Cal. Code Regs. tit. 13 § 2023.1

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 2023.1 - Zero-Emission Bus Requirements

(a) Zero-Emission Bus Purchase Requirements.

(1) In any given calendar year, transit agencies must purchase or operate a minimum number of zero-emission buses as determined by the following schedules:

(A) For a large transit agency:

1. Starting January 1, 2023, twenty-five percent of the total number of new bus purchases in each calendar year must be zero-emission buses;

2. Starting January 1, 2026, fifty percent of the total number of new bus purchases in each calendar year must be zero-emission buses; and

3. Starting January 1, 2029, all new bus purchases must be zero-emission buses.

(B) For a small transit agency:

1. Starting January 1, 2026, twenty-five percent of the total number of new bus purchases in each calendar year must be zero-emission buses; and

2. Starting January 1, 2029, all new bus purchases must be zero-emission buses.

(2) If the calculated required minimum number of zero-emission buses as set forth in section 2023.1(a) in a given calendar year does not result in a whole number, the number must be rounded to the nearest integer.

(3) The zero-emission bus purchase requirements set forth in section 2023.1(a) apply only to the total number of new bus purchases in a calendar year. The following are not considered to be new bus purchases for the purposes of calculating the minimum number of zero-emission buses required in a given calendar year:

(A) Purchase of used buses;

(B) Conversion of conventional internal combustion engine buses to zero-emission buses; and

(C) Purchase of a cutaway bus, over-the-road bus, double-decker, or articulated bus, until the latter of either January 1, 2026 or until the criteria specified in section 2023.1(c) have been met.

(4) The required minimum number of zero-emission buses in section 2023.1(a) can be achieved with any combination of new zero-emission bus purchases and zero-emission buses already present in the fleet, less any available zero-emission bus bonus or zero-emission mobility credits, as provided in sections 2023.3 and 2023.5. The number of zero-emission buses in the fleet include all of the following zero-emission buses regardless of how and when they are acquired:

(A) Any zero-emission bus from a previous purchase that has been delivered;

(B) Any leased zero-emission bus that has been delivered; and

(C) Any zero-emission bus that is converted from a conventional internal combustion engine bus and is an active bus. A zero-emission bus identified in section 2023.1(a)(4)(A) through (C) may only be used once in accounting for the required minimum number of zero-emission buses in section 2023.1(a)(1).

(5) If a transit agency cancels a Notice to Proceed at any time before the bus delivery date, the purchase will be considered invalid and will not count towards required total new bus purchases.

(6) Starting January 1, 2023, a transit agency must retain a newly purchased zero-emission bus for at least five years starting from the date of being placed in the active bus fleet to satisfy the zero-emission bus purchase requirements.

(7) Annual compliance with the zero-emission bus purchase requirements is determined as of December 31 of each calendar year.

(b) Discharge of the Initial Zero-Emission Bus Purchase Requirements. The zero-emission bus purchase requirements in section 2023.1(a) for calendar year 2023 and 2024 are discharged if the following circumstances exist:

(1) The zero-emission bus purchase requirements for calendar year ending December 31, 2023, are discharged if California transit agencies collectively have at least eight hundred and fifty (850) zero-emission buses purchased or in active bus fleets by December 31, 2020, based on the reporting data for the end of calendar year 2020.

(2) If the 2023 zero-emission bus purchase requirement is discharged as a result of the implementation of section 2023.1(b)(1), then the zero-emission bus purchase requirements for calendar year ending December 31, 2024, are discharged if California transit agencies collectively have at least one-thousand two hundred fifty (1,250) zero-emission buses purchased or in active bus fleet by December 31, 2021, based on the reporting data for the end of calendar year 2021.

(3) Zero-Emission Bus Bonus Credits as specified in section 2023.3 cannot be used to meet the requirements of sections 2023.1(b)(1) and (2).

(c) Zero-Emission Cutaway, Over-The-Road, Double-Decker, and Articulated Bus Purchase Requirements. Purchases of cutaway, over-the-road, double-decker, or articulated buses are subject to the zero-emission bus purchase requirements as specified in section 2023.1(a) on or after January 1, 2026, if the cutaway, over-the-road, double-decker, or articulated bus type has a model that has passed the bus testing procedure and obtained a Bus Testing Report as described in section 2023(b)(8) for a given weight class.

(d) Zero-Emission Bus Rollout Plan Requirements. A transit agency must submit a Zero-Emission Bus Rollout Plan (Rollout Plan) to the Executive Officer that meets the following requirements.

(1) Rollout Plans must include all of the following components:

(A) A goal of full transition to zero-emission buses by 2040 with careful planning that avoids early retirement of conventional internal combustion engine buses;

(B) Identification of the types of zero-emission bus technologies a transit agency is planning to deploy, such as battery electric or fuel cell electric bus;

(C) A schedule for construction of facilities and infrastructure modifications or upgrades, including charging, fueling, and maintenance facilities, to deploy and maintain zero-emission buses. This schedule must specify the general location of each facility, type of infrastructure, service capacity of infrastructure, and a timeline for construction;

(D) A schedule for zero-emission and conventional internal combustion engine bus purchases and lease options. This schedule for bus purchases must identify the bus types, fuel types, and number of buses;

(E) A schedule for conversion of conventional internal combustion engine buses to zero-emission buses, if any. This schedule for bus conversion must identify number of buses, bus types, the propulsion systems being removed and converted to;

(F) A description on how a transit agency plans to deploy zero-emission buses in disadvantaged communities as listed in the latest version of CalEnviroScreen (https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen);

(G) A training plan and schedule for zero-emission bus operators and maintenance and repair staff; and

(H) Identification of potential funding sources.

(2) Each transit agency's governing body must approve the Rollout Plan through the adoption of a resolution, and submit the Rollout Plan and a copy of the resolution to the Executive Officer according to the following schedule:

(A) A large transit agency must submit its governing body approved Rollout Plan along with its approval to the Executive Officer by July 1, 2020;

(B) A small transit agency must submit its governing body approved Rollout Plan along with its approval to the Executive Officer by July 1, 2023.

(3) Transit agencies that are collectively complying with the requirements of Joint Zero-Emission Bus Groups as set forth in section 2023.2 may submit one joint Rollout Plan in lieu of an individual transit agency Rollout Plan along with governing body approval from each participating transit agency. The joint Rollout Plan must be submitted to the Executive Officer based on the submittal date of the largest transit agency in the Joint Group, as set forth in section 2023.1(d)(2).

(e) New Entrant. A new entrant must meet the following requirements:

(1) It must submit a compliance report by March 31 following its existence and every year thereafter as specified in section 2023.8; and

(2) It must submit a Rollout Plan within 18 months of its existence.

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 13, § 2023.1

1. Renumbering and amendment of portions of former section 1956.2 to new section 2023.1 filed 1-31-2006; operative 1-31-2006 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2006, No. 5).
2. New subsections (a)(4)-(a)(5)(C) filed 9-7-2006; operative 10-7-2006 (Register 2006, No. 36).
3. Amendment of subsections (b)(6) and (c)(5) filed 10-15-2007; operative 11-14-2007 (Register 2007, No. 42).
4. Repealer and new section filed 8-13-2019; operative 10-1-2019 (Register 2019, No. 33).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 38501, 38510, 38560, 39002, 39003, 39500, 39600, 39601, 39667, 40000, 43000.5, 43013, 43018, 43100, 43101, 43102, 43104, 43105, 43106, 43701(b), 43801 and 43806, Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections 38501, 38510, 38560, 39002, 39003, 39017, 39027, 39500, 39600, 39601, 39650, 39655, 39667, 40000, 43000.5, 43013, 43018, 43101, 43104, 43105, 43701(b), 43801 and 43806, Health and Safety Code; Sections 233, 350, 545 and 28114, Vehicle Code; section 5303, title 49, United States Code; and Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, section 665.13.