Report 2020-114 Recommendation 10 Responses

Report 2020-114: California Air Resources Board: Improved Program Measurement Would Help California Work More Strategically to Meet Its Climate Change Goals (Release Date: February 2021)

Recommendation #10 To: Air Resources Board, State

To better define incentive programs' impact beyond GHG emissions reductions, by August 2021 CARB should review its incentive programs to ensure that it has clearly designated which programs focus primarily on socioeconomic benefits. As a result of this process, by February 2022 it should ensure that it includes the benefits expected for each program in its funding plan or other public documents, such as its annual report and individual grant agreements.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2022

This recommendation has been fully implemented. As previously reported in the 6-month and one-year responses, CARB staff has reviewed its incentive programs and identified six clean transportation equity projects that focus primarily on socioeconomic benefits. These projects are: Clean Cars 4 All, Financing Assistance for Lower-Income Consumers, Clean Mobility Options, Clean Mobility in Schools, the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project, and the Agricultural Workers Vanpool Project (currently inactive). CARB identified and reported the expected project benefits, corresponding metrics and evaluation methods for each of the projects (aside from the inactive Agricultural Workers Vanpool Project) in the FY 2021-22 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives, published on October 8, 2021 and approved by CARB's Board on November 19, 2021 (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/fy21-22_fundingplan.pdf).

CARB has re-evaluated and refined project benefits, including to identify socioeconomic benefits, for these project write-ups in the proposed FY 2022-23 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives going before CARB's board in November 2022. The Funding Plan is available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/proposed_fy2022_23_funding_plan_final.pdf.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

CARB shared with us its revised expected socioeconomic benefits for the programs in question. We agree that this recommendation has now been fully implemented.

1-Year Agency Response

As previously reported in the 6-month response, CARB staff has reviewed its incentive programs and identified six clean transportation equity projects that focus primarily on socioeconomic benefits. These projects are: Clean Cars 4 All, Financing Assistance for Lower-Income Consumers, Clean Mobility Options, Clean Mobility in Schools, the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project, and the Agricultural Workers Vanpool Project (currently inactive). CARB identified and reported the expected project benefits, corresponding metrics and evaluation methods for each of the projects (aside from inactive Agricultural Workers Vanpool Project) in the FY 2021-22 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives, published on October 8, 2021 and approved by CARB's Board on November 19, 2021 (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/fy21-22_fundingplan.pdf).

CARB will re-evaluate and refine project benefits for these projects and for any new projects that focus primarily on socioeconomic benefits in each annual Funding Plan moving forward.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

As part of its 6-month response, CARB shared with us the socioeconomic benefits, associated metrics, and planned evaluation process for relevant transportation programs. However, we believe--and CARB agrees--that these benefits and the associated metrics under Recommendation #11 require further refinement in order to be effective measures of the program's effects. Therefore, this recommendation is partially implemented, and we will continue to work with CARB toward full implementation.

6-Month Agency Response

CARB staff has reviewed its incentive programs and identified six clean transportation equity projects that focus primarily on socioeconomic benefits. These projects are: Clean Cars 4 All, Financing Assistance for Lower-Income Consumers, Clean Mobility Options, Clean Mobility in Schools, Sustainable Transportation Equity Project, and the Agricultural Workers Vanpool Project (currently inactive). Staff has identified project benefits, corresponding metrics and evaluation methods for inclusion in the FY 2021-22 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Investments which will be published in October 2021. Staff will complete an initial analysis of these benefits throughout the remainder of 2021 and include results in future Funding Plans.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

CARB provided documentation that indicates it has begun identifying the expected benefits it expects each program to provide. We will further assess CARB's progress at the time of its one-year response.

60-Day Agency Response

Many of our programs do provide some socioeconomic benefits in addition to the GHG and air quality benefits. Our clean transportation equity projects, in general, are the ones where socioeconomic benefits are the greatest priority. CARB staff is reviewing its incentive programs to identify methods to measure the socioeconomic benefits for programs that focus on providing socioeconomic benefits as cobenefits, and will complete that work by August 2021. In addition, CARB staff is developing a format in which to include the expected benefits for each program in upcoming funding plans.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2020-114

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.