Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Applicability
This section is applicable to all new 1993 and subsequent
model year motor vehicles which are sold, supplied, or offered for sale in
California on or after January 1, 1993, and which are either (1) certified
pursuant to article 2 (commencing with section
1950) or article 7 (commencing
with section
2047) of Chapter 1, Division 3,
Title 13, California Code of Regulations; or (2) federally certified vehicles
which are sold in California pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section
43102;
or (3) heavy-duty diesel-powered motor vehicles, with the exception of such
vehicles which are classified as "off-road vehicles" as defined in section
2421(a)(19) of
Chapter 11, Division 3, Title 13, California Code of
Regulations.
(b) Definitions
The definitions of this section supplement and are governed
by the definitions set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with section 39010), Part
1, Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. The following definitions shall
also govern the provisions of this section:
(1) "Authorized dealership" means any
dealership to which a manufacturer supplies new motor vehicles for the purpose
of reselling such vehicles to the ultimate purchaser.
(2) "Authorized supplier" means any person
supplying, to a manufacturer's authorized dealership, air conditioning systems
which may be installed in a new motor vehicle under warranty from the
manufacturer.
(3) "Calendar
quarter" means any of those three-month periods of time which start on the
first days of January, April, July, and October.
(4) "CFC refrigerants" means any of the
compounds commonly known as Chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11 or
trichlorofluoromethane) or Chlorofluorocarbon-12 (CFC-12 or
dichlorodifluoromethane).
(5)
"Dealership" shall have the same meaning as the term "dealer", as defined in
section
285 of the
Vehicle Code.
(6) "Executive
Officer" means the Executive Officer of the Air Resources Board, or his or her
delegate.
(7) "Factory-installed"
means installed at a manufacturer's motor vehicle production facility or
port-of-entry facility.
(8)
"Incomplete vehicle" means any vehicle which does not have the primary load
carrying device or container attached by the original manufacturer.
(9) "Manufacturer" means any person engaged
in the production of new motor vehicles from raw materials or new basic
components, in order to sell such vehicles for money or other thing of value.
Except as noted below, for a vehicle which is produced by one manufacturer and
sold to a dealership or the ultimate purchaser by another manufacturer, the
manufacturer for whom the requirements of this section are applicable shall be
the manufacturer who sells, supplies, or offers the vehicle for sale to the
dealership or the ultimate purchaser.
For incomplete vehicles only, the manufacturer for whom the
requirements of this section are applicable shall be the initial manufacturer
who predetermines the type of air conditioning system, if the air conditioning
system that is ultimately installed is the same as the predetermined system. If
the air conditioning system that is ultimately installed is not the same as the
predetermined system, the manufacturer for whom the requirements of this
section are applicable shall be the manufacturer who ultimately installs the
air conditioning system. For the purposes of this section, "predetermine" means
to either (1) manufacture or physically configure the vehicle in such a way, or
(2) partially install the compressor, condenser, or other air conditioning
components in such a way, that the specific configuration or installation is
compatible with an air conditioning system that uses only one particular type
of refrigerant.
(10) "Motor
vehicle," as used in this section
2500, means those categories of
motor vehicles that are specified in subsection (a).
(11) "Port-of-entry facility" means a
facility at which a manufacturer's vehicles first arrive in the United States,
and at which vehicles originally produced without vehicle air-conditioning
systems may have such systems installed.
(12) "Small-volume manufacturer" means any
manufacturer which sells less than 3000 new motor vehicles in California during
the applicable model-year.
(13)
"Vehicle air-conditioner" means any mechanical vapor compression refrigeration
equipment used to cool the driver's or passenger compartment of any motor
vehicle. "Vehicle air-conditioning system" has the same meaning as "vehicle
air-conditioner."
(c)
Percentage of Air-Conditioner-Equipped New Motor Vehicles Which May Use CFC
Refrigerants for Vehicle Air Conditioning.
(1)
Unless an applicable exemption has been granted pursuant to subsection (e),
each manufacturer's percentage of air-conditioner equipped new motor vehicles
that are sold, supplied, or offered for sale in California, and use or contain
any CFC refrigerant for air-conditioning, shall not exceed the following
percentages for the specified model years during the specified time periods:
|
Model Year | Time
Period | Maximum Vehicle Percentage |
| 1993 and 1994 | January 1, 1993-December 31,
1993 | 90* |
| 1994 and 1995 | January 1, 1994-December 31,
1994 | 75* |
| 1995 | September 1, 1994-December 31,
1994 | 10 |
* These requirements shall not apply to small volume
manufacturers.
Compliance with the "maximum vehicle percentage" requirements
shall be determined as set forth in subsections (d)(3) and
(d)(4).
(2) Effective
January 1, 1995, no person shall sell, supply, or offer for sale in California
any new 1995 or later model-year motor vehicle using any CFC refrigerant for
vehicle air conditioning.
(3)
Unless an applicable exemption has been granted pursuant to subsection (e), any
person who fails to meet the requirements of subsections (c)(1) or (c)(2) shall
be subject to the civil penalties specified in Health and Safety Code section
44474.
For the purposes of Health and Safety Code section
44474:
(A) Any cause of action against a
manufacturer under subsection (c) shall be deemed to accrue on the date(s) when
the records required pursuant to subsection (d)(4) are submitted by a
manufacturer to the Executive Officer, and
(B) A separate "incident" of violation shall
be deemed to have occurred:
1. for each new
motor vehicle which is sold, supplied, or offered for sale in California in
excess of the allowable percentages specified in subsection (c)(1);
or
2. for each new motor vehicle
which is sold, supplied, or offered for sale in violation of subsection (c)(2);
or
3. for each day in which a
manufacturer fails to submit any required report by the time deadlines
specified in subsection (d).
(d) Reporting Requirements and Compliance
Determination
(1) No later than 30 days prior
to the start of each calendar year, each manufacturer shall submit to the
Executive Officer a good faith statement describing whether, during the
following calendar year, compliance with the phase-out percentages specified in
subsection (c)(1) will be achieved, or whether an exemption will be applied
for.
(2) Commencing with the
calendar quarter which begins on January 1, 1993, each manufacturer shall
submit to the Executive Officer a quarterly report within 45 days of the end of
each calendar quarter. Each quarterly report shall list the number and the
model year of all air-conditioned-equipped new motor vehicles produced and
delivered for sale in California by the manufacturer during the immediately
preceding quarterly period, and the number and percentages of these vehicles
using factory-installed CFC and non-CFC vehicle air-conditioning systems. For
1995 model-year vehicles only, the quarterly report for the period
October-December 1994 shall also include the above information for the period
September-December 1994.
(3)
Commencing with the 1993 calendar year, each manufacturer shall submit to the
Executive Officer an annual report within 45 days of the end of each calendar
year. Each annual report shall list the number and model year of all
air-conditioner-equipped new motor vehicles produced and delivered for sale in
California by the manufacturer during the immediately preceding calendar year.
Each annual report shall also include the number and percentage of these
vehicles using factory-installed CFC air-conditioning systems
(Fa) and factory-installed non-CFC air-conditioning
systems (Fb). Each report shall also include the
percentage of the manufacturer's total production of new motor vehicles
produced and delivered for sale in California with factory-installed vehicle
air-conditioning systems during the immediately preceding calendar year
(CY1), and during each of the calendar years prior to
the immediately preceding calendar year (CY2,
CY3, and CY4).
Provided that the quantity CY1 is
greater than or equal to 0.95 times the average of CY2,
CY3, and CY4, then (A) compliance
with the "maximum vehicle percentage" requirements of subsection (c)(1) for
each model year during the applicable time period shall be determined by
comparison of Fa with the applicable "maximum vehicle
percentage" requirements, and (B) the manufacturer shall not be subject to the
provisions set forth in subsection (d)(4).
(4) If the quantity
CY1 is less than 0.95 times the average of
CY2, CY3, and
CY4, the manufacturer shall supplement the information
contained in the annual report within 60 days of submitting the report to the
Executive Officer. The supplemental information shall detail the number and
model year of new motor vehicles sold to the ultimate purchaser:
(A) without air-conditioning,
(B) with non-CFC manufacturer-warranted
vehicle air-conditioner systems installed by the manufacturer's authorized
dealerships, and
(C) with CFC
manufacturer-warranted vehicle air-conditioner systems installed by the
manufacturer's authorized dealerships. The supplemental information shall then
be used to determine the "actual percentage" of a manufacturer's
air-conditioned-equipped new motor vehicles, sold during the applicable time
periods, that use or contain CFC refrigerants. Compliance with the "maximum
vehicle percentage" requirements of subsection (c)(1) shall be based on a
comparison of this "actual percentage" with the applicable "maximum vehicle
percentage" requirement.
(5) The reporting requirements of this
subsection (d) shall cease to apply for any manufacturer that has submitted an
annual report demonstrating that no new motor vehicles equipped with CFC-
refrigerant air-conditioning systems were produced and delivered for sale by
the manufacturer in California.
(6)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2), small volume
manufacturers shall not be required to (A) submit any quarterly reports for the
time period from January 1, 1993, to August 31, 1994, or (B) submit annual
reports for the 1993 or 1994 calendar years.
(e) Exemptions
(1) Any manufacturer who cannot comply with
the requirements set forth in subsection (c) may apply in writing to the
Executive Officer for an exemption. The exemption application form shall set
forth:
(A) the specific grounds upon which the
exemption is sought;
(B) the
proposed date(s) by which compliance with the provisions of subsection (c) will
be achieved; and
(C) a plan
reasonably detailing the method(s) by which compliance will be
achieved.
(2) Within 90
days of receipt of an exemption application containing the information required
in subsection (e)(1), the Executive Officer shall determine whether, under what
conditions, and to what extent, an exemption from the requirements of
subsection (c) is necessary and will be permitted.
(3) No exemption shall be granted unless all
of the following findings are made:
(A) that,
because alternatives to CFC refrigerants are not yet available or in sufficient
supply, or because a manufacturer requires additional time to redesign and
produce vehicle air conditioning systems, requiring compliance with subsection
(c) would result in a severe economic hardship;
(B) that the compliance plan proposed by the
manufacturer can reasonably be implemented and will achieve compliance as
expeditiously as possible.
(4) The exemption order shall specify a final
compliance date by which the requirements of subsection (c) will be achieved.
Any exemption order may contain a condition which specifies increments of
progress necessary to assure timely compliance, and such other conditions as
the Executive Officer finds necessary to carry out the purposes of Health and
Safety Code sections
44470-
44474.
No exemption shall allow an extension of more than two years for any of the
time deadlines specified in subsection (c).
(5) An exemption shall cease to be effective
upon failure of the party to whom the exemption was granted to substantially
comply with any condition specified in the exemption order.
(6) The Executive Officer may review, and for
good cause, modify or revoke an exemption as is necessary to assure that the
purposes of Health and Safety Code Sections
44470-
44474
are met. The Executive Office shall not revoke or modify an exemption without
first affording the manufacturer an opportunity for a hearing in accordance
with the procedures specified in Title 17, California Code of Regulations,
Division 3, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1, Article 4 (commencing with section 60040),
to determine if the exemption should be modified or
revoked.
1. New chapter
12 and section filed 6-3-93; operative 7-5-93 (Register 93, No.
23).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 39600, 39601 and 44473,
Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections 39002, 39003 and 44470- 44474,
Health and Safety Code; and Section 338(k), Code of Civil
Procedure.
