(a)  The state board shall establish, by regulation, maximum standards for the volatility of gasoline at or below nine pounds per square inch Reid vapor pressure as determined by the American Society for Testing and Materials, Test D 323-58, or by an appropriate test determined by the state board, for gasoline sold in this state.

(b)  The state board, in adopting the regulations, shall give full consideration to topography and climatic conditions and may provide that the standards imposed thereby shall apply in those areas which the state board determines necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this division.

(c)  Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, until October 1, 1993, any blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol shall not result in a violation of any regulation adopted by the state board pursuant to this section unless the volatility of the gasoline used in the blend exceeds the applicable standard of the state board.

(d)  For the purposes of this section, “ethyl alcohol” (also known as ethanol) means fuel that meets all of the following requirements:

(1)  It is produced from agricultural commodities, renewable resources, or coal.

(2)  It is rendered unsuitable for human consumption at the time of its manufacture or immediately thereafter.

(e)  For the purposes of determining the percentage of ethyl alcohol contained in gasoline, the volume of alcohol includes the volume of any denaturant approved for that purpose by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, provided these denaturants do not exceed 5 percent of the volume of alcohol (including denaturants).

(f)  From October 1, 1993, to December 31, 1995, inclusive, any blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol shall not result in a violation of the Reid vapor pressure standard adopted by the state board pursuant to this section unless it is determined by the state board on the basis of independently verifiable automobile exhaust and evaporative emission tests performed on a representative fleet of automobiles that the blend would result in a net increase in the ozone forming potential of the total emissions, excluding emissions of oxides of nitrogen, when compared to the total emissions, excluding emissions of oxides of nitrogen, from the same automobile fleet using gasoline that meets all applicable specifications for Phase I gasoline established by the state board.

(g)  On and after January 1, 1996, any blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol shall not result in a violation of the Reid vapor pressure standard adopted by the state board pursuant to this section unless it is determined by the state board on the basis of independently verifiable automobile exhaust and evaporative emission tests performed on a representative fleet of automobiles that the blend would result in a net increase in the ozone forming potential of the total emissions, excluding emissions of oxides of nitrogen, when compared to the total emissions, excluding emissions of oxides of nitrogen, from the same automobile fleet using gasoline that meets all applicable specifications for Phase II gasoline established by the state board.

(h)  Notwithstanding subdivisions (f) and (g), at any time that the state board adopts, by regulation, standards specifying acceptable levels for emissions of oxides of nitrogen for all reformulated fuels, any blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol that exceeds those levels no longer qualifies for an exemption from the Reid vapor pressure standard established by the state board.

(Amended by Stats. 1991, Ch. 1194, Sec. 1.)