California Code
ARTICLE 4 - Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet Purchasing Assistance Program
Section 44274.12.

44274.12. (a) The state board shall do all of the following when developing and implementing the program:

(1) Seek input from environmental justice organizations, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets of diverse sizes and types, financiers, original truck equipment manufacturers, transportation, logistics, and fleet management companies, nongovernmental organizations, and other relevant stakeholders on all of the following topics:

(A) Which medium- and heavy-duty fleets should be designated as high-priority fleets pursuant to paragraph (5), taking into consideration the implications for climate change, pollution and environmental justice, state policy regarding clean air and transportation, and post-COVID economic recovery.

(B) How to apply to the program the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development’s findings on the critical barriers that impede medium- and heavy-duty fleets in different sectors and of different fleet sizes from transitioning to zero-emission vehicles.

(C) The financing tools and nonfinancial supports that should be used to help overcome the critical barriers identified pursuant to subparagraph (B).

(D) How to determine whether the program is successful in meeting its goals.

(2) Develop and design, in consultation with other relevant state agencies and building on the input received pursuant to paragraph (1), financing tools and nonfinancial supports that are most appropriate for different sizes and sectors of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets.

(3) Ensure the financing tools and nonfinancial supports identified pursuant to paragraph (2) have no redundancies or inefficiencies with other state programs.

(4) Ensure that a minimum of 75 percent of financing products offered under the program are directed towards operators of medium- and heavy-duty fleets whose fleets directly impact, or operate in, an underserved community.

(5) Designate which medium- and heavy-duty fleets are the high-priority fleets that will have access to the program first based on a consideration of state transportation policy and the input received pursuant to paragraph (1). The state board shall designate port and drayage truck fleets as one of the high-priority fleets until a date determined by the state board.

(6) Provide financing tools to operators of small and microfleets of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that include, but are not limited to, direct assistance, such as incentives, grants, and vouchers, that increase access to capital and reduce exposure to market risks or uncertainties. The state board shall determine how many vehicles constitute a small fleet and a microfleet for purposes of the program.

(7) Provide financing tools to operators of large fleets of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to increase access to private capital in ways that make it easier, less expensive, or reduce uncertainties, or any combination of these things, for the operators to transition to zero-emission vehicles. The state board shall determine how many vehicles constitute a large fleet for purposes of the program.

(8) Enable the stacking or coordinated combination of financial tools and nonfinancial supports.

(9) Facilitate the decommissioning of high-polluting medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in accordance with the state’s clean air targets and goals.

(10) Enable the development of replicable business models that allow private capital to fully engage, while meeting the goals of this article.

(11) Include optimal financing tools and appropriate nonfinancial supports that are designed and targeted to catalyze electrification at scale.

(12) Encourage emerging flexible business, operational, and ownership models that accomplish the goals of this article, such as lease-backs or electric vehicle managers and lessors.

(13) Ensure the financing tools and nonfinancial supports designed and developed pursuant to this section are available to operators of medium- and heavy-duty fleets by January 1, 2023.

(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the state board may allocate moneys to the program from, but is not limited to funding the program from, all of the following funding sources:

(1) The Air Quality Improvement Fund created by Section 44274.5.

(2) The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created by Section 16428.8 of the Government Code.

(3) The General Fund.

(c) (1) The state board shall ensure that the program aligns with milestones established in Executive Order No. N-79-20 and the goals set forth in Resolution 20-19 adopted by the state board on June 25, 2020, along with the Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation (Sections 1963 to 1963.5, inclusive, and Sections 2012 to 2012.2, inclusive, of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations).

(2) The state board shall do both of the following:

(A) Establish penetration targets for deployment of financing tools and nonfinancial supports to operators, including, but not limited to, those whose fleets directly impact, or operate in, underserved communities for each milestone specified in paragraph (1).

(B) Compile data and information about the deployment of financing tools and nonfinancial supports provided pursuant to the program to operators, including, but not limited to, those whose fleets directly impact, or operate in, underserved communities.

(d) The state board shall coordinate with the Public Utilities Commission and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to provide marketing, education, and outreach to underserved communities regarding the program.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 574, Sec. 13. (AB 211) Effective September 27, 2022.)