I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 325

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish requirements for the 

operation of high occupancy vehicle facilities on highways. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 25, 2005

Mr. GRAVES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish requirements for the operation of high occupancy vehicle facilities on highways.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hybrid HOV Access 

5 Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HOV FACILITIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 1 of title 

8 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 165. HOV facilities 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

3 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF STATE AGENCIES.—A 

4 State agency that has jurisdiction over the operation 

5 of a HOV facility shall establish the occupancy re6 quirements of vehicles operating on the facility. 

7 ‘‘(2) OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENT.—Except as 

8 otherwise provided by this section, no fewer than 2 

9 occupants per vehicle may be required for use of a 

10 HOV facility. 

11 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding the occupancy 

12 requirements of subsection (a)(2), the following exceptions 

13 shall apply with respect to a State agency operating a 

14 HOV facility: 

15 ‘‘(1) MOTORCYCLES AND BICYCLES.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B), the State agency shall allow motor18 cycles and bicycles to use the HOV facility. 

19 ‘‘(B) SAFETY EXCEPTION.—A State agen20 cy may restrict use of the HOV facility by mo21 torcycles or bicycles (or both) if the agency cer22 tifies to the Secretary that such use would cre23 ate a safety hazard and the Secretary accepts 

24 the certification. The Secretary may accept a 

25 certification under this subparagraph only after 

26 the Secretary publishes notice of the certifi-
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1 cation in the Federal Register and provides an 

2 opportunity for public comment. 

3 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES.—

4 The State agency may allow public transportation 

5 vehicles to use the HOV facility if the agency—

6 ‘‘(A) establishes requirements for clearly 

7 identifying the vehicles; and 

8 ‘‘(B) establishes procedures for enforcing 

9 the restrictions on the use of the facility by 

10 such vehicles. 

11 ‘‘(3) HIGH OCCUPANCY TOLL VEHICLES.—The 

12 State agency may allow vehicles not otherwise ex13 empt pursuant to this subsection to use the HOV fa14 cility if the operators of such vehicles pay a toll 

15 charged by the agency for use of the facility and the 

16 agency—

17 ‘‘(A) establishes a program that addresses 

18 how motorists can enroll and participate in the 

19 toll program; 

20 ‘‘(B) develops, manages, and maintains a 

21 system that will automatically collect the toll; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(C) establishes policies and procedures 

24 to—
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1 ‘‘(i) manage the demand to use the fa2 cility by varying the toll amount that is 

3 charged; 

4 ‘‘(ii) enforce violations of use of the 

5 facility; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) permit low-income individuals to 

7 pay reduced tolls. 

8 ‘‘(4) LOW EMISSION AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT

9 VEHICLES.—

10 ‘‘(A) INHERENTLY LOW-EMISSION VEHI11 CLE.—Before September 30, 2009, the State 

12 agency may allow vehicles that are certified as 

13 inherently low-emission vehicles pursuant to 

14 section 88.311–93 of title 40, Code of Federal 

15 Regulations, and are labeled in accordance with 

16 section 88.312–93 of such title, to use the HOV 

17 facility if the agency establishes procedures for 

18 enforcing the restrictions on the use of the fa19 cility by such vehicles. 

20 ‘‘(B) OTHER LOW EMISSION AND ENERGY21 EFFICIENT VEHICLES.—Before September 30, 

22 2009, the State agency may allow vehicles cer23 tified as low emission and energy-efficient vehi24 cles under subsection (e), and labeled in accord-
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1 ance with subsection (e), to use the HOV facil2 ity if the agency—

3 ‘‘(i) establishes a program that ad4 dresses how those qualifying low emission 

5 and energy-efficient vehicles are selected 

6 and certified; 

7 ‘‘(ii) establishes requirements for la8 beling qualifying low emission and energy9 efficient vehicles (including procedures for 

10 enforcing those requirements); 

11 ‘‘(iii) continuously monitors, evalu12 ates, and reports to the Secretary on per13 formance; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) imposes such restrictions on the 

15 use on high occupancy vehicle lanes by ve16 hicles that do not satisfy established occu17 pancy requirements as are necessary to en18 sure that the performance of individual 

19 high occupancy vehicle lanes, and the en20 tire high occupancy vehicle lane system, 

21 will not become seriously degraded. 

22 ‘‘(5) ADVANCED LEAN BURN TECHNOLOGY VE23 HICLES.—Before September 30, 2009, the State 

24 agency may allow vehicles certified as advanced lean 

25 burn technology vehicles under subsection (e), and 
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1 labeled in accordance with subsection (e), to use the 

2 HOV facility if the agency— 

3 ‘‘(A) establishes a program that addresses 

4 how those qualifying advanced lean burn tech5 nology vehicles are selected and certified; 

6 ‘‘(B) establishes requirements for labeling 

7 qualifying advanced lean burn technology vehi8 cles (including procedures for enforcing those 

9 requirements); 

10 ‘‘(C) continuously monitors, evaluates, and 

11 reports to the Secretary on performance; and 

12 ‘‘(D) imposes such restrictions on the use 

13 on high occupancy vehicle lanes by vehicles that 

14 do not satisfy established occupancy require15 ments as are necessary to ensure that the per16 formance of individual high occupancy vehicle 

17 lanes, and the entire high occupancy vehicle 

18 lane system, will not become seriously degraded. 

19 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO TOLLS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Tolls may be charged 

21 under subsections (b)(3) and (b)(4) notwithstanding 

22 section 301 and, except as provided in paragraphs 

23 (2) and (3), subject to the requirements of section 

24 129. 
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1 ‘‘(2) HOV FACILITIES ON THE INTERSTATE

2 SYSTEM.—Notwithstanding section 129, tolls may be 

3 charged under subsections (b)(3) and (b)(4) on a 

4 HOV facility on the Interstate System. 

5 ‘‘(3) EXCESS TOLL REVENUES.—If a State 

6 agency makes a certification under the last sentence 

7 of section 129(a)(3) with respect to toll revenues col8 lected under subsections (b)(3) and (b)(4), the 

9 State, in the use of tolls revenues under that sen10 tence, shall give priority consideration to projects for 

11 developing alternatives to single occupancy vehicle 

12 travel and projects for improving highway safety. 

13 ‘‘(d) HOV FACILITY MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, 

14 MONITORING, AND ENFORCEMENT.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State agency that allows 

16 vehicles to use a HOV facility under subsection 

17 (b)(4) in a fiscal year shall certify to the Secretary 

18 that the agency will carry out the following respon19 sibilities with respect to the facility in the fiscal 

20 year: 

21 ‘‘(A) Establishing, managing, and sup22 porting a performance monitoring, evaluation, 

23 and reporting program for the facility that pro24 vides for continuous monitoring, assessment, 

25 and reporting on the impacts that such vehicles 
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1 may have on the operation of the facility and 

2 adjacent highways. 

3 ‘‘(B) Establishing, managing, and sup4 porting an enforcement program that ensures 

5 that the facility is being operated in accordance 

6 with the requirements of this section. 

7 ‘‘(C) Limiting or discontinuing the use of 

8 the facility by such vehicles if the presence of 

9 such vehicles has degraded the operation of the 

10 facility. 

11 ‘‘(2) DEGRADED FACILITY.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para13 graph (1), the operation of a HOV facility shall 

14 be considered to be degraded if vehicles oper15 ating on the facility are failing to maintain a 

16 minimum average operating speed 90 percent of 

17 the time over a consecutive 6-month period dur18 ing morning or evening weekday peak hour pe19 riods (or both). 

20 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AVERAGE OPERATING

21 SPEED DEFINED.—In subparagraph (A), the 

22 term ‘minimum average operating speed’ 

23 means—
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1 ‘‘(i) 45 miles per hour, in the case of 

2 a HOV facility with a speed limit of 50 

3 miles per hour or greater; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) not more than 10 miles per hour 

5 below the speed limit, in the case of a 

6 HOV facility with a speed limit of less 

7 than 50 miles per hour. 

8 ‘‘(e) CERTIFICATION OF LOW EMISSION AND EN9 ERGY-EFFICIENT VEHICLES AND ADVANCED LEAN BURN

10 TECHNOLOGY VEHICLES.—Not later than 6 months after 

11 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

12 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall issue— 

13 ‘‘(1) a final rule establishing requirements for 

14 certification of a vehicle for purposes of this section 

15 as— 

16 ‘‘(A) a low emission and energy-efficient 

17 vehicle; or 

18 ‘‘(B) an advanced lean burn technology ve19 hicle; and 

20 ‘‘(2) requirements for the labeling of such vehi21 cles. 

22 ‘‘(f) FUEL EFFICIENCY GUIDANCE FOR HYBRID VE23 HICLES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enact24 ment of this section, the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency shall issue guidance on methods 
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1 for determining whether a vehicle meets the fuel efficiency 

2 standards required to qualify as a hybrid vehicle under 

3 subsection (g). 

4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

5 definitions apply: 

6 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED LEAN BURN TECHNOLOGY VE7 HICLE.—The term ‘advanced lean burn technology 

8 vehicle’ means a vehicle with an internal combustion 

9 engine that is designed to operate primarily using 

10 more air than is necessary for complete combustion 

11 of fuel, incorporates direct injection, achieves at 

12 least 125 percent of city fuel economy of a com13 parable vehicle, and has received a certificate that 

14 such vehicle meets or exceeds— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a vehicle having a gross 

16 vehicle weight rating of 6,000 pounds or less, 

17 the Bin 5 Tier II emission standard established 

18 in regulations prescribed by the Administrator 

19 of the Environmental Protection Agency under 

20 section 202(i) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C 

21 7521(i)); and 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of a vehicle having a gross 

23 vehicle weight rating of more than 6,000 

24 pounds but not more than 8,500 pounds, the 
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1 Bin 8 Tier II emission standard established in 

2 such regulations. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEDICATED ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHI4 CLE.—The term ‘dedicated alternative fuel vehicle’ 

5 means a vehicle that operates solely on—

6 ‘‘(A) methanol, denatured ethanol, or other 

7 alcohols; 

8 ‘‘(B) a mixture containing at least 85 per9 cent of methanol, denatured ethanol, and other 

10 alcohols by volume with gasoline or other fuels; 

11 ‘‘(C) natural gas; 

12 ‘‘(D) liquefied petroleum gas; 

13 ‘‘(E) hydrogen; 

14 ‘‘(F) coal derived liquid fuels; 

15 ‘‘(G) fuels (except alcohol) derived from bi16 ological materials; 

17 ‘‘(H) electricity (including electricity from 

18 solar energy); or 

19 ‘‘(I) any other fuel that the Secretary pre20 scribes by regulation that is not substantially 

21 petroleum and that would yield substantial en22 ergy security and environmental benefits. 

23 ‘‘(3) HOV FACILITY.—The term ‘HOV facility’ 

24 means a high occupancy vehicle facility. 
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1 ‘‘(4) HYBRID VEHICLE.—The term ‘hybrid vehi2 cle’ means a vehicle that—

3 ‘‘(A) has propulsion energy drawn from 

4 onboard hybrid sources of stored energy, includ5 ing—

6 ‘‘(i) an internal combustion or heat 

7 engine using consumable fuel; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) a rechargeable energy storage 

9 system; and 

10 ‘‘(B) has been certified by the manufac11 turer, in accordance with guidance prescribed 

12 by the Administrator under subsection (f), to 

13 have achieved either—

14 ‘‘(i) a 10 percent or greater increase 

15 in city fuel economy relative to a com16 parable vehicle that is an internal combus17 tion gasoline fueled vehicle (other than a 

18 vehicle that has propulsion energy from 

19 such onboard hybrid sources); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) a 10 percent or greater increase 

21 in lifetime fuel savings relative to such 

22 comparable vehicle. 

23 ‘‘(5) LOW EMISSION AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT

24 VEHICLE.—The term ‘low emission and energy-effi25 cient vehicle’ means a vehicle that—
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1 ‘‘(A) has been certified by the Adminis2 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

3 as meeting the Tier II emission standard estab4 lished in regulations prescribed by the Adminis5 trator under section 202(i) of the Clean Air Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 7521(i)) for that make and model 

7 year vehicle; and 

8 ‘‘(B) is a hybrid vehicle or dedicated alter9 native fuel vehicle. 

10 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE.—The 

11 term ‘public transportation vehicle’ means a vehicle 

12 that provides public transportation (as defined in 

13 section 5302(a) of title 49). 

14 ‘‘(7) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘State agency’, 

15 as used with respect to a HOV facility, means an 

16 agency of a State or local government having juris17 diction over the operation of the facility and includes 

18 a State transportation department.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

20 (1) PROGRAM EFFICIENCIES.—Section 102 of 

21 title 23, United States Code, is amended by striking 

22 subsection (a) and redesignating subsections (b) and 

23 (c) as subsections (a) and (b), respectively. 
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1 (2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for sub2 chapter I of chapter 1 of such title is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following:

‘‘165. HOV facilities.’’.

4 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 102(b) of 

5 title 23, United States Code, (as redesignated by sub6 section (b)(1) of this section) is amended by striking ‘‘10 

7 years’’ and all that follows through ‘‘after’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘10 years (or such longer period as the State requests and 

9 the Secretary determines to be reasonable) after’’.

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