HB1503 – Low income tax exemption for natural gas, propane, hydrogen, and electric vehicles.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Wiley (D; 49th District; Vancouver)
Current status – Referred to the House Committee on Finance, and had a hearing there on February 17th; passed out of committee February 18th, and referred to Transportation.
Next step would be – Dead.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –
The bill creates a ten year low-income sales and use tax exemption for the purchase or lease of new or used passenger cars, light trucks and medium passenger vehicles that are powered by natural gas, propane, hydrogen, and electricity, including plug-in hybrids.  (Medium passenger vehicles weigh from 8,500 to 10,000 pounds, and are typically vans carrying up to 12 people.)

A vehicle would have to meet the California motor vehicle emission standards and Ecology’s rules to qualify. A purchase would have to have “a selling price plus trade-in property of like kind” less than $25,000 for the sales tax exemption (or a fair market value less than $25,000 for the use tax exemption), and a leased vehicle would have to have a fair market value less than $25,000. You’d have to have qualified for the Federal earned income tax credit on your last tax return to be eligible for the exemption. This currently requires an income below $37,870 to $51,567 for families with children (depending on how many they have), an income under $14,340 if you’re single, and under $19,680 for a married couple without children.

There are various requirements about paperwork and reporting; the tax exemption’s to be funded by the additional $75 a year registration fee currently paid by owners of hybrid, plug in and alternative fuel vehicles.