CALIFORNIA (state) — A bill was signed on 21 Sep that allows near-zero-emission or zero-emission vehicles to weigh up to 82,000 pounds. California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed that bill.

The California Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Coalition suggests that the bill will allow heavy-duty trucks to exceed California’s weight limits by 2,000 pounds. The legislation reflects the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, which altered truck size and weight provisions to compensate for the heavier fuel and tank systems of natural gas vehicles.

Thomas Lawson, president of the California NGV Coalition, expressed his opinion about this new bill. He mentioned that this law makes it easier for fleets to adopt all types of alternative fuel technologies. It will allow each state to decide whether to increase its limits. This bill will also eliminate a disincentive to switch from diesel to natural gas.

Greg Roche, vice president, Clean Energy Fuel Corp, issued a statement where he mentioned that the weight allowance enables fleets to operate natural gas and other alternative technology trucks without being at a disadvantage to diesel trucks. Enabling natural gas trucks to operate with the same payload as a diesel truck will give its benefits for trucking economics and the entire

environment.

The transportation sector remains the main reason for about 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and over than 80 percent of the state’s smog-forming emissions.