Air pollution: purchase of new drayage and short-haul trucks: incentive programs: lessees: labor standards.

Existing law establishes various incentive programs that are administered or funded by the State Air Resources Board (state board) to provide financial assistance for the purchase of vehicles by individuals and fleet purchasers. Existing law establishes baseline standards, job quality standards, and a structure for eligibility to participate in incentive programs for the purchase of new drayage or short-haul trucks and applies these standards to fleet purchasers of new vehicles for drayage and short-haul trucking services within the state. This bill would exclude a rental or leasing entity, as defined, from the definition of a fleet purchaser. The bill would require a lessee of a vehicle that was purchased using that incentive program to comply with the standards applicable to fleet purchasers, as specified. The bill would also require a rental or leasing entity that purchases vehicles for use in fleet operations using an incentive program to notify lessees of these vehicles with lease terms of greater than one year that the lessee is required to comply with the requirements applicable to fleet purchasers. The bill would also make a fleet purchaser and rental or leasing entity subject to specified penalties if the state board determines that the fleet purchaser and rental or leasing entity entered into a rental agreement of less than one year for the express purpose of circumventing these requirements.