Bill to Help the Most Gasoline Burdened Low-Income Drivers Poised for CA Senate Vote
AB 2401 redirects low-income EV incentives to older, dirtier cars and high-mileage drivers
August 20, 2024 - On Thursday, a bill that would update California's Clean Cars for All program by prioritizing high mileage drivers of older, dirtier cars, was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and sent to the full Senate for consideration. AB 2401 (Ting) is a critical step in California’s transition to a zero-emissions future, ensuring low-income communities that are most overburdened by pollution and face the highest economic barriers have equitable access to the benefits of clean transportation. The bill has broad bi-partisan support after unanimous votes in the Senate Environmental Quality, Transportation and Appropriations Committees, and a 72-0 vote in the Assembly.
AB 2401 tackles several barriers California faces in its transition to clean transportation, including the disproportionate impacts of harmful pollution on disadvantaged communities and the urgent need to reduce climate-change driving emissions across the state. It also aims to alleviate the economic burden on families transitioning from older vehicles to new EVs. The bill directly addresses these challenges by ensuring state EV incentives are more effectively targeted to those who need them most: high-mileage drivers in low-income, pollution-burdened communities.
A recent UCLA analysis showed that only 15% of California’s state EV incentives went to households in disadvantaged communities. AB 2401 seeks to improve the targeting of low-income EV incentives by steering them to disadvantaged communities with lower-income, high-mileage drivers with older, high-polluting vehicles.
The distribution of emissions is not equal among passenger vehicles, as research conducted by The Greenlining Institute and Union of Concerned Scientists demonstrates; for example, vehicles manufactured before 2004 emit nearly three times as much smog-forming NOx pollution as do all post-2004 vehicles combined. These vehicles are disproportionately concentrated in communities of color and low-income communities. Retiring these higher emitting cars that are driven the most will lead to greater air quality and public health benefits in an equitably focused way.
“Our research found that older gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles significantly contribute to air pollution, yet it can be difficult for low-income drivers to replace their aging cars with cleaner models that are more affordable to operate. We need this bill so the Clean Cars for All program can better help low-income Californians make the switch to electric vehicles and improve air quality, particularly in disadvantaged communities,” said David Reichmuth, senior engineer in the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists
“Today, low-income communities of color endure the worst rates of pollution, and at the same time tend to be more reliant on older gas-powered passenger vehicles due to the high costs of switching to EVs. The Clean Cars for All program is a critical tool in California’s transition to cleaner transportation, but to be successful, it must prioritize those that face the highest barriers to switching to zero-emissions vehicles, yet endure the worst consequences of vehicle pollution. The changes set forth in this bill will address these barriers head on, putting us on a path towards cleaner air and environmental justice for Californians,” said Román Partida-López, Senior Legal Counsel for Transportation Equity at The Greenlining Institute.
“AB 2401 will make California’s Clean Cars 4 All program more equitable, while cutting climate and air pollution faster, by helping the most gasoline-burdened households make the switch to an EV. We can make significant strides towards meeting its climate commitments while ensuring that the benefits of these programs lift up communities most in need and focus budget dollars on an effective climate strategy. We look forward to helping push this bipartisan, broadly supported effort over the finish line,” said Janelle London, Co-Executive Director at Coltura.
"The distribution of emissions is not equal among light-duty vehicles, and retiring higher polluting cars that are driven the most will lead to greater air quality and public health benefits. This is especially important for California's communities that have the dirtiest air and the greatest barriers to clean transportation." - Chris Chavez, Deputy Policy Director at Coalition for Clean Air.