AB 637: Zero-emission vehicles: fleet owners: rental vehicles.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. Existing law also 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 the state board has found to be necessary, cost effective, and technologically feasible, to carry out specified purposes, unless preempted by federal law.

This bill would, if the state board adopts a regulation on or after April 28, 2023, requiring a fleet owner to acquire zero-emission vehicles as part of its fleet, require the state board to authorize the rental of a zero-emission vehicle or vehicles for a cumulative total of 260 days in a calendar year to be deemed ownership of one zero-emission vehicle for purposes of meeting that obligation. The bill would provide that a fleet owner that rents a zero-emission vehicle pursuant to this authority is not precluded from including that vehicle in their fleet for purposes of calculating any zero-emission vehicle acquisition requirement.