THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary 

For Immediate Release -  December 13, 1996
EXECUTIVE ORDERFEDERAL ALTERNATIVE FUELED VEHICLE LEADERSHIP
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the lawsof the United States of America, including the Energy Policy and ConservationAct, as amended

(42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-486)("the Act"), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and withthe knowledge that the use of alternative fueled motor vehicles will, in manyapplications, reduce the Nation's dependence on oil, and may create jobs byproviding an economic stimulus for domestic industry, and may improve theNation's air quality by reducing pollutants in the atmosphere, it is herebyordered as follows:

**Section 1.** Federal Leadership and Goals.  (a)  The purpose of thisorder is to ensure that the Federal Government exercise leadership in the use ofalternative fueled vehicles (AFVs).  To that end, each Federal agency shalldevelop and implement aggressive plans to fulfill the alternative fueled vehicleacquisition requirements established by the Act.  The Act generally requiresthat, of the vehicles acquired by each agency for its fleets, subject to certainconditions specified in section 303(b)(1) of the Act, 25 percent should be AFVsin fiscal year (FY) 1996, 33 percent in FY 1997, 50 percent in FY 1998, and 75percent in FY 1999 and thereafter.  These requirements apply to all agencies,regardless of whether they lease vehicles from the General ServicesAdministration (GSA) or acquire them elsewhere.  That section also defines whichFederal agency vehicles are covered by the AFV acquisition requirements; thisorder applies to the same vehicles, which are primarily general-use vehicleslocated in metropolitan statistical areas with populations of 250,000 or more.

**(b)**  To the extent practicable, agencies shall use alternative fuelsin all vehicles capable of using them. Agencies shall continue to work togetherin interagency committees recommended by the Federal Fleet Conversion Task Forceestablished by Executive Order 12844 of April 21, 1993, to coordinate theirvehicle acquisitions and placement.

**Sec. 2.**Submission of Agency Plans and Reports on StatutoryCompliance.  (a)  Sixty (60) days after the date of this Executive order, andannually thereafter as part of its budget submission to the Director of theOffice of Management and Budget, each agency shall submit a report on itscompliance with sections 303 and 304 of the Act.  A copy of the report shallalso be submitted to the Secretary of Energy and to the Administrator of GeneralServices.  The report shall state whether the agency is in compliance with theAct, and substantiate that statement with quantitative data including numbersand types of vehicles acquired and the level of their use.  At a minimum, thereport shall indicate the number of vehicles acquired or converted for each fueltype and vehicle class, and the total number of vehicles of each fuel typeoperated by the agency.  The Director of the Office of Management and Budgetshall issue further reporting guidance as necessary.

**(b)** If an agency has failed to meet the statutory requirements, itshall include in its report an explanation for such failure and a plan,consistent with the agency's current and requested budgets, for achievingcompliance with the Act. The plan shall include alternative sources of suitableAFVs if the agency's primary vehicle supplier is unable to meet the AFVrequirements.

**(c)**  The Secretary of the Department of Energy and the Administratorof General Services shall cooperatively analyze the agency AFV reports andacquisition plans, and shall submit jointly a summary report to the Director ofthe Office of Management and Budget.

**Sec. 3.**  Exceptions for Law-Enforcement, Emergency, and NationalDefense Vehicles.  Section 303 of the Act allows exemptions to the acquisitionrequirements for law-enforcement, emergency, and vehicles acquired and used formilitary purposes that the Secretary of Defense has certified must be exempt fornational security reasons.  Law enforcement vehicles shall include vehicles usedfor protective activities.  Each agency that acquires or utilizes any suchvehicles shall include in its report an explanation of why an exemption isclaimed with respect to such vehicles.

**Sec. 4.**  Fulfilling the Acquisition Requirement.  (a) Agencies mayacquire alternative fueled vehicles to meet the requirements of this orderthrough lease from GSA, acquisition of original equipment manufacturer models,commercial lease, conversion of conventionally fueled vehicles, or anycombination of these approaches.  All vehicles, including those converted foralternative fuel use, shall comply with all applicable Federal and Stateemissions and safety standards.

**(b)**  Based on its own plans and the plans and reports submitted byother agencies, the Administrator of General Services shall provide planninginformation to potential AFV suppliers to assist in production planning.  Afterconsulting with AFV suppliers, the Administrator of General Services shallprovide to Federal agencies information on the production plans of AFV supplierswell in advance of budget and ordering cycles.

**(c)**  As required by section 305 of the Act, the Secretary of Energy,in cooperation with the Administrator of General Services, shall continue toprovide technical assistance to other Federal agencies that acquire alternativefueled vehicles and shall facilitate the coordination of the FederalGovernment's alternative fueled vehicle program.

**Sec. 5.**Vehicle Reporting Credits.  The gains in air quality andenergy security that this order seeks to achieve will be even larger if medium-and heavy-duty vehicles are operated on alternative fuels, and if "zero-emissionsvehicles" (ZEVs) are used.  Therefore, for the purposes of this order,agencies may acquire medium- or heavy-duty dedicated alternative fueled vehiclesor ZEVs to meet their AFV acquisition requirements, and they shall be givencredits for compliance with their AFV targets as follows.  Each medium-duty andZEV shall count the same as two light-duty AFVs, and each dedicated alternativefueled heavy-duty vehicle shall count as three light-duty AFVs.  The ZEV creditsmay be combined with vehicle size credits.  The Director of the Office ofManagement and Budget, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall issuedetailed guidance on the classification and reporting of medium-duty,heavy-duty, and ZEVs.  In the reports mandated in section 2 of this order,medium- and heavy-duty AFVs and ZEVs shall be identified separately fromlight-duty vehicles.

**Sec. 6.** Funding Alternative Fueled Vehicle Acquisition.  (a)  TheDepartment of Energy will no longer request or require specific appropriationsto fund the incremental costs of alternative fueled vehicles, including anyincremental costs associated with acquisition and disposal, for other agencies.Agencies shall formulate their compliance plans based on existing and requestedfunds, but shall not be exempt from the requirements of the Act or this orderdue to limited appropriations.

**(b)**  An exception regarding funding assistance shall be made forelectric vehicles, which are in an earlier stage of development than otheralternative fueled vehicles.  The Secretary of Energy shall establish a programbeginning in FY 1997 to provide partial funding assistance for agency purchasesof electric vehicles.  Up to $10,000 or one-half the incremental cost over acomparable gasoline-powered vehicle, whichever is less, may be provided asfunding assistance for each electric vehicle, subject to the availability offunds.

**Sec. 7.**  Agency Cooperation with Stakeholders on Alternative FueledVehicle Placement and Refueling Capabilities. The Secretary of Energy shall workwith agencies procuring AFVs to coordinate the placement of their vehicles withthe placement of similar vehicles by nonfederal alternative fuel stakeholders.Federal planning and acquisition efforts shall be coordinated with the effortsof the Department of Energy's "Clean Cities" participants, privateindustry fuel suppliers, and fleet operators, and State and local governments toensure that adequate private sector refueling capabilities exist or will existwherever Federal fleet alternative fueled vehicles are located.  Each agency'sfleet managers shall work with appropriate organizations at their respectivelocations, whether in a "Clean Cities" location or not, on initiativesto promote alternative fueled vehicle use and expansion of refuelinginfrastructure.

**Sec. 8.**  Definitions.  For the purpose of this order, the terms "agency,""alternative fueled vehicle," and "alternative fuel" havethe same meaning given such terms in sections 151 and 301 of the Act.

**Sec. 9.**Executive Order 12844.  This order supersedes ExecutiveOrder 12844.

**Sec. 10.** Judicial Review.  This order is not intended to, and doesnot, create any right or benefit or trust responsibility, substantive orprocedural, enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies orinstrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

THE WHITE HOUSE,