(a)  Funds shall be available to the state board from the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 44091. Those funds shall be used to perform the rulemaking, vehicle testing, and other technical work necessary to achieve the objectives set forth in Sections 44101 and 44104.5. Those administrative expenditures shall not exceed a total of three million dollars ($3,000,000) over the first three years of the program.

(b)  Funds available to the state board pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 44091 shall be used to purchase and retire mobile source emission reduction credits resulting from the retirement of light-duty vehicles pursuant to this article for the purpose of achieving the emission reductions required by the M-1 strategy of the 1994 SIP. If offers from authorized private scrapping entities are deemed, by the department, consistent with the criteria set forth in Section 44101, to be noncompetitive in cost-effectiveness, in terms of dollars per ton of emissions reduced, the department shall directly purchase vehicles from owners in order to achieve the greatest reduction in emissions at the least cost. If these purchases, in turn, are deemed by the department to be not cost-competitive, in terms of dollars per ton of emissions reduced, with other strategies identified by the state board, the department shall use the funds to pursue other more cost-effective strategies identified by the state board. All emission reduction credits purchased with the funds described in this paragraph shall be retired and credited to the M-1 strategy of the 1994 SIP.

(c)  This article shall not create an obligation on the part of any state or local agency to expend money, incur substantial administrative costs, or purchase credits to meet the M–1 requirements of the 1994 State Implementation Plan until the Director of Finance certifies that there are sufficient funds in the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account for purposes of the article.

(d)  This article shall not create an obligation to use existing funds that are currently used to meet other air quality mandates, including funds collected pursuant to Sections 44223, 44225, 44227, and 44243, for purchasing credits to satisfy the M-1 or other strategies of the 1994 SIP.

(e)  The state board and the department shall seek federal funds to be deposited in the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account, and shall explore the availability of other funding sources, such as private contributions, the Petroleum Violation Escrow Account, and proceeds from fees, fines, or other penalties resulting from fuel specification violations.

(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 929, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 1996.)