BILL NUMBER: SB 698 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Poochigian
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Sections 17910, 17910.1, 17910.2, 17911,
17911.2, 17911.3, 17912, and 17912.2 of, to amend the heading of Part
10.7 (commencing with Section 17910) of, to repeal Sections 17911.4,
17911.5, 17911.6, and 17911.7 of, and to repeal the heading of
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 17912) of Part 10.7 of, the
Education Code, relating to schoolbuses.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 698, as amended, Poochigian. Schoolbus replacement.
Existing law, the Katz Safe Schoolbus Clean Fuel Efficiency
Demonstration Program, established
establishes the Katz Schoolbus Fund in the State Treasury.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission to design and administer a clean fuel
efficiency demonstration program and to determine which local
educational agencies are to receive replacement schoolbuses for
participation in the program.
This bill would declare that it is the intent of the
Legislature to enact legislation amending these provisions
change the name of that program to the Clean Air and
Schoolbus Safety Program. This bill would delete the existing
provisions relating to the demonstration program and schoolbus
replacement. This bill would change the name of the Katz Schoolbus
Fund to the Clean Air and Schoolbus Safety Fund. This bill would
require the commission to administer the fund according to a
specified order of priority. This bill would require the Controller,
for each fiscal year commencing with the 2006-07 fiscal year and
ending with the 2010- 11 fiscal year, and to the extent
that funds are available, to transfer $50,000,000 from the
Proposition 98 Reversion Account to the Clean Air and Schoolbus
Safety Fund .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation amending Sections 17910 to 17912.3, inclusive, of the
Education Code.
SECTION 1. The heading of Part 10.7 (commencing with Section
17910) of the Education Code is amended to
read:
PART 10.7. KATZ SAFE THE CLEAN AIR AND
SCHOOLBUS CLEAN FUEL EFFICIENCY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
SAFETY PROGRAM
SEC. 2. Section 17910 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17910. This part shall be known and may be cited as the
Katz Safe Clean Air and Schoolbus Clean
Fuel Efficiency Demonstration Safety Program.
SEC. 3. Section 17910.1 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17910.1. As used in this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Commission" means the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
(b) "Superintendent" means the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
(c) "Fund" means the
Katz Clean Air and Schoolbus
Safety Fund created pursuant to Section 17911.
(d) "Department"
means the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(e)
(c) "Program" means the Katz Safe
Clean Air and Schoolbus Clean Fuel Efficiency
Demonstration Safety Program.
(f)
(d) "Schoolbus" means a schoolbus, as defined in
Section 545 of the Vehicle Code, which is Type 1 and publicly owned.
(g)
(e) "Local educational agency" means any of the
following:
(1) A school district.
(2) A county office of education.
(3) A regional occupational program or center.
(4) A joint powers agency which that
operates publicly owned schoolbuses.
SEC. 4. Section 17910.2 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17910.2. (a) The Legislature finds and
declares that there are many schoolbuses operating in this
state which are not fuel efficient and do not meet current federal
standards of safety, and that ensuring the safety of schoolbus
transportation is a matter of the highest importance. It is,
therefore, the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this part, to
create a program for the purchase of new schoolbuses which meet
federal safety standards and operate with greater efficiency and
produce fewer adverse air emissions than the vehicles being replaced.
It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
replacement schoolbuses provided under this program be distributed to
as diverse a selection of districts as is consistent with safety and
energy considerations. all of the following:
(1) The Katz Safe Schoolbus Clean Fuel Efficiency Demonstration
Program has been a successful program whose established
administrative infrastructure within the California Energy Commission
can be used to efficiently administer future schoolbus replacement
programs.
(2) California's public schools operate over 15,000 schoolbuses,
including over 6,000 schoolbuses manufactured before 1987, at least
1,000 of which were manufactured before 1977.
(3) All schoolbuses manufactured before 1977 are a source of
exposure to toxic diesel particulates and do not meet state air
quality emission standards or federal or state safety standards.
(4) Ensuring the safety of schoolbus transportation is a matter of
the highest importance.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to create a program for
the purchase of new schoolbuses that meet federal and state safety
standards and produce fewer adverse air emissions than the
schoolbuses being replaced.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the funds to
purchase replacement schoolbuses under this program be distributed
first to local educational agencies operating schoolbuses
manufactured before 1977. After all schoolbuses manufactured before
1977 that are currently in operation have been removed from service
by local educational agencies, any remaining funds may be used by
local educational agencies to replace schoolbuses manufactured after
1977.
SEC. 5. Section 17911 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17911. (a) (1) There
is hereby created in the State Treasury the Katz
Clean Air and Schoolbus Safety Fund.
(2) For each fiscal year commencing with the 2006-07 fiscal year
and ending with the 2010-11 fiscal year, the Controller shall, to the
extent funds are available, annually transfer fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) from the Proposition 98 Reversion Account to the Clean
Air and Schoolbus Safety Fund. Moneys transferred pursuant to this
paragraph shall be used for the purpose of replacing schoolbuses
pursuant to this part.
(b) The commission shall administer the fund according to the
following order of priority:
(1) The commission shall first select schoolbuses for replacement
that were manufactured before 1977.
(2) After all schoolbuses manufactured before 1977 that are
currently in operation have been removed from service by local
educational agencies, the commission shall select schoolbuses for
replacement based upon the following criteria:
(A) Earliest manufacture date.
(B) Average daily mileage.
SEC. 6. Section 17911.2 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17911.2. The commission shall determine the local
educational agencies that are to receive replacement schoolbuses for
participation in the program. A local educational
agency shall use funds distributed under this part to purchase
schoolbuses that comply with federal and state safety standards and
emission standards adopted by the State Air Resources Board.
SEC. 7. Section 17911.3 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17911.3. In determining which candidate schoolbuses will
be selected for replacement, the commission shall first, in
coordination with the department and the superintendent, determine
which local educational agencies meet the demonstration project
criteria. A schoolbus replaced pursuant to this part
shall not be used as a schoolbus, youth bus, school pupil activity
bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or farm labor vehicle.
SEC. 8. Section 17911.4 of t he
Education Code is repealed.
17911.4. All candidate schoolbuses selected by the commission for
replacement shall be inspected by the department to determine all of
the following criteria:
(a) The dates of manufacture of the schoolbuses. The schoolbuses
shall have been manufactured prior to April 1, 1977, and shall have
been certified during the prior school year pursuant to Section 2807
of the Vehicle Code.
(b) The total accumulated mileage of each candidate schoolbus, as
supported by the owner's records and records of the department. Any
records maintained by the superintendent may also be considered in
determining the true accumulated mileage of a candidate schoolbus.
Only mileage accumulated on the candidate schoolbus during usage by
the applicant district may be considered by the commission as mileage
under this subdivision.
(c) The average number of miles per day each candidate schoolbus
traveled during the prior school year and to date during the current
school year, as evidenced by the owner's records. Any records
maintained by the department or by the superintendent may also be
considered in determining the true average daily miles of a candidate
schoolbus.
(d) The dates of each of the last three annual certifications and
the odometer reading for each of those dates.
SEC. 9. Section 17911.5 of the Education Code
is repealed.
17911.5. (a) Schoolbuses shall be purchased by the Department of
General Services pursuant to specifications developed by the
commission. Title to any schoolbus purchased by the Department of
General Services pursuant to this section shall be in the name of the
local educational agency for which the schoolbus was purchased.
(b) Any schoolbus purchased with these funds shall meet all
applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, operate with
greater energy efficiency, and produce fewer adverse air emissions
than the schoolbus being replaced.
(c) Except as provided in this subdivision, no replacement
schoolbus shall exceed the capacity of the schoolbus being replaced,
as estimated by the department. A local educational agency may use
funds from any available source, other than grants received pursuant
to this part, to pay that part of the cost of a schoolbus that
exceeds the cost of a replacement schoolbus of the same capacity and
with the same features as the schoolbus being replaced, as estimated
by the Department of General Services.
(d) A replacement schoolbus may be of the same design,
configuration, and nonpower-train specifications as the retired
schoolbus.
SEC. 10. Section 17911.6 of the Education Code
is repealed.
17911.6. Local educational agencies may submit a statement
describing special circumstances which are applicable to a qualified
candidate schoolbus, such as the unavailability of repair or
replacement parts, or any necessary chassis modifications requiring
the approval of the manufacturer of the chassis, as required by
regulations of the department, with its application for a replacement
schoolbus. The commission may consider those special circumstances
in determining the local educational agencies that are to receive
replacement schoolbuses.
SEC. 11. Section 17911.7 of the Education Code
is repealed.
17911.7. Schoolbuses replaced under this part shall not be used
as schoolbuses, youth buses, school pupil activity buses, general
public paratransit vehicles, or farm labor vehicles in this state.
SEC. 12. The heading of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
17912) of Part 10.7 of the Education Code is
repealed.
CHAPTER 3. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
SEC. 13. Section 17912 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17912. The demonstration program established
by this chapter shall be designed and administered by the commission,
with the advice and consultation of the department and the
superintendent State Air Resources Board .
The commission shall insure that fuel economy and exhaust
emissions are monitored as a part of the demonstration, and shall
ensure that at least 35 percent of the vehicles are powered by
methanol or other low-emission, clean-burning fuels, unless the
commission determines, within 18 months of the effective date of this
act, that the use of these funds for clean burning fuel projects is
infeasible. The commission shall, within 30 days of making that
determination, submit a report to the Legislature explaining its
determination with respect to the feasibility or infeasibility of the
project. The field demonstration shall be in accordance with State
Energy Conservation Program guidelines.
SEC. 14. Section 17912.2 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
17912.2. When a local educational agency accepts a
replacement schoolbus, it shall also agree to participate in the
demonstration program. That participation shall include maintaining
records of mileage and fuel consumption, and reporting that
information to the commission in a timely manner. The commission
shall establish a procedure and requirement for participation in the
demonstration program. All vehicles acquired under the demonstration
program, at a minimum, shall meet all applicable laws and
regulations, including those related to their acquisition by school
districts, operation, fuel efficiency, air emissions, and safety.
The commission shall not use more than 5
percent of any state funds allocated to this program for
administrative costs.