26:2C-8.19 - Low Emission Vehicle Review Commission
26:2C-8.19 Low Emission Vehicle Review Commission.
5. a. There is established the Low Emission Vehicle Review Commission consisting of 15 members as follows: the Director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, or the director's designee; a representative of the Department of Environmental Protection appointed by the commissioner; one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; one member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate; and 11 public members.
The 11 public members, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be as follows: two members representing manufacturers of automobiles sold within the State; two members representing automotive retailers and recommended to the Governor by the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers; two members of recognized Statewide environmental organizations; one member representing the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group; one member representing the New Jersey Institute of Technology and recommended to the Governor by the President of the New Jersey Institute of Technology; one member representing the American Lung Association of New Jersey; one member representing the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management; and one member representing a zero emission vehicle technology company.
b.Any vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made.
c.The Director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, or the director's designee, shall serve as chairperson of the commission. The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson, and the commission shall organize as soon as practicable after appointment of its members.
d.The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
e.The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State department, board, bureau, commission or agency, as it may require and as may be available for its purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.
f. (1) The commission shall study advances made in zero emission vehicle and advanced technology partial zero emission vehicle technologies. The commission shall also study the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology, the infrastructure required for its use in motor vehicles, the development of that infrastructure, and the availability of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the public. In studying these issues, the commission shall review any advice prepared by the independent expert review panel established to advise the California Air Resources Board concerning advances made in zero emission vehicle and advanced technology partial zero emission vehicle technologies.
(2)The commission shall evaluate any proposed or adopted changes made by the California Air Resources Board to the California Low Emission Vehicle program and the potential effects of these changes on the implementation of the program in this State. If the California Air Resources Board has not acted prior to the start of the 2008 model year to revise the requirements under the alternative compliance path for the amount of fuel cell vehicles required by a manufacturer beginning for the 2012 model year from a state-specific requirement to a nationwide requirement, the commission shall make a recommendation as to whether the State should implement the California Low Emission Vehicle program beginning on January 1, 2009 or if the State should instead continue with implementation of the National Low Emission Vehicle program.
(3)The commission shall determine whether the incentive provided by the State pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2003, c.266 (C.54:32B-8.55) is sufficient to encourage the purchase of zero emission vehicles. The commission shall make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature setting forth any additional incentives determined to be necessary to encourage the purchase of zero emission vehicles or advanced technology partial zero emission vehicles in order to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of the California Low Emission Vehicle program in the State.
(4)The commission shall evaluate the feasibility of the zero emission vehicle requirement of the California Low Emission Vehicle program and make a determination whether the zero emission vehicle requirement is achievable in this State beginning on January 1, 2009. This evaluation shall include an examination of zero emission vehicle technology, price, performance, consumer acceptability, and implementation issues relating to the use of zero emission vehicles in the State.
g.Within one year after organizing, the commission shall submit a report to the Governor, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, and the Legislature: (1) summarizing the activities and findings of the commission to date; (2) setting forth any recommendations for additional incentives determined to be necessary to encourage the purchase of zero emission vehicles or advanced technology partial zero emission vehicles; and (3) setting forth any recommendations that would increase the effectiveness of the implementation of the California Low Emission Vehicle program in the State.
h.No later than January 1, 2008, the commission shall submit a final report to the Governor, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, and the Legislature:
(1)summarizing the studies and evaluations conducted pursuant to subsection f. of this section;
(2)setting forth any recommendations for additional incentives to encourage the purchase of zero emission vehicles or advanced technology partial zero emission vehicles; and
(3)setting forth a recommendation as to whether:
(a)pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection f. of this section, the California Low Emission Vehicle program should be implemented in the State beginning on January 1, 2009 or if the State should instead continue with implementation of the National Low Emission Vehicle program; and
(b)if the commission recommends that the California Low Emission Vehicle program should be implemented in the State, the commission shall further set forth a recommendation as to whether the zero emission vehicle requirements of the program should be implemented in the State based on the evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection f. of this section.
L.2003,c.266,s.5.