 600, 1033, 1036, 1037, 1039, 1042, 1043, 1065, 1066, and 1068)

Existing state law:

1. Establishes ARB as the air pollution control agency in California and requires ARB, among other things, to control emissions from mobile sources. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §39500 et seq.)
2. Requires ARB to publish a penalty policy for civil or administrative penalties and specifies considerations ARB must take into account in adopting that policy. (HSC §43024)
3. Establishes a process for ARB to assess administrative penalties, in lieu of civil penalties, for violation of specified vehicular air pollution control laws up to $100,000 and establishes a threshold of $100,000 for penalty assessments that qualify a person for mutual settlement agreements and requires the proceeds be deposited into the General Fund. (HSC §43023)
4. Establishes the APCF in the State Treasury for ARB to carry out its duties and functions, upon appropriation by the Legislature. (HSC §43015)

This bill:

1. Establishes, after January 1, 2019, a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 on any operator of a glider vehicle, as defined, for violations of the state’s vehicular air pollution control laws and regulations.
2. Prohibits ARB from reducing the penalty.
3. Requires all moneys collected by ARB pursuant to this bill to be deposited in the APCF and be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Background

1. Glider kits and vehicles. A glider kit is a truck chassis with frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes, but no engine or drivetrain. The term is analogous to an aircraft with no engine being a glider. A glider kit becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. The problem arises when engines are salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. Despite the fact that these glider vehicles look like brand new trucks, their earlier model year engines often do not comply with the state’s air pollution standards.

In 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) promulgated regulations requiring glider vehicles to comply with emissions standards for the year the glider vehicle was constructed. According US EPA, the regulations improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution to reduce the impacts of climate change, while bolstering energy security and spurring manufacturing innovation. It does this by promoting a new generation of cleaner, more fuel efficient trucks by encouraging the development and deployment of new and advanced cost-effective technologies.

The regulations were the product of four years of extensive testing and research and cover vehicle and engine performance standards for model years 2018-2027 for certain trailers and model years 2021-2027 for semi-trucks, large pickup trucks, vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks. The final standards are expected to lower carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1.1 billion metric tons, save vehicle owners fuel costs of about $170 billion, and reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles covered.

Under the new administration, US EPA is proposing to repeal the emission standards and other requirements for heavy-duty glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits based on a proposed interpretation of the FCAA under which glider vehicles would be found not to constitute “new motor vehicles” within the meaning of FCAA Section 216(3), glider engines would be found not to constitute “new motor vehicle engines” within the meaning of FCAA Section 216(3), and glider kits would not be treated as “incomplete” new motor vehicles. Under this proposed interpretation, US EPA would lack authority to regulate glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits under FCAA Section 202(a)(1).

1. ARB and glider vehicles. According to ARB, glider kits are legitimately used when compliant trucks are damaged leaving the chassis unusable but the engine intact. But recently some manufacturers have been abusing the glider provisions to build vehicles with no emission controls, and market them as new trucks. Currently, some 10,000 glider kits are sold each year, about one out of 20 heavy-duty (Class 7 and 8) tractor trucks sold. This is a vastly greater number than just a decade ago. Repealing the current caps on glider kit production would essentially allow an unfettered number of older, dirty engines onto the market. These trucks lack filters that trap toxic diesel soot and also lack controls that limit smog-forming nitrogen oxides.

Based on US EPA’s own testing this year, glider vehicle levels of NOx (oxides of nitrogen, a precursor to smog) were 4 to 40 times higher than those of modern trucks. Levels of diesel particulate matter (a toxic air contaminant linked to cancer and a host of respiratory and cardiac ills including asthma) were 50-450 times higher. ARB’s own analysis confirms these figures.

Repealing the rule and allowing unlimited numbers of glider kits on the road will damage public health. ARB analysis determined that a single pre-emission engine in a new glider kit puts out the equivalent of up to 450 modern trucks (with engines from 2010 or later). In fact, these glider kit trucks are so dirty that if they made up less than seven percent of all medium- and heavy-duty trucks in California the pollution they emit would completely offset the clean-air benefits of California’s current efforts to clean up the state’s diesel trucks and buses. This puts Californians at risk, and would make it impossible for California to meet our federally mandated air quality standards.

1. Air quality standards. The FCAA passed in 1963 and has been revised many times thereafter. The FCAA and its implementing regulations are intended to protect public health and environmental quality by limiting and reducing pollution from various sources. Under the FCAA, the US EPA establishes NAAQS that apply to outdoor air throughout the country.

In 1969 and 1971, ARB set the first air quality standards for ozone, Particulate Matter (PM), NOx, oxides of sulfur (SOx), carbon monoxide due to their negative impacts on public health above specified concentrations.

The federal government followed suit and set NAAQS for six “criteria pollutants.” These included ground-level ozone, PM, NOx, SOx, and carbon monoxide, and added lead. Now, the US EPA reviews each NAAQS at five-year intervals to ensure that the standards are based on the most recent scientific information.

Regions that do not meet the national standards for any one of the standards are designated “nonattainment areas.” The FCAA sets deadlines for attainment based on the severity of nonattainment and requires states to develop comprehensive plans, known as the state implementation plan, to attain and maintain air-quality standards for each area designated nonattainment for an NAAQS.

Comments

Purpose of this bill. According to the author, “in November of 2017, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was proposing to rollback restrictions on heavy-duty glider vehicles. A glider vehicle is a truck that utilizes a previously owned powertrain (including the engine, transmission and usually the axle) but has new truck body parts. While gliders have been used for years to salvage usable parts from wrecked trucks, strict new standards for truck emissions have created a cottage industry of glider vehicles built to avoid emission rules. Because they may lack modern emission controls, gliders can emit up to 450x the diesel particulate matter and 40x the nitrogen oxide of a compliant engine.

“The California Air Resource Board (CARB) estimates that if only 7% of the trucks operating in California were non-compliant glider vehicles, it would wipe out the entire emission benefit of their comprehensive diesel regulations. Because glider vehicles without modern emission controls are cheaper to purchase and operate than compliant vehicles, and are visually indistinguishable from a new truck, there will be significant incentive to skirt state regulation. This bill will protect both community air quality and compliant California truckers by creating a minimum penalty for those caught operating non-compliant gliders in the State.”

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/6/18)

California Trucking Association (source)

American Lung Association in California

California League of Conservation Voters

Coalition for Clean Air

Union of Concerned Scientists

United Parcel Service

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/6/18)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Trucking Association:

A glider vehicle (‘‘glider’’) is a truck that utilizes a previously owned powertrain (including the engine) but which has new body parts. Engines utilized in gliders can lack modern emission controls, resulting in up to 450x the diesel particulates of a compliant truck. To address this growing air quality and public health concern, federal regulations adopted in 2016 capped production of glider vehicles that were not equipped with stringent particulate and NOx controls. In November of 2017, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was proposing to rollback the restrictions on the production of heavy-duty glider vehicles.

While non-compliant gliders will be illegal to operate in California due to our strict in-use regulations, EPA’s rollback on gliders will likely overburden the State’s enforcement staff unless fleets are strongly deterred from utilizing them.

Setting a minimum civil penalty, designed to eliminate any economic advantage gained by purchasing a non-compliant glider, in excess of other existing civil and administrative penalties, will send a clear message to those who might seek to break California law.

As Attorney General Xavier Becerra wrote in a press release “Repealing the Glider Rule is bad for our environment, for the health of our families, and for truckers and shippers who play by the rules and operate trucks with cleaner fuel-burning engines.” We agree and are grateful for your leadership in protecting both the air quality in the communities in which our members work and live and the billions of dollars compliant truckers have invested in cleaner technologies.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0, 5/17/18

AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chávez, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cristina Garcia, Melendez, Muratsuchi, Santiago, Steinorth

Prepared by:

8/7/18 17:24:01

**** END ****

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair

2017-2018 Regular Session

Bill No: AB 2564 (Author:Rodriguez)

Version: June 13, 2018

Hearing Date: June 19, 2018

Fiscal: Yes

Urgency: No

Consultant: JDT

SUBJECT

Civil and administrative penalties: glider vehicles

DESCRIPTION

This bill would subject an operator of a glider vehicle that violates pollution emissions standards to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation.

BACKGROUND

“Glider vehicles” are heavy-duty trucks that are manufactured without engines and later retrofitted with refurbished engines salvaged from irreparably damaged trucks.

Because the engines are typically decades old, glider vehicles are cheaper than new trucks, but they also pollute far more. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that a single model year of unregulated glider pollution, up to 1,600 people will die prematurely from ailments associated with added air pollution. In 2016, the EPA adopted regulations to impose standards for glider trucks and cap the number that are manufactured.

However, in the tide of the federal rollback of regulations, the EPA has since reinterpreted the Clean Air Act—which requires the agency to regulate “new motor vehicles”--to exclude glider trucks, as they have new bodies and previously owned engines, despite the fact that these vehicles would be considered new in any other sense. The reopening of this loophole is opposed by major truck manufacturers like Volvo and Navistar, which have invested in developing vehicles that comply with emissions standards, as well as by fleet owners like the United Parcel Service, which supports this bill.

In response to the federal government’s abrogation of its duty to protect air resources, this bill would subject a person who operates a glider vehicle in violation of applicable orders, rules, or regulations that establish emission standards or other requirements for glider vehicles to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation.

This bill was previously heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, and passed with a vote of 5-0.

CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW

Existing law establishes the Air Resources Board (ARB) as the air pollution control agency in California and requires ARB, among other things, to control emissions from mobile sources. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 39500 et seq.)

Existing law requires ARB to publish a penalty policy for civil or administrative penalties and specifies considerations ARB must take into account in adopting that policy. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 43024)

Existing law establishes a process for ARB to assess administrative penalties, in lieu of civil penalties, for violations of specified vehicular air pollution control laws up to $100,000 and establishes a threshold of $100,000 for penalty assessments that qualify a person for mutual settlement agreements and requires the proceeds be deposited into the General Fund. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 43023)

Existing law establishes the Air Pollution Control Fund in the State Treasury for ARB to carry out its duties and functions, upon appropriation by the Legislature. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 43015)

This bill would provide that a person who operates a glider vehicle in violation of applicable orders, rules, or regulations that establish emission standards or other requirements for glider vehicles is subject to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation.

This bill would define “glider kit” for its purposes as either: (1) a new vehicle that is incomplete because it lacks an engine, transmission, or axle, or (2) any other new equipment that is substantially similar to a complete motor vehicle and is intended to become a complete motor vehicle with a previously used engine, including, but not limited to, a rebuilt or manufactured engine.

This bill would define “glider vehicle” for its purposes as a new motor vehicle produced from a glider kit or otherwise produced as a new motor vehicle with a used or remanufactured engine.

This bill would provide that all moneys collected by the state board in connection with a penalty imposed under the bill’s provisions must be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund and will be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

COMMENT

1. Stated need for the bill

The author states that “AB 2564 will protect both community air quality and compliant California truckers by creating a minimum penalty for those caught operating non-compliant gliders in the State.”

The bill’s sponsor, California Trucking Association, writes:

A glider vehicle (‘‘glider’’) is a truck that utilizes a previously owned powertrain (including the engine) but which has new body parts. Engines utilized in gliders can lack modern emission controls, resulting in up to 450x the diesel particulates of a compliant truck. To address this growing air quality and public health concern, federal regulations adopted in 2016 capped production of glider vehicles that were not equipped with stringent particulate and NOx controls. In November of 2017, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was proposing to rollback the restrictions on the production of heavy-duty glider vehicles.

While non-compliant gliders will be illegal to operate in California due to our strict in-use regulations, EPA’s rollback on gliders will likely overburden the State’s enforcement staff unless fleets are strongly deterred from utilizing them.

Setting a minimum civil penalty, designed to eliminate any economic advantage gained by purchasing a non-compliant glider, in excess of other existing civil and administrative penalties, will send a clear message to those who might seek to break California law.

In a joint letter, American Lung Association in California, California League of Conservation Voters, Coalition for Clean Air, and Union of Concerned Scientists write:

Since 2000, California has led the nation and the world in developing strong programs to reduce air pollution from all diesel sources including ships, trucks, buses and passenger vehicles. Specifically, California’s Truck and Bus Regulation calls for all heavy-duty trucks to have 2010 or newer engines in place by 2023. However, glider kit trucks are so dirty, CARB estimates that if they made up less than 7 percent of all medium- and heavy-duty trucks in California the pollution they would [produce would] completely offset the clean-air benefits of California’s truck and bus regulation. This puts Californians at risk and would make it impossible for California to meet our federally mandated air quality standards.

AB 2568 would create a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation for trucking fleets found to be operating non-compliant gliders. UCS believes this is an appropriate measure to discourage use of polluting, non-compliant gliders in California.

2. The EPA’s repeal of standards for glider vehicles

This bill creates a new civil penalty for individuals caught driving a glider vehicle that violates California’s air pollution laws and regulations. A glider vehicle is a truck that uses a previously owned power train—including the engine, transmission, and usually the rear axle—but has a new body, including the tractor chassis with the frame, front axle, brakes, and cab that are assembled into a shell of a truck, also known as a “glider kit.” A powertrain is later salvaged from the carcass of a ruined truck and transplanted into the glider kit. Despite the fact that these glider vehicles look like brand new trucks, their earlier model year engines often do not comply with the state’s air pollution standards.

Engines in glider vehicles are often decades old. ARB states that glider vehicles can emit up to 450 times more diesel particulates and 40 times more nitrogen oxide than trucks with air-pollution compliant engines. Further, ARB estimates that if only seven percent of the trucks operating in California today were non-compliant glider vehicles, it would wipe out the entire emission benefit of the state’s diesel regulations.

The EPA has reversed a prior interpretation of its authority to regulate glider vehicles under the Clean Air Act, concluding that since gliders contain old parts, they are not “new motor vehicles” and thus Congress intended to exclude from EPA’s regulatory authority any new vehicle with an old engine that belches out emissions that far exceed regulatory standards applicable to other new vehicles.

A comment letter to the EPA opposing the repeal of emissions requirements for Glider Vehicles, to which numerous Attorneys General, including California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, were signatories, states as follows:

Simply put, gliders are a pollution menace that, unless properly regulated, threaten to undermine the entire national program to reduce harmful emissions from heavy duty vehicles and engines. By way of example, in the record for the Glider Rule, EPA estimated that: 500 non-compliant gliders produce the same total amount of harmful particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions as do 20,000 fully compliant 2014 Class-8 tractors. In that same record, EPA estimated that a single model year of unregulated glider PM pollution would result in up to 1,600 premature deaths. (Comments on Proposed “Repeal of Emission Requirements for Glider Vehicles, Glider Engines, and Glider Kits,” 82 Fed. Reg. 53, 442, p. 1.)

In addition to being detrimental to the environment, this loophole will—as numerous trucking manufacturers and members of Congress have pointed out^[1]—enable anticompetitive practices that disadvantage compliant manufacturers and fleet owners who have invested in vehicles that meet current emissions standards.

Support: American Lung Association in California; California League of Conservation Voters; Coalition for Clean Air; Union of Concerned Scientists; and United Parcel Service

Opposition: None Known

HISTORY

Source: California Trucking Association

Related Pending Legislation: None known

Prior Legislation: Senate Bill 1 (Beall, Ch. 5, Stats. 2017) required Department of Motor Vehicles to confirm, prior to the initial registration or the transfer of ownership and registration of a diesel-fueled vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds, that the vehicle is compliant with, or exempt from, applicable air pollution control technology requirements.

Prior Vote:

Senate Environmental Quality Committee (Ayes 5, Noes 0)

Assembly Floor (Ayes 73, Noes 0)

Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 16, Noes 0)

Assembly Transportation Committee (Ayes 14, Noes 0)

Assembly Rules Committee (Ayes 8, Noes 0)

**************

1. A Loophole for Dirty Diesel Trucks: Yet Another Attack on Science by Trump’s EPA, LA Times (May 30, 2018) <http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-epa-glider-trucks-20180530-story.html> [as of June 6, 2018].) ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Senator Wieckowski, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular

Bill No: AB 2564

SUBJECT: Civil and administrative penalties: glider vehicles

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law:

1. Sets, through the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) and its implementing regulations, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants, designates air basins that do not achieve NAAQS as nonattainment, allows only California to set vehicular emissions standards stricter than the federal government, and allows other states to adopt either the federal or California vehicular emissions standards. (42 U.S.C. §7401 et seq.)
   
2. Requires, under the FCAA, “glider vehicles” to comply with emissions standards for new vehicles, as specified. (40 C.F.R Parts 9, 22, 85, 86, 600, 1033, 1036, 1037, 1039, 1042, 1043, 1065, 1066, and 1068)
   

Existing state law:

1. Establishes the Air Resources Board (ARB) as the air pollution control agency in California and requires ARB, among other things, to control emissions from mobile sources. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §39500 et seq.)
   
2. Requires ARB to publish a penalty policy for civil or administrative penalties and specifies considerations ARB must take into account in adopting that policy. (HSC §43024)
   
3. Establishes a process for ARB to assess administrative penalties, in lieu of civil penalties, for violation of specified vehicular air pollution control laws up to $100,000 and establishes a threshold of $100,000 for penalty assessments that qualify a person for mutual settlement agreements and requires the proceeds be deposited into the General Fund. (HSC §43023)
   
4. Establishes the Air Pollution Control Fund (APCF) in the State Treasury for ARB to carry out its duties and functions, upon appropriation by the Legislature. (HSC §43015)
   

This bill:

Establishes, after January 1, 2019, a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 on any operator of a glider vehicle, as defined by ARB, for violations of the state’s vehicular air pollution control laws and regulations, and prohibits ARB from reducing the penalty.

Background

1. Glider kits and vehicles. A glider kit is a truck chassis with frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes, but no engine or drivetrain. The term is analogous to an aircraft with no engine being a glider. A glider kit becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. The problem arises when engines are salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. Despite the fact that these glider vehicles look like brand new trucks, their earlier model year engines often do not comply with the state’s air pollution standards.
   
   In 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) promulgated regulations requiring glider vehicles to comply with emissions standards for the year the glider vehicle was constructed. According US EPA, the regulations improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution to reduce the impacts of climate change, while bolstering energy security and spurring manufacturing innovation. It does this by promoting a new generation of cleaner, more fuel efficient trucks by encouraging the development and deployment of new and advanced cost-effective technologies.
   
   The regulations were the product of four years of extensive testing and research and cover vehicle and engine performance standards for model years 2018-2027 for certain trailers and model years 2021-2027 for semi-trucks, large pickup trucks, vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks. The final standards are expected to lower carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1.1 billion metric tons, save vehicle owners fuel costs of about $170 billion, and reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles covered.
   
   Under the new administration, US EPA is proposing to repeal the emission standards and other requirements for heavy-duty glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits based on a proposed interpretation of the FCAA under which glider vehicles would be found not to constitute “new motor vehicles” within the meaning of CAA section 216(3), glider engines would be found not to constitute “new motor vehicle engines” within the meaning of CAA section 216(3), and glider kits would not be treated as “incomplete” new motor vehicles. Under this proposed interpretation, EPA would lack authority to regulate glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits under CAA section 202(a)(1).
   
2. ARB and glider vehicles. According to ARB, glider kits are legitimately used when compliant trucks are damaged leaving the chassis unusable but the engine intact. But recently some manufacturers have been abusing the glider provisions to build vehicles with no emission controls, and market them as new trucks. Currently, some 10,000 glider kits are sold each year, about one out of 20 heavy-duty (Class 7 and 8) tractor trucks sold. This is a vastly greater number than just a decade ago. Repealing the current caps on glider kit production would essentially allow an unfettered number of older, dirty engines onto the market. These trucks lack filters that trap toxic diesel soot and also lack controls that limit smog-forming nitrogen oxides.
   
   Based on U.S. EPA’s own testing this year, glider vehicle levels of NOx (oxides of nitrogen, a precursor to smog) were 4 to 40 times higher than those of modern trucks. Levels of diesel particulate matter (a toxic air contaminant linked to cancer and a host of respiratory and cardiac ills including asthma) were 50-450 times higher. CARB’s own analysis confirms these figures.
   
   Repealing the rule and allowing unlimited numbers of glider kits on the road will damage public health. ARB analysis determined that a single pre-emission engine in a new glider kit puts out the equivalent of up to 450 modern trucks (with engines from 2010 or later). In fact, these glider kit trucks are so dirty that if they made up less than 7 percent of all medium- and heavy-duty trucks in California the pollution they emit would completely offset the clean-air benefits of California’s current efforts to clean up the state’s diesel trucks and buses. This puts Californians at risk, and would make it impossible for California to meet our federally mandated air quality standards.
   
3. Air quality standards. The Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) passed in 1963 and has been revised many times thereafter. The FCAA and its implementing regulations are intended to protect public health and environmental quality by limiting and reducing pollution from various sources. Under the FCAA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that apply to outdoor air throughout the country.
   
   In 1969 and 1971, ARB set the first air quality standards for ozone, Particulate Matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), carbon monoxide due to their negative impacts on public health above specified concentrations.
   
   The federal government followed suit and set NAAQS for six “criteria pollutants.” These included ground-level ozone, PM, NOx, SOx, and carbon monoxide, and added lead. Now, the US EPA reviews each NAAQS at five-year intervals to ensure that the standards are based on the most recent scientific information.
   
   Regions that do not meet the national standards for any one of the standards are designated “nonattainment areas.” The FCAA sets deadlines for attainment based on the severity of nonattainment and requires states to develop comprehensive plans, known as the state implementation plan (SIP), to attain and maintain air-quality standards for each area designated nonattainment for an NAAQS.
   

Comments

1. Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “in November of 2017, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was proposing to rollback restrictions on heavy-duty glider vehicles. A glider vehicle is a truck that utilizes a previously owned powertrain (including the engine, transmission and usually the axle) but has new truck body parts. While gliders have been used for years to salvage usable parts from wrecked trucks, strict new standards for truck emissions have created a cottage industry of glider vehicles built to avoid emission rules. Because they may lack modern emission controls, gliders can emit up to 450x the diesel particulate matter and 40x the nitrogen oxide of a compliant engine.
   
   “The California Air Resource Board (CARB) estimates that if only 7% of the trucks operating in California were non-compliant glider vehicles, it would wipe out the entire emission benefit of their comprehensive diesel regulations. Because glider vehicles without modern emission controls are cheaper to purchase and operate than compliant vehicles, and are visually indistinguishable from a new truck, there will be significant incentive to skirt state regulation. This bill will protect both community air quality and compliant California truckers by creating a minimum penalty for those caught operating non-compliant gliders in the State.”
   
2. Delegation of legislative authority. As written, AB 2564 gives ARB the discretion to define glider vehicles as it chooses rather than use the common understanding of what constitutes a glider vehicle. Given that what constitutes a glider vehicles is well understood and not in dispute, ARB should not be given the broad authority to arbitrarily change what ARB considers to be a glider vehicle and, therefore, who the penalties the bill will affect.
   
   Therefore, amendments are needed to define glider kits and vehicles for the purposes of this bill.
   
3. Follow the money. The enforcement of the state’s emissions laws as they relate to glider vehicles is difficult due to the fact that glider vehicles look like new trucks. As written, the penalties collected under AB 2564 will be deposited into the general fund. Penalties should be deposited into the Air Pollution Control Fund (APCF), which is a source of funding for ARB to carry out its duties and functions, upon appropriation by the Legislature. Given the difficulty that glider vehicles pose for ARB, it may make more sense to ensure that penalties collected go to the enforcement of the state’s emissions laws.
   
   Therefore, an amendment is needed to require the penalties collected under this bill to be deposited in to the APCF.
   
4. Technical and clarifying amendments. Should AB 2564 be signed into law, the bill will go into effect on January 1, 2019. There is no need, therefore, to specify that the penalties in the bill go into effect on January 1, 2019. Legislative Counsel has also identified drafting errors that need to be corrected.
   
   Therefore, technical and clarifying amendments are needed.
   

DOUBLE REFERRAL:

If this measure is approved by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, the do pass motion must include the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SOURCE:

California Trucking Association

SUPPORT:

American Lung Association in California

California League of Conservation Voters

Coalition for Clean Air

Union of Concerned Scientists

United Parcel Service

OPPOSITION:

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Trucking Association:

A glider vehicle (‘‘glider’’) is a truck that utilizes a previously owned powertrain (including the engine) but which has new body parts. Engines utilized in gliders can lack modern emission controls, resulting in up to 450x the diesel particulates of a compliant truck. To address this growing air quality and public health concern, federal regulations adopted in 2016 capped production of glider vehicles that were not equipped with stringent particulate and NOx controls. In November of 2017, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was proposing to rollback the restrictions on the production of heavy-duty glider vehicles.

While non-compliant gliders will be illegal to operate in California due to our strict in-use regulations, EPA’s rollback on gliders will likely overburden the State’s enforcement staff unless fleets are strongly deterred from utilizing them.

Setting a minimum civil penalty, designed to eliminate any economic advantage gained by purchasing a non-compliant glider, in excess of other existing civil and administrative penalties, will send a clear message to those who might seek to break California law.

As Attorney General Xavier Becerra wrote in a press release “Repealing the Glider Rule is bad for our environment, for the health of our families, and for truckers and shippers who play by the rules and operate trucks with cleaner fuel-burning engines.” We agree and are grateful for your leadership in protecting both the air quality in the communities in which our members work and live and the billions of dollars compliant truckers have invested in cleaner technologies.

-- END --

Date of Hearing: May 9, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2564

Author:(Rodriguez) – As Amended Ver:April 16, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill establishes a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 if a truck driver is found to be operating a “glider vehicle”—a truck manufactured with no engine in order to accommodate an aftermarket engine—that violates state air quality laws.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Minor and absorbable costs to the California Air Resources Board (ARB).
2. Potential minor revenue to the extent ARB finds violators and charges a $25,000 or greater civil penalty.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. A glider kit is a truck chassis with frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes, but no engine or drivetrain. The term is analogous to an aircraft with no engine being a glider. A glider kit becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. The problem arises when engines are salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. Despite the fact that these glider vehicles look like brand new trucks, their earlier model-year engines often do not comply with the state’s air pollution standards. ARB states that glider vehicles can emit up to 450 times more diesel particulates and 40 times more NOx than trucks with pollution-compliant engines. Further, ARB estimates that if only 7% of trucks operating in California today were non-compliant glider vehicles, it would wipe out the entire emission benefit of the state’s diesel regulations.
2. Purpose. The author contends this bill will protect both community air quality and compliant truck operators by creating a minimum penalty for those caught operating non-compliant glider vehicles in California. According to the author, glider vehicles without modern emissions controls are cheaper to purchase and operate than vehicles compliant with the state’s air pollution standards.

Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Peters / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 23, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Jim Frazier, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2564 (

Author:Rodriguez) – As Amended Ver:April 16, 2018

SUBJECT: Civil and administrative penalties: glider vehicles

SUMMARY: Subjects any operator of a glider vehicle, as defined by the California Air Resources Board (ARB), to a minimum civil penalty of $25,000 per violation of the state’s vehicular air pollution control laws and regulations, and prohibits ARB from reducing the penalty for any reason.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Generally establishes processes for ARB to assess fines and penalties and specifies the deposit of fines and penalties for violations of vehicular air pollution control laws into the Air Pollution Control Fund (APCF) or the General Fund.
   
2. Establishes a process for ARB to assess administrative penalties, in lieu of civil penalties, for violation of specified vehicular air pollution control laws up to $100,000 and establishes a threshold of $100,000 for penalty assessments that qualify a person for mutual settlement agreements and requires the proceeds be deposited into the General Fund.
   
3. Requires ARB and the courts to consider specified conditions when assessing the amount of administrative or civil penalties for violations of vehicular air pollution control laws such as:
   
   1. The extent of harm to public health, safety, and welfare caused by the violation;
      
   2. The nature and persistence of the violation, including the magnitude of the excess emissions;
      
   3. The compliance history of the defendant, including the frequency of past violations;
      
   4. The preventive efforts taken by the defendant, including the record of maintenance and any program to ensure compliance;
      
   5. The innovative nature and the magnitude of the effort required to comply, and the accuracy, reproducibility, and repeatability of the available test methods;
      
   6. The efforts to attain, or provide for, compliance; and,
      
   7. The cooperation of the defendant during the course of the investigation and any action taken by the defendant, including the nature, extent, and time of response of any action taken to mitigate the violation.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: Under current law, the ARB and/or local air pollution control districts are authorized to impose civil or administrative penalties for a variety of violations of state air pollution laws and regulations. Administrative penalties of up to $100,000 may be assessed for certain violations. Fine and penalty revenues are generally deposited in the APCF (where they are available, upon appropriation of the Legislature, for environmental cleanup, abatement, or pollution prevention) or the General Fund.

ARB has articulated three main goals of its enforcement program:

1. To foster compliance;
   
2. To deter violations; and,
   
3. To create a level playing field for the community ARB regulates. ARB currently handles approximately 2,000 violations a year, and has a long history of obtaining compliance along with substantial penalties. In over 99% of its cases, ARB engages violators in a settlement process to reach resolutions, but where appropriate, ARB refers the matter to a prosecutor, usually the Attorney General, for civil litigation or criminal prosecution. ARB and the courts are required to consider several factors when determining the amount of an administrative or civil penalty – including the harm to the public, the compliance history of the defendant, preventative efforts made by the defendant, and other factors.

This bill creates a new civil penalty for individuals caught driving a glider vehicle that violates California’s air pollution laws and regulations. A glider kit is a truck chassis with frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes, but no engine or drivetrain. The term is analogous to an aircraft with no engine being a glider. A glider kit becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. The problem arises when engines are salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. Despite the fact that these glider vehicles look like brand new trucks, their earlier model year engines often do not comply with the state’s air pollution standards.

ARB states that glider vehicles can emit up to 450 times more diesel particulates and 40 times more NOx than trucks with air-pollution compliant engines. Further, ARB estimates that if only 7% of the trucks operating in California today were non-compliant glider vehicles, it would wipe out the entire emission benefit of the state’s diesel regulations.

According to the author, glider vehicles without modern emissions controls are cheaper to purchase and operate than vehicles compliant with the state’s air pollution standards; this fact, combined with the fact that glider vehicles are visually indistinguishable from new trucks with compliant equipment, creates a significant incentive for operators to skirt the law. Further, operators of non-compliant glider vehicles have a market advantage over the operators who have agreed to comply with the state’s air pollution standards, creating an unfair playing field for the trucking industry.

The author contends that this bill will protect both community air quality and compliant truck operators by creating a minimum penalty for those caught operating non-compliant gliders in California.

Committee Comment: While the $25,000 penalty for violation of this bill seems high, the California Trucking Association as the sponsor of the bill argues it is reasonable for two reasons. First, the high penalty is important to sufficiently deter operators from considering implementing glider vehicles in the state. Supporters argue that the threat needs to be significant enough or scofflaws may believe it is worth the risk to try and operate gliders. Second, supporters of the bill believe the amount is justified because it is relatively equivalent to the price differential between a new truck with the state-mandated clean air components and that of a fully-operable glider vehicle.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Trucking Association (Sponsor)

UPS

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Eric Thronson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093