Lower Emissions Equipment at Seaports and Intermodal Yards Program.

Assembly Member Muratsuchi's proposal to establish the Lower Emissions Equipment at Seaports and Intermodal Yards Program aims to accelerate the adoption of cleaner cargo handling equipment while providing operational certainty for California's maritime facilities. The program would prevent the California Air Resources Board from restricting the use of qualifying equipment purchased before December 31, 2027, allowing operators to utilize these assets for their full useful life.

The legislation defines cargo handling equipment as self-propelled vehicles and equipment used at ports and intermodal railyards to move containers and bulk cargo, including rubber-tired gantry cranes, yard trucks, top handlers, and forklifts. Equipment meeting European Union CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles would qualify as zero-emission under the program. The bill explicitly excludes fully automated cargo handling equipment from eligibility.

Under the program's framework, the Air Resources Board would allocate existing funds competitively to projects demonstrating emission reductions from freight movement activities at California's trade corridors, including seaports, airports, and land ports of entry. The bill's findings note that in cases where zero-emission technologies are not yet commercially available or economically feasible, transitional technologies can serve as an interim approach to reduce toxic air contaminants and criteria pollutants while zero-emission solutions continue development.

The measure builds upon current requirements for the Air Resources Board to fund competitive emission reduction projects along trade corridors. By providing certainty about equipment lifespans while maintaining the state's existing funding mechanisms, the program aims to facilitate continued investment in California's goods movement infrastructure as facilities work toward long-term decarbonization goals.