BILL NUMBER: SB 1077 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 835
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 26, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 21, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 4, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 16, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lowenthal)
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to add and repeal Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3090)
of Division 2 of, and to repeal Chapter 7 (commencing with former
Section 3100) of Division 2 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1077, DeSaulnier. Vehicles: road usage charge pilot program.
Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency, which consists
of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the California
Transportation Commission, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the
Department of Transportation, the High-Speed Rail Authority, and the
Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San
Pablo, and Suisun.
This bill would require the Chair of the California
Transportation Commission to create a Road Usage Charge (RUC)
Technical Advisory Committee in consultation with the Secretary of
the Transportation Agency. The bill would require the technical
advisory committee to study RUC alternatives to the gas tax and to
make recommendations to the Secretary of the Transportation Agency on
the design of a pilot program, as specified. The bill would also
authorize the technical advisory committee to make recommendations on
the criteria to be used to evaluate the pilot program. The bill
would require the technical advisory committee to consult with
specified entities and to consider certain factors in carrying out
its duties. The bill would require the Transportation Agency, based
on the recommendations of the technical advisory committee, to
implement a pilot program to identify and evaluate issues related to
the potential implementation of an RUC program in California by
January 1, 2017. The bill would require the agency to prepare and
submit a report of its findings to the technical advisory committee,
the commission, and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of
the Legislature by no later than June 30, 2018, as specified. The
bill would also require the commission to include its recommendations
regarding the pilot program in its annual report to the Legislature,
as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1,
2019.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) An efficient transportation system is critical for California'
s economy and quality of life.
(b) The revenues currently available for highways and local roads
are inadequate to preserve and maintain existing infrastructure and
to provide funds for improvements that would reduce congestion and
improve service.
(c) The gas tax is an ineffective mechanism for meeting California'
s long-term revenue needs because it will steadily generate less
revenue as cars become more fuel efficient and alternative sources of
fuel are identified. By 2030, as much as half of the revenue that
could have been collected will be lost to fuel efficiency.
Additionally, bundling fees for roads and highways into the gas tax
makes it difficult for users to understand the amount they are paying
for roads and highways.
(d) Other states have begun to explore the potential for a road
usage charge to replace traditional gas taxes, including the State of
Oregon, which established the first permanent road user charge
program in the nation.
(e) Road usage charging is a policy whereby motorists pay for the
use of the roadway network based on the distance they travel. Drivers
pay the same rate per mile driven, regardless of what part of the
roadway network they use.
(f) A road usage charge program has the potential to distribute
the gas tax burden across all vehicles regardless of fuel source and
to minimize the impact of the current regressive gas tax structure.
(g) Experience to date in other states across the nation
demonstrates that mileage-based charges can be implemented in a way
that ensures data security and maximum privacy protection for
drivers.
(h) It is therefore important that the state begin to explore
alternative revenue sources that may be implemented in lieu of the
antiquated gas tax structure now in place.
(i) Any exploration of alternative revenue sources shall take
privacy implications into account, especially with regard to location
data. Travel locations or patterns shall not be reported, and legal
and technical safeguards shall protect personal information.
SEC. 2. Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3090) is added to
Division 2 of the Vehicle Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7. ROAD USAGE CHARGE PILOT PROGRAM
3090. (a) The Chair of the California Transportation Commission
shall create, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Transportation Agency, a Road Usage Charge (RUC) Technical Advisory
Committee.
(b) The purpose of the technical advisory committee is to guide
the development and evaluation of a pilot program to assess the
potential for mileage-based revenue collection for California's roads
and highways as an alternative to the gas tax system.
(c) The technical advisory committee shall consist of 15 members.
In selecting the members of the technical advisory committee, the
chair shall consider individuals who are representative of the
telecommunications industry, highway user groups, the data security
and privacy industry, privacy rights advocacy organizations, regional
transportation agencies, national research and policymaking bodies,
including, but not limited to, the Transportation Research Board and
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, Members of the Legislature, and other relevant
stakeholders as determined by the chair.
(d) Pursuant to Section 14512 of the Government Code, the
technical advisory committee may request the Department of
Transportation to perform such work as the technical advisory
committee deems necessary to carry out its duties and
responsibilities.
(e) The technical advisory committee shall study RUC alternatives
to the gas tax. The technical advisory committee shall gather public
comment on issues and concerns related to the pilot program and shall
make recommendations to the Secretary of the Transportation Agency
on the design of a pilot program to test alternative RUC approaches.
The technical advisory committee may also make recommendations on the
criteria to be used to evaluate the pilot program.
(f) In studying alternatives to the current gas tax system and
developing recommendations on the design of a pilot program to test
alternative RUC approaches pursuant to subdivision (e), the technical
advisory committee shall take all of the following into
consideration:
(1) The availability, adaptability, reliability, and security of
methods that might be used in recording and reporting highway use.
(2) The necessity of protecting all personally identifiable
information used in reporting highway use.
(3) The ease and cost of recording and reporting highway use.
(4) The ease and cost of administering the collection of taxes and
fees as an alternative to the current system of taxing highway use
through motor vehicle fuel taxes.
(5) Effective methods of maintaining compliance.
(6) The ease of reidentifying location data, even when personally
identifiable information has been removed from the data.
(7) Increased privacy concerns when location data is used in
conjunction with other technologies.
(8) Public and private agency access, including law enforcement,
to data collected and stored for purposes of the RUC to ensure
individual privacy rights are protected pursuant to Section 1 of
Article I of the California Constitution.
(g) The technical advisory committee shall consult with highway
users and transportation stakeholders, including representatives of
vehicle users, vehicle manufacturers, and fuel distributors as part
of its duties pursuant to subdivision (f).
3091. (a) Based on the recommendations of the RUC Technical
Advisory Committee, the Transportation Agency shall implement a pilot
program to identify and evaluate issues related to the potential
implementation of an RUC program in California by January 1, 2017.
(b) At a minimum, the pilot program shall accomplish all of the
following:
(1) Analyze alternative means of collecting road usage data,
including at least one alternative that does not rely on electronic
vehicle location data.
(2) Collect a minimum amount of personal information including
location tracking information, necessary to implement the RUC
program.
(3) Ensure that processes for collecting, managing, storing,
transmitting, and destroying data are in place to protect the
integrity of the data and safeguard the privacy of drivers.
(c) The agency shall not disclose, distribute, make available,
sell, access, or otherwise provide for another purpose, personal
information or data collected through the RUC program to any private
entity or individual unless authorized by a court order, as part of a
civil case, by a subpoena issued on behalf of a defendant in a
criminal case, by a search warrant, or in aggregate form with all
personal information removed for the purposes of academic research.
3092. (a) The Transportation Agency shall prepare and submit a
report of its findings based on the results of the pilot program to
the RUC Technical Advisory Committee, the California Transportation
Commission, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature by no later than June 30, 2018. The report shall include,
but not be limited to, a discussion of all of the following issues:
(1) Cost.
(2) Privacy, including recommendations regarding public and
private access, including law enforcement, to data collected and
stored for purposes of the RUC to ensure individual privacy rights
are protected pursuant to Section 1 of Article I of the California
Constitution.
(3) Jurisdictional issues.
(4) Feasibility.
(5) Complexity.
(6) Acceptance.
(7) Use of revenues.
(8) Security and compliance, including a discussion of processes
and security measures necessary to minimize fraud and tax evasion
rates.
(9) Data collection technology, including a discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages of various types of data collection
equipment and the privacy implications and considerations of the
equipment.
(10) Potential for additional driver services.
(11) Implementation issues.
(b) The California Transportation Commission shall include its
recommendations regarding the pilot program in its annual report to
the Legislature as specified in Sections 14535 and 14536 of the
Government Code.
3093. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Chapter 7 (commencing with former Section 3100) of
Division 2 of the Vehicle Code is repealed.