BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1966
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          Date of Hearing:   April 19, 2004

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                                Jenny Oropeza, Chair
                   AB 1966 (Campbell) - As Amended:  April 13, 2004
           
          SUBJECT  :  Hydrogen refueling stations

           SUMMARY  :  Requires the establishment of guidelines for the  
          development of hydrogen refueling stations.  Specifically,  this  
          bill  :  

          1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), in collaboration with  
            the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Public Utilities  
            Commission (PUC) and State Energy Commission, to adopt  
            regulations establishing statewide guidelines for the  
            production and licensing of hydrogen fuel cell refueling  
            stations.  

          2)Requires this effort to be funded out of the respective  
            agencies' existing resources.  

           EXISTING LAW  :  Designates ARB as the lead state agency for  
          issues concerning air quality.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

          COMMENTS  :  As the state and nation grapple with the high cost of  
          gasoline and the environmental impacts of the use of fossil  
          fuels, much attention has been focussed on the emergence of  
          fuel-celled vehicles as the long-term solution to these  
          problems.  Both the President and the Governor have proposed  
          initiatives along these lines.  

          One of the challenges in transitioning the state's vehicles from  
          gasoline engines to fuel cells is the so-called  
          "chicken-and-egg" problem.  Consumers will not purchase  
          fuel-celled vehicles, and auto manufacturers will not mass  
          produce them, until there are sufficient hydrogen fueling  
          stations in place to allow easy and convenient travel throughout  
          the state.  But energy companies will not create a comprehensive  
          distribution system until there are large enough numbers of  
          these vehicles on the road to allow for a reasonable return on  
          their investment.  The Governor has proposed to address this  
          problem by creation of a "hydrogen highway," establishing 200  








                                                                  AB 1966
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          fueling stations, or one every 20 miles along selected state  
          routes, by 2010.  (By way of contrast, there are currently  
          approximately 10,000 gasoline stations in California.)  

          The author believes that having California take the lead in  
          developing fuel cells for transportation purposes will spark  
          manufacturing and other business opportunities.  He states that  
          this bill is an important step toward realizing the goal of the  
          hydrogen highway and will "instill confidence in consumers and  
          investors alike that the technology currently under development  
          will be available to consumers throughout California."  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          None received

           Opposition 
           
          None received
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093