California approves tyre pressure bill, considers recycling measure

By Miles Moore, Senior Washington Reporter (TB)

Sacramento, California -- The California legislature has passed a bill fine-tuning a tyre pressure regulation issued last year by a state agency, and its Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a bill reinstating the Rubberised Asphalt Concrete Use Grant program for local governments.

SB 211, which establishes that tyre and auto service providers must use tyre pressure gauges that are accurate within 2 psi, went to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk Aug. 25 after passing the Assembly 75-0 and the Senate 36-0. The bill also outlines the reasons for which service providers may refuse to check a tyre's pressure, including worn or irregular tread or tire damage but not tyre age.

Issued by the California Air Resources Board in September 2010, the regulation requires an estimated 40,000 auto service providers in California to check and if necessary adjust the pressures on the tyres of every vehicle they service up to 10,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight. SB 211 originally would have limited the fines service providers have to pay for violating the regulation, but that provision was removed in committee.

AB 525, which reinstates the RAC Use Grant program, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee 6-3 on Aug. 25. The decision was “surprising, because it was well known that the Department of Finance had opposed the appropriation,” said Terry Leveille, legislative representative for the California Tire Dealers Association, in the Aug. 26 edition of his California Tire Report.

The bill requires the California Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling (CalRecycle) to award grants to local governments to support the use of rubberised asphalt concrete and tyre-derived aggregate. CalRecycle would be responsible for providing at least 16 percent of the sum for market development grants, and also for publicising information about rubberised asphalt projects.

If passed, AB 525 would sunset Jan. 1, 2016.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)