A pioneering bill that would advance Gasoline Superusers’ conversion to EVs is moving through the California legislature. AB 1267, authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), would add a new EV incentive for Gasoline Superusers and prioritize lower-income Superusers.
The bill is gathering bipartisan support as it moves through the legislative process. The Assembly Transportation Committee passed it 15-0 on March 28, and the Natural Resources Committee passed it 11-0 on April 11. The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Coltura is the organizational sponsor of the bill. A growing coalition of supporters includes Green Latinos, Coalition for Clean Air, CALSTART, EV Hybrid Noire, Breathe California, Valley CAN, Plug In America, The Climate Center, Acterra, ZEV 2030, Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, Elders Climate Action Nor Cal, Sunrise Silicon Valley and various 350 chapters. There is still time to sign on to the bill.
How to use Coltura’s new gasoline map
Coltura’s interactive zip code-level map of California and related tools are now live. You can view the map by various color code options, including:
- Concentration of Gasoline Superusers
- Concentration of EVs
- Percent of household income spent on gasoline
Additional types of data views are available. If you are interested in more information about how our data can be used, or would like to explore collaboration, please contact us at info@coltura.org.
For example, in the view of the map below, you can see details about Gasoline Superusers in Compton, in Los Angeles, CA. It shows that Gasoline Superusers in Compton spend annually on average $15,000, or 29% of their income on gasoline.
In Vermont, a bill enabling the Burlington Electric Department to create new incentives to help the most gasoline-burdened drivers to switch to electric vehicles passed the Senate on April 4th. If enacted, the bill would authorize the nation’s first incentives specifically for Gasoline Superusers.
Darren Springer, General Manager, Burlington Electric Department, had this to say:
“Burlington Electric is looking forward to utilizing new authority in S.137 that, if enacted, would enable our programs to focus additional funds on customers who have a larger energy burden or who currently use a large amount of fossil fuels for commuting. It would bolster our incentive programs in a meaningful way and allow us to continue to innovate.”
Coltura will be working with state partners including the Vermont Public Interest Research Group to help advance the bill through the House.
Risky Underground Storage Tank Bill Passes in WA
The Washington Legislature passed HB 1175, a bill that would create a state fund to insure the underground storage tanks of most of Washington’s approximately 4,000 gas stations. Coltura and allies campaigned vigorously against the bill, because the state fund will not initially have the resources it needs to meet the enormous cleanup liabilities it is assuming. The bill also aids gas stations presently leaking gasoline into the soil and water to continue operating.
The good news is that the law created by HB 1175 can be fixed. The responsibility for running the state underground storage tank fund now rests with Gov. Inslee’s administration. The next step will be an administrative rulemaking process around the state fund that will likely start later this year. We must engage in the rulemaking process and urge the Inslee administration to make rules that:
- Make paramount protecting water and public health from gasoline contamination
- Require all gas stations participating in the state insurance fund to undergo full environmental assessments and have modern underground storage tanks
- Deny insurance coverage to gas stations that have active gasoline leaks or are at high risk of leaking
- Prepare for a future in which gasoline sales are declining rapidly.
In future legislative sessions, the oil industry’s financial contributions to the state fund must be increased so that there is adequate funding to clean up the more than 2500 gasoline-contaminated gas station sites in Washington.
