(1) Existing law authorizes state funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be distributed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for distribution to certain local educational agencies for the purchase of low- or zero-emission schoolbuses that replace, or increase the number of, schoolbuses in the existing schoolbus fleet or for retrofitting existing schoolbuses to achieve reductions in emissions, as specified.
Existing law, commencing January 1, 2035, requires 100% of all newly purchased or contracted schoolbuses of a school district, county office of education, or charter school to be zero-emission vehicles, where feasible. In order to comply with that requirement, existing law authorizes those local educational agencies to request a one-time extension for a term not to exceed 5 years if a local educational agency determines that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission schoolbus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, provided that certain conditions are met. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2040, authorizes a frontier local educational agency, as defined, if it determines that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission schoolbus is not feasible due to both terrain and route constraints, to request annual extensions with the last extension expiring on January 1, 2045, if specified conditions are met.
This bill would authorize a local educational agency to also use the lack of sufficient infrastructure that is necessary to support the operation of a zero-emission schoolbus, or a lack of availability of sufficient repair and maintenance that is necessary to support the operation of a zero-emission schoolbus, as reasons to determine that the purchase or contracting of a zero-emission schoolbus is not feasible, thereby allowing the local educational agency to request the extensions described above. Commencing January 1, 2040, the bill would also authorize a small school district, as defined, to request the above-described annual extensions that are applicable to frontier local educational agencies.
(2) Existing law appropriates, for the 2023–24 fiscal year, $375,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Air Resources Board for the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) to fund grants to local educational agencies, as defined, for zero-emission schoolbuses to replace heavy-duty internal combustion schoolbuses owned by local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law requires any schoolbuses that are replaced pursuant to the HVIP to be scrapped no later than 24 months from date of delivery of the replacement.
This bill would exclude a schoolbus from that scrapping requirement if the schoolbus is 25 years of age or less at the time of delivery of the replacement vehicle and its ownership is transferred to a frontier local educational agency or small school district meeting certain requirements.

Statutes affected:
03/28/25 - Amended Assembly: 17927 EDC, 17927 EDC
04/21/25 - Amended Assembly: 17927 EDC
04/30/25 - Amended Assembly: 17927 EDC, 17927 EDC, 17927 EDC