California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that covers permissible weight limits for natural gas and electric battery-powered trucks.
State law has authorized zero- and near-zero-emission trucks to operate up to 82,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating and 2,000 pounds above weight limits on the power unit. The rule is designed to account for the added weight of batteries, fuel cells and tanks.
The five-year-old rule followed a 2015 congressional act to raise the weight limit for natural gas and electric battery-powered tractor-trailers to 82,000 pounds. The federal act permits states to raise the weight on interstates within their borders.
Clarification to rule
California state lawmakers acted this year to unanimously approve legislation to clarify that the power unit of a zero-emission or near-zero-emission vehicle is permitted to exceed allowable gross weight limits by up to 2,000 pounds.
Sponsored by the California Trucking Association, AB1953 clarifies that the maximum gross vehicle weight limit for a zero-emission or near-zero-emission vehicle is 82,000 pounds. Specifically, the added weight is allowed on both the power unit and the gross vehicle weight rating of the tractor-trailer combination as a whole.
Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, D-Stockton, wrote in a bill analysis that “AB1953 seeks to clarify existing law relating to fleets operating zero- and near-zero-emission vehicles.”
Supporters have said there is a subtle difference in the phrasing of the federal weight limit exemption and the state exemption. They’ve also noted commercial vehicle companies are concerned the difference could imply that the weight exemption is meant to apply only to the vehicle itself and not the tractor-trailer-cargo combination as a whole.
As stated in a bill analysis, “the intent of the state and federal exemption is to allow for heavier loads, so this bill rewrites existing law to clarify that (zero-emission) and (near-zero-emission) vehicle power units may weigh 2,000 pounds more than otherwise allowed, up to a maximum of 82,000 pounds.”
Report findings
A report from the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies on the effects of increased weights of alternative-fuel trucks on pavement and bridges found that long-haul battery-electric trucks are estimated to be 5,328 pounds heavier than their diesel counterparts. Hydrogen fuel cell long-haul trucks are expected to weigh 2,267 pounds more than their diesel counterparts, and natural gas trucks are estimated to weigh 500 to 2,000 pounds more than their diesel counterparts.
Despite the extra weight, the report noted that “the pavement damage analyses of the example state highway pavements and the county roads and urban arterials indicated that the projected changes for the implementation of alternative fuel trucks in 2030 and 2050 would cause a 0% to approximately 1% increase in life reduction across all cases.”
The bill analysis highlighted that because zero-emission and near-zero-emission trucks must carry lighter loads to comply with vehicle weight limits, the amount of money that can be generated from a single trip is decreased. LL
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