Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1594 Medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles: public agency utilities.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Public agency utility vehicles are essential to maintaining reliable water and electric service, achieving the state’s ambitious energy and water goals, for responding to disasters in an emergency capacity, and for providing mutual aid assistance in the state and nationwide.
(b) Public agency utility vehicles are operated under various weather and geographic conditions and zero-emission vehicle procurement plans for public agency utilities should be reasonably tailored to support each public agency utility’s ability to respond to major disruption events, including, but not limited to, severe weather, wildfires, natural disasters, and physical attacks, and to maintain reliable utility services to California communities.

SEC. 2.

 The heading of Division 12.5 (commencing with Section 28500) is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

DIVISION 12.5. Zero-Emission Vehicles

SEC. 3.

 Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 28500) is added to Division 12.5 of the Vehicle Code, to read:

CHAPTER  1. Public Agency Utility Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
28500.
 (a) “Public agency utility” means a local publicly owned electric utility, as defined in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code, a community water system, as defined in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code, a water district, as defined in Section 20200 of the Water Code, and a wastewater treatment provider, as defined in Section 116773.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Any state regulation that seeks to require, or otherwise compel, the procurement of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles shall authorize public agency utilities to purchase replacements for traditional utility-specialized vehicles that are at the end of life, as determined by the State Air Resources Board in consultation with public agency utilities, when needed to maintain reliable service and respond to major foreseeable events, including, but not limited to, severe weather, wildfires, natural disasters, and physical attacks, without regard to the model year of the vehicle being replaced. For the purposes of determining the daily usage of a medium- or heavy-duty vehicle, a public agency utility may provide comprehensive usage data for a class of vehicles that does not exclusively rely on the lowest mileage reading and does not exclude the highest usage days.