SB1413 amends Section 25724 of the Public Resources Code with largely non‑substantive wording changes around the state’s 50% zero‑emission vehicle (ZEV) purchase target for light‑duty vehicles. The bill preserves the statutory target that took effect in the 2024–25 fiscal year while clarifying the exemption for vehicles with "special performance requirements" and the administrative procedure the Department of General Services (DGS) must follow to stop implementing the requirement.
For procurement officers and fleet managers the important takeaway is procedural: the statute now explicitly ties a suspension of the 50% target to a public hearing, notice to the Secretary of State, and a permissible cost‑based justification — that the costs of compliance would be "not substantially absorbable" by DGS. Those changes do not change the numerical target, but they sharpen where discretion and documentation will matter in practice.
At a Glance
What It Does
Keeps the existing mandate that at least 50% of light‑duty vehicles purchased for the state fleet each fiscal year be zero‑emission vehicles beginning in 2024–25. Reaffirms an exemption for vehicles with special performance requirements and sets out a required public‑hearing-and‑notice process before DGS may cease implementing the requirement, permitting cost‑based findings as a basis to stop implementation.
Who It Affects
The Department of General Services, state procurement and fleet managers across California agencies, vendors who supply light‑duty vehicles (both ZEV and internal‑combustion), and budget offices that underwrite vehicle purchases. Public‑safety units that require specialized vehicles are directly implicated by the exemption.
Why It Matters
Although framed as nonsubstantive, the edits codify administrative steps and a cost standard that will guide when and how the 50% target can be paused. That affects procurement timing, contract specifications, budgeting, and supplier demand even if the numeric target itself remains unchanged.
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What This Bill Actually Does
Section 25724 still directs the Department of General Services to ensure at least half of the light‑duty vehicles purchased for the state fleet are zero‑emission vehicles starting in 2024–25. The bill does not change the target percentage or the fiscal‑year trigger; it revises surrounding text to clarify exemptions and administrative mechanics.
The bill makes explicit that vehicles with "special performance requirements necessary for the protection of public safety" are outside the section. Importantly, the statute leaves it to DGS to define what those special performance requirements are.
That means DGS will be the arbiter of whether, for example, a pursuit‑rated police vehicle, certain emergency‑response rigs, or other specialized units can be treated as exempt.If DGS concludes it cannot meet the state’s vehicle needs while also complying with the 50% ZEV purchase rule, the statute now requires the department to hold a public hearing, notify the Secretary of State of the finding, and then cease implementing the rule. The amendment also expressly permits DGS to base that finding on a conclusion that the incremental costs of meeting the requirement would be "not substantially absorbable" by the department when buying light‑duty vehicles.For practical compliance, the change shifts attention from the numeric mandate to process and documentation.
Agencies should expect DGS to prepare and release analyses to support any finding, and procurement teams will need to align purchase schedules, funding sources (including grant or federal funds), and vehicle specifications with whatever definitions and thresholds DGS adopts in rulemaking or guidance.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The statute continues to require that at least 50% of light‑duty vehicles purchased for the state fleet each fiscal year be zero‑emission vehicles starting in 2024–25.
The exemption for vehicles with "special performance requirements necessary for the protection of public safety" remains and is defined by the Department of General Services.
Before DGS may stop implementing the 50% requirement it must hold a public hearing and notify the Secretary of State of its finding.
DGS may base its decision to cease implementation on a cost determination that meeting the requirement would result in costs "not substantially absorbable" by the department when purchasing those vehicles.
The bill is presented as nonsubstantive technical edits, but it formalizes administrative steps and a cost standard that will structure enforcement and agency decision‑making.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Repeated 50% ZEV purchase target
Subsection (a) preserves the existing obligation: beginning no later than the 2024–25 fiscal year, DGS must ensure that at least half of light‑duty vehicle purchases for the state fleet are zero‑emission vehicles. The practical effect is unchanged—agencies should still plan procurement pipelines, specs, and budgets around that target unless and until DGS follows the suspension procedure in subsection (c).
Exemption for public safety vehicles (defined by DGS)
Subsection (b) clarifies that the statute does not apply to vehicles with "special performance requirements necessary for the protection of public safety," and delegates definition of that phrase to DGS. That delegation concentrates interpretive authority in the agency responsible for procurement; DGS’s forthcoming criteria (if any) will determine which make/models and mission profiles qualify for the exemption.
Public hearing and notice before suspension
Paragraph (1) requires DGS to hold a public hearing and notify the Secretary of State before it can cease implementing the section. This inserts a transparent, administrative trigger—a public forum and an official notice—that makes any suspension an administratively reviewable act and creates a published record explaining why the department believes it cannot both meet fleet needs and comply with the purchase target.
Permissible cost‑based ground for stopping implementation
Paragraph (2) lets DGS base the suspension finding on the determination that compliance would produce costs "not substantially absorbable" by the department. The provision imports a budget‑centric standard without defining it, which will force DGS to adopt metrics or methodologies (e.g., per‑vehicle incremental cost, total budget impact, lifecycle cost comparisons) to justify any suspension.
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Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Department of General Services — gains a clear administrative pathway (public hearing plus notice) to suspend the 50% requirement and a cost standard to justify that decision, increasing agency flexibility when procurement or budget constraints bite.
- Public‑safety units (law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services) — the exemption (to be defined by DGS) preserves the ability to acquire specialized vehicles that may not yet have ZEV equivalents that meet operational needs.
- State budget and finance offices — obtain a clearer statutory basis to negotiate funding tradeoffs and document when electrification costs exceed absorptive capacity.
- Non‑ZEV suppliers of specialized vehicles — maintain market access for specialty vehicles that fall within the exemption or under a DGS suspension.
- Procurement attorneys and compliance teams — receive a defined process and evidentiary record to assess risk and defend procurement choices if the 50% rule is paused.
Who Bears the Cost
- ZEV manufacturers and mainstream electric vehicle suppliers — face demand uncertainty if DGS or agencies pause implementation under the cost standard, which could slow state market pull.
- Environmental and public‑health advocates — bear the indirect cost of delayed fleet electrification if the suspension mechanism is used frequently or with a permissive interpretation of "not substantially absorbable."
- Agency procurement units — must invest time and resources to support DGS hearings, prepare cost analyses, and document why a given vehicle is exempt or why compliance is unaffordable.
- State taxpayers — could face higher near‑term costs if the state retains higher‑cost internal‑combustion vehicles or pays premiums for exempted specialty vehicles, depending on how costs are counted.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill exposes the core dilemma between an aggressive decarbonization objective—embedding ZEVs into state fleet procurement—and the operational and budgetary realities that can make electrification expensive or infeasible for certain vehicles; the structure tries to reconcile those goals by giving DGS authority and a process to pause the mandate, but it leaves open how and when that authority should be exercised.
Two implementation questions drive the bill’s real impact despite its technical framing. First, DGS controls crucial definitions and thresholds: it defines which vehicles qualify as having "special performance requirements" and must establish (implicitly or explicitly) how to measure costs that are "not substantially absorbable." Both definitions determine whether the statute operates as a firm electrification mandate or as a target subject to frequent administrative override.
Second, the public hearing and notice requirement increases transparency but creates procedural battlegrounds. A thorough, evidence‑based hearing will require DGS to publish cost modeling, procurement alternatives, and lifecycle analyses; conversely, a perfunctory hearing could provide administrative cover to pause electrification without robust economic justification.
The undefined phrase "not substantially absorbable" invites litigation risk and interagency disagreement over methodology (e.g., capital vs. lifecycle cost, availability of grants or rebates, total cost of ownership assumptions).
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