(a) The Chair of the California Transportation Commission shall create, in consultation with the Secretary of the Transportation Agency, a Road Usage Charge (RUC) Technical Advisory Committee.

(b) (1) The purpose of the technical advisory committee is to guide the development and evaluation of a pilot program to assess the potential for mileage-based revenue collection for California’s roads and highways as an alternative to the gas tax system.

(2) Commencing January 1, 2019, the technical advisory committee shall continue to assess the potential for mechanisms, including, but not limited to, a mileage-based revenue collection system, to use as alternative methods to the existing gas tax system for generating the revenue necessary to maintain and operate the state’s transportation system.

(c) The technical advisory committee shall consist of 15 members. In selecting the members of the technical advisory committee, the chair shall consider individuals who are representative of the telecommunications industry, highway user groups, the data security and privacy industry, privacy rights advocacy organizations, regional transportation agencies, national research and policymaking bodies, including, but not limited to, the Transportation Research Board and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Members of the Legislature, and other relevant stakeholders as determined by the chair.

(d) Pursuant to Section 14512 of the Government Code, the technical advisory committee may request the Department of Transportation to perform such work as the technical advisory committee deems necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities.

(e) The technical advisory committee shall study RUC alternatives to the gas tax. The technical advisory committee shall gather public comment related to the activities described in subdivision (b) and shall make recommendations to the Secretary of the Transportation Agency on the design of a pilot program to test alternative RUC approaches. The technical advisory committee may also make recommendations on the criteria to be used to evaluate the pilot program.

(f) In studying alternatives to the current gas tax system and developing recommendations on the design of a pilot program to test alternative RUC approaches pursuant to subdivision (e), the technical advisory committee shall take all of the following into consideration:

(1) The availability, adaptability, reliability, and security of methods that might be used in recording and reporting highway use.

(2) The necessity of protecting all personally identifiable information used in reporting highway use.

(3) The ease and cost of recording and reporting highway use.

(4) The ease and cost of administering the collection of taxes and fees as an alternative to the current system of taxing highway use through motor vehicle fuel taxes.

(5) Effective methods of maintaining compliance.

(6) The ease of reidentifying location data, even when personally identifiable information has been removed from the data.

(7) Increased privacy concerns when location data is used in conjunction with other technologies.

(8) Public and private agency access, including law enforcement, to data collected and stored for purposes of the RUC to ensure individual privacy rights are protected pursuant to Section 1 of Article I of the California Constitution.

(g) The technical advisory committee shall consult with highway users and transportation stakeholders, including representatives of vehicle users, vehicle manufacturers, and fuel distributors as part of its duties pursuant to subdivision (f).

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 698, Sec. 1. (SB 1328) Effective January 1, 2019. Repealed as of January 1, 2023, pursuant to Section 3093.)