Assembly Approves Lieu Bill To Reduce Air Pollution And Gas Consumption

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance), today, won passage of AB 2600 on the California State Assembly floor by a vote of 52-22.

AB 2600 would allow continued access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for single occupancy vehicles that meet stringent state and federal emission standards. This bill does not apply to hybrids, but does apply to natural gas and electric vehicles.

“AB 2600 is an effective way to encourage the purchase of low polluting alternative fuel vehicles,” said Assemblymember Lieu. “This is a common sense way of working to decrease air pollution from traffic congestion particularly in heavy urbanized areas where air pollution tends to be the worst and traffic congestion is the greatest.”

There are approximately 25,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles operated in California. These vehicles are owned and operated by individuals, local government, and private fleets such as taxi cabs and shuttle vans. Continuing to allow single occupancy vehicles access to HOV lanes will create a strong non-monetary incentive for individuals to purchase low emission and alternative fuel CNG vehicles.

“HOV lane access is an important consideration for fleet owners who need to make future vehicle purchase decisions,” said Lieu. “This bill will ensure that they have adequate lead time to make those decisions.”

AB 2600 is supported by the California Natural Gas Vehicles Coalition, the Coalition for Clean Air, the Natural Resources Defense Council, as well as many other environmental groups. AB 2600 will be voted on in the California Senate in the following months.