I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2296 

To reduce the Nation’s oil dependence and enhance the Nation’s ability 

to produce alternative fuels. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2007 

Mr. GERLACH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Ways and Means and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To reduce the Nation’s oil dependence and enhance the 

Nation’s ability to produce alternative fuels. 

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 ‘‘Future Fuels Act’’. 


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1 TITLE I—ADVANCED TECH2 NOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLE IN3 VESTMENT CREDIT 

4 SEC. 101. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLE IN5 VESTMENT CREDIT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 45N. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLE IN11 VESTMENT CREDIT. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 

13 the case of an eligible manufacturer, the advanced tech14 nology motor vehicle investment credit determined under 

15 this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 

16 33 percent of the qualified investment of the taxpayer for 

17 such taxable year. 

18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount of the credit deter19 mined under this section for any taxable year shall not 

20 exceed $200,000,000. 

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE MANUFACTURER.—For purposes of 

22 this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible manufac24 turer’ means any taxpayer if more than 25 percent 

25 of the taxpayer’s gross receipts for the taxable year 


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1 are derived from the manufacture of motor vehicles 

2 and component parts of such vehicles. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT OF IMPROVEMENT IN AV4 ERAGE FUEL ECONOMY.—Such term shall not in5 clude any manufacturer of motor vehicles for any 

6 taxable year unless the average fuel economy of the 

7 manufacturer for light duty vehicles (other than ve8 hicles produced with property described in sub9 section (d) which was taken into account for pur10 poses of determining a credit under this section) for 

11 the most recent model year for which data is avail12 able (determined as of the first day of such taxable 

13 year) is not less than such average fuel economy for 

14 model year 2002. Terms used in this paragraph 

15 which are also used in section 30B shall have the 

16 same meaning as when used in such section. 

17 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED INVESTMENT.—For purposes of this 

18 section— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified invest20 ment’ means amounts paid or incurred by the tax21 payer during the taxable year— 

22 ‘‘(A) to re-equip or expand an existing 

23 manufacturing facility of the eligible manufac24 turer to produce advanced technology motor ve25 hicles or to produce eligible components, and 


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1 ‘‘(B) for qualified engineering integration. 

2 ‘‘(2) ATTRIBUTION RULE.—In the event a facil3 ity of the taxpayer produces both advanced tech4 nology motor vehicles and other property, or eligible 

5 components and other property, only the qualified 

6 investment attributable to production of advanced 

7 technology motor vehicles and eligible components 

8 shall be taken into account for purposes of this sec9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(3) PROPERTY USED OUTSIDE UNITED

11 STATES, ETC., NOT QUALIFIED.—An amount shall 

12 not be treated as a qualified investment if such 

13 amount is paid or incurred for property referred to 

14 in section 50(b) or to the extent such amount is 

15 taken into account under section 179. 

16 ‘‘(4) ELECTION.—An amount shall not be treat17 ed as a qualified investment if the taxpayer elects 

18 that such amount not be so treated. 

19 ‘‘(e) ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLES.— 

20 For purposes of this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘advanced tech22 nology motor vehicle’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) any new advanced lean burn tech24 nology motor vehicle (as defined in section 

25 30B(c)(3), determined without regard to subVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:51 May 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2296.IH H2296

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1 paragraph (A)(iv)(II) thereof and without re2 gard to the weight limitation under subpara3 graph (A)(iv)(I) thereof), and 

4 ‘‘(B) any new qualified hybrid motor vehi5 cle (as defined in section section 30B(d)(3)(A), 

6 determined without regard to clause (ii)(II) 

7 thereof and without regard to the weight limita8 tion under subparagraph (ii)(I) thereof) that 

9 achieves at least 140 percent of the 2002 model 

10 year city fuel economy (as defined in section 

11 30B(b)(2)(B)). 

12 ‘‘(2) EPA EMISSION STANDARD REQUIRE13 MENTS.—The term ‘advanced technology motor vehi14 cle’ shall not include any vehicle unless such vehicle 

15 is in compliance with any Environmental Protection 

16 Agency emission standard for fine particulate matter 

17 for the applicable make and model year of the vehi18 cle. 

19 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE COMPONENTS.—For purposes of this 

20 section, the term ‘eligible component’ means any compo21 nent specially designed for an advanced technology motor 

22 vehicle and installed for the purpose of meeting the per23 formance requirements for such vehicle, including— 

24 ‘‘(1) with respect to any gasoline-electric new 

25 qualified hybrid motor vehicle (as so defined), an 


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1 electric motor or generator, power split device, power 

2 control unit, power controls, integrated starter gen3 erator, or battery, 

4 ‘‘(2) with respect to any advanced lean burn 

5 technology motor vehicle (as so defined), a diesel en6 gine, turbocharger, fuel injection system, or after7 treatment system such as a particle filter or NOX

8 absorber, and 

9 ‘‘(3) any other component identified by the Sec10 retary as an eligible component. 

11 ‘‘(g) QUALIFIED ENGINEERING INTEGRATION.—For 

12 purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified engineering 

13 integration’ engineering tasks performed prior to the mar14 ket introduction of an advanced technology vehicle which 

15 are related to— 

16 ‘‘(1) incorporating eligible components into the 

17 design of such vehicle, or 

18 ‘‘(2) designing new tooling and equipment for 

19 facilities to manufacture such vehicle or eligible com20 ponents for such vehicle. 

21 ‘‘(h) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—In the case of 

22 the amount of the credit determined under this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) no deduction or credit shall be allowed for 

24 such amount under any other provision of this chap25 ter, and 


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1 ‘‘(2) no increase in the adjusted basis of any 

2 property shall result from such amount. 

3 ‘‘(i) AGGREGATION AND ALLOCATION RULES.—For 

4 purposes of this section, rules similar to the rules of para5 graphs (1) and (2) of section 41(f) shall apply. 

6 ‘‘(j) RECAPTURE.—The Secretary shall, by regula7 tions, provide for recapturing any credit allowed under 

8 this section with respect to any qualified investment which 

9 ceases to be a qualified investment. 

10 ‘‘(k) TERMINATION.—No credit shall be allowed 

11 under this section with respect to any amount paid or in12 curred after December 31, 2017.’’. 

13 (b) CREDIT ALLOWED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI14 NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (25), by strik16 ing the period at the end of paragraph (26) and inserting 

17 ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following new para18 graph: 

19 ‘‘(27) in the case of an eligible manufacturer 

20 (as defined in section 45N(c)), the advanced tech21 nology motor vehicle investment credit determined 

22 under section 45N(a).’’. 

23 (c) CREDIT ALLOWED AGAINST NET INCOME TAX.— 

24 Section 38(c) of such Code is amended by redesignating 

25 paragraphs (2) through (5) as paragraph (3) through (6), 


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1 respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES FOR ADVANCED TECH4 NOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLE INVESTMENT CREDIT.—In 

5 the case of the advanced technology motor vehicle 

6 investment credit determined under section 

7 45N(a)— 

8 ‘‘(A) this section and section 39 shall be 

9 applied separately with respect to such credit, 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) in applying paragraph (1) to such 

12 credit— 

13 ‘‘(i) the amounts described in sub14 paragraphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph 

15 shall be treated as being zero, and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the limitation under paragraph 

17 (1) (as modified by clause (i)) shall be re18 duced by the credit allowed under sub19 section (a) for the taxable year (other than 

20 the advanced technology motor vehicle in21 vestment credit determined under section 

22 45N(a), the empowerment zone employ23 ment employment credit, the New York 

24 Liberty Zone business employee credit, or 

25 the specified credits).’’. 


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1 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (36), by 

4 striking the period and the end of paragraph (37) 

5 and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the 

6 following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(38) to the extent provided in section 

8 45N(h)(2).’’. 

9 (2) Section 6501(m) of such Code is amended 

10 by inserting ‘‘45N(d)(4),’’ after ‘‘45C(d)(4),’’. 

11 (3) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

12 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 item: 

‘‘Sec. 45N. Advanced technology motor vehicle investment credit.’’. 

15 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after 

17 December 31, 2006. 

18 TITLE II—FUEL CHOICE 

19 SEC. 201. FUEL ECONOMY CREDITS PROPORTIONAL TO AL20 TERNATIVE FUEL USED IN DUAL FUEL VEHI21 CLES. 

22 (a) FUEL ECONOMY CALCULATIONS FOR ALTER23 NATIVE FUEL VEHICLES.—Section 32905 of title 49, 

24 United States Code, is amended— 

25 (1) in subsections (b) and (d)— 


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1 (A) by amending paragraph (1) of each 

2 such subsection to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) the number determined by— 

4 ‘‘(A) subtracting from 1.0 the alternative 

5 fuel use factor; and 

6 ‘‘(B) dividing the number calculated under 

7 subparagraph (A) by the fuel economy meas8 ured under section 32904(c) when operating the 

9 model on gasoline or diesel fuel; and’’; and 

10 (B) by amending paragraph (2) of each 

11 such subsection to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(2) the number determined by dividing the al13 ternative fuel use factor by the fuel economy meas14 ured under subsection (a) when operating the model 

15 on alternative fuel.’’. 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(h) DETERMINATION OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL USE

18 FACTOR.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsections 

20 (b) and (d), the term ‘alternative fuel use factor’ 

21 means the factor determined by the Administrator 

22 under paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF FUEL.—At the 

24 beginning of each calendar year, the Secretary of 

25 Transportation shall estimate the aggregate amount 


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1 of fuel and the aggregate amount of alternative fuel 

2 used to operate all dual fuel automobiles during the 

3 most recent 12-month period. 

4 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL

5 USE FACTOR.—The Administrator shall determine, 

6 by regulation, the alternative fuel use factor for dual 

7 fueled automobiles, on an energy equivalent basis, by 

8 calculating the ratio that the amount of alternative 

9 fuel used by each model bears to the total amount 

10 of fuel used by such model.’’. 

11 (b) APPLICABILITY OF EXISTING STANDARD.—The 

12 amendments made by this section shall not affect the ap13 plication of section 32901 of title 49, United States Code, 

14 to automobiles manufactured before model year 2007. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2007. 

17 SEC. 202. FLEXIBLE FUEL VEHICLE STANDARDS. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) ALTERNATIVE FUEL; ALTERNATIVE FUELED

20 AUTOMOBILE; AUTOMOBILE.—The terms ‘‘alter21 native fuel’’, ‘‘alternative fueled automobile’’, and 

22 ‘‘automobile’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

23 section 32901 of title 49, United States Code. 

24 (2) FLEXIBLE FUEL VEHICLES.—The term 

25 ‘‘flexible fuel vehicle’’ means a light duty motor vehiVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:51 May 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2296.IH H2296

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1 cle warranted by the manufacturer to operate using 

2 gasoline and 1 or more alternative fuels, including 

3 ethanol and methanol in blends up to 85 percent al4 ternative fuel by volume. 

5 (b) INCREASING PERCENTAGE OF ALTERNATIVE

6 FUELED AUTOMOBILES OR FLEXIBLE FUEL VEHI7 CLES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the new automobiles sold 

9 by a manufacturer in the United States— 

10 (A) not less than 10 percent manufactured 

11 by that manufacturer for model year 2009 shall 

12 be alternative fueled automobiles or flexible fuel 

13 vehicles; 

14 (B) not less than 20 percent manufactured 

15 by that manufacturer for model year 2010 shall 

16 be alternative fueled automobiles or flexible fuel 

17 vehicles; 

18 (C) not less than 35 percent manufactured 

19 by that manufacturer for model year 2011 shall 

20 be alternative fueled automobiles or flexible fuel 

21 vehicles; and 

22 (D) not less than 50 percent manufactured 

23 by that manufacturer for model year 2012, and 

24 each year thereafter, shall be alternative fueled 

25 automobiles or flexible fuel vehicles. 


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1 (2) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 Transportation shall issue regulations to carry out 

4 this subsection. 

5 (c) ALTERNATIVE FUEL RETAIL OUTLETS.— 

6 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Beginning in the first 

7 year in which 10 percent or more of the registered 

8 vehicles in a county are capable of using an alter9 native fuel, each retail motor fuel outlet in that 

10 county with 10 or more vehicle fuel pumps shall 

11 offer such alternative fuel at not less than 10 per12 cent of such pumps. 

13 (2) CREDITS.—A retail motor fuel outlet shall 

14 be in compliance with the requirement under para15 graph (1) if a sufficient number of credits have been 

16 purchased for it from another retail motor fuel out17 let that operates more than the minimum required 

18 number of alternative fuel pumps, and is within 20 

19 miles of the purchasing retail motor fuel outlet. 

20 (3) PROJECTIONS.—Not later than July 1st of 

21 each year, the Secretary of Energy shall— 

22 (A) identify the counties in which at least 

23 10 percent of the registered vehicles are ex24 pected to be capable of using a designated alterVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:51 May 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2296.IH H2296

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1 native fuel within the following 18-month pe2 riod; 

3 (B) notify owners and operators of retail 

4 motor fuel outlets in the counties identified 

5 under subparagraph (A) of the alternative fuel 

6 pump requirement under this subsection; and 

7 (C) grant counties an exemption to the re8 quirement in paragraph (1) if they demonstrate 

9 to the Secretary that there is not an adequate 

10 alternative fuel supply to meet the requirement. 

11 (4) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Energy 

12 shall issue regulations to carry out this subsection. 

13 TITLE III—FUEL EFFICIENCY 

14 SEC. 301. OIL SAVINGS STUDIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

16 shall develop and implement pilot projects the purpose of 

17 which is to reduce vehicle miles traveled. 

18 (b) HIGHWAY CONGESTION TOLLING EVALUATION

19 STUDY.—The Secretary shall carry out evaluation projects 

20 in no less than 6 metropolitan areas selected by the Sec21 retary to determine how technology can best be applied 

22 to assess mileage-based road user charges on major high23 ways at peak-commuting times for the purposes of— 

24 (1) reducing oil usage; 

25 (2) lessening highway congestion; and 


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1 (3) expanding travel alternatives. 

2 (c) PARKING CASH-OUT EVALUATION PROJECT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

4 out a national evaluation pilot project to assess how 

5 offering commuters the option to receive the cash 

6 value of their workplace parking place, if any, in7 stead of free parking can— 

8 (A) reduce oil usage; 

9 (B) lessen highway congestion; and 

10 (C) expand travel alternatives. 

11 (2) EMPLOYER REQUIREMENT.—Under the 

12 evaluation pilot project, any employer that is partici13 pating in the pilot project and offers free-of-charge 

14 commuter parking to the employees of the employer 

15 must also offer a cashout alternative to employees. 

16 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con17 gress every 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act, a report on the progress and results of pilot projects 

19 under this section. The report shall provide an analysis 

20 and summary of project implementation, changes in oil 

21 usage and travel demand, and other matters as deemed 

22 appropriate by the Secretary. 

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 


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1 (b) $4,000,000, and to carry out subsection (c) 

2 $4,000,000, for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2016. 

3 SEC. 302. INSURANCE SAVINGS INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) PER-MILE INSURANCE.—The Secretary of Trans5 portation shall establish a program to provide incentives 

6 to insurance providers to sell automobile insurance policies 

7 on a per-mile basis. 

8 (b) INCENTIVES.— 

9 (1) START-UP COSTS.—Under the program, the 

10 Secretary of Transportation shall assist automobile 

11 insurance providers with the development and start12 up costs necessary to offer customers of such pro13 viders the option of purchasing automobile insurance 

14 at a per-mile-driven rate. 

15 (2) PER-MILE COMPENSATION.—Under the pro16 gram, the Secretary of Transportation shall com17 pensate an insurance provider at the rate of one cent 

18 per mile driven by each passenger vehicle for which 

19 the insurance premiums are determined by the in20 surance provider to be the multiplicative product of 

21 a per-mile-driven rate and a variable number of 

22 miles driven. Such per-mile-driven rate may reflect 

23 both traditional underwriting factors and the cov24 erages selected. An insurance provider may only re25 ceive incentive payments for an insurance policy 


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1 under this section if the per-mile-driven premium 

2 charges on such policy apply to all vehicles of a 

3 household insured by such provider and account for 

4 at least 70 percent of the total premium charge for 

5 liability and collision coverages of each vehicle in6 sured by such provider. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—There is author9 ized to be appropriated for the administrative costs 

10 of the program established under subsection (a) 

11 $10,000,000. 

12 (2) START-UP COSTS.—There is authorized to 

13 be appropriated to fund start-up costs under sub14 section (b)(1) $20,000,000. 

15 (3) PER-MILE COMPENSATION.—There is au16 thorized to be appropriated to fund incentives under 

17 subsection (b)(2) $220,000,000. 

18 (4) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under 

19 this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

20 SEC. 303. TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT CORRIDORS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi22 nitions apply: 

23 (1) DEFINITIONS FROM TITLE 49, UNITED

24 STATES CODE.—The terms ‘‘capital project’’, ‘‘local 

25 governmental authority’’, ‘‘mass transportation’’, 


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1 and ‘‘urbanized area’’ have the meanings such terms 

2 have under section 5302 of title 49, United States 

3 Code. 

4 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State 

5 of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puer6 to Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 

7 American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Is8 lands. 

9 (3) TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT COR10 RIDOR.—The term ‘‘transit-oriented development 

11 corridor’’ means rights-of-way for fixed-guideway 

12 mass transportation facilities, including commercial 

13 development that is connected with any such facility 

14 physically and functionally. 

15 (b) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with State trans16 portation departments and metropolitan planning organi17 zations, the Secretary shall designate, in urbanized areas, 

18 at least 20 transit-oriented development corridors by 2015 

19 and 50 transit-oriented development corridors by 2025. 

20 (c) TRANSIT GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award 

21 grants to a State or local governmental authority to con22 struct or improve transit facilities, bicycle transportation 

23 facilities, and pedestrian walkways in transit-oriented de24 velopment corridors, including capital projects. 


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1 (d) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—In order to 

2 support effective deployment of grants and incentives 

3 under this section, the Secretary shall establish a transit4 oriented development corridors research and development 

5 program for the conduct of research on best practices and 

6 performance criteria for transit-oriented development cor7 ridors. 

8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017, 

11 of which $2,000,000 per fiscal year is authorized for the 

12 research and development program under subsection (d). 

13 (f) LABOR STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall not 

14 provide a grant under this section for a transit project 

15 unless the Secretary receives reasonable assurances from 

16 a State that laborers and mechanics employed by contrac17 tors or subcontractors in the performance of construction 

18 or modernization on the transit project will be paid wages 

19 not less than those prevailing on similar construction or 

20 modernization in the locality as determined by the Sec21 retary of Labor under the Act of March 3, 1931 (known 

22 as the Davis-Bacon Act) (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 304. MOTOR VEHICLE TIRES SUPPORTING MAXIMUM 

2 FUEL EFFICIENCY. 

3 (a) STANDARDS FOR TIRES MANUFACTURED FOR

4 INTERSTATE COMMERCE.—Section 30123 of title 49, 

5 United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting after the first 

7 sentence the following: ‘‘The grading system shall 

8 include standards for rating the fuel efficiency of 

9 tires designed for use on passenger cars and light 

10 trucks.’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL TIRE FUEL EFFICIENCY PRO13 GRAM.—(1) The Secretary shall develop and carry out a 

14 national tire fuel efficiency program for tires designed for 

15 use on passenger cars and light trucks. 

16 ‘‘(2) The program shall include the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) Policies and procedures for testing and la18 beling tires for fuel economy to enable tire buyers to 

19 make informed purchasing decisions about the fuel 

20 economy of tires. 

21 ‘‘(B) Policies and procedures to promote the 

22 purchase of energy-efficient replacement tires, in23 cluding purchase incentives, website listings on the 

24 Internet, printed fuel economy guide booklets, and 

25 mandatory requirements for tire retailers to provide 

26 tire buyers with fuel-efficiency information on tires. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Minimum fuel economy standards for 

2 tires, promulgated by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) The minimum fuel economy standards for tires 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) ensure, in conjunction with the require6 ments under paragraph (2)(B), that the average fuel 

7 economy of replacement tires is equal to or better 

8 than the average fuel economy of tires sold as origi9 nal equipment; 

10 ‘‘(B) secure the maximum technically feasible 

11 and cost-effective fuel savings; 

12 ‘‘(C) not adversely affect tire safety; 

13 ‘‘(D) not adversely affect the average tire life of 

14 replacement tires; 

15 ‘‘(E) incorporate the results from— 

16 ‘‘(i) laboratory testing; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) to the extent appropriate and avail18 able, on-road fleet testing programs conducted 

19 by the manufacturers; and 

20 ‘‘(F) not adversely affect efforts to manage 

21 scrap tires. 

22 ‘‘(4) The policies, procedures, and standards devel23 oped under paragraph (2) shall apply to all types and 

24 models of tires that are covered by the uniform tire quality 


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1 grading standards under section 575.104 of title 49, Code 

2 of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). 

3 ‘‘(5) Not less often than every three years, the Sec4 retary shall review the minimum fuel economy standards 

5 in effect for tires under this subsection and revise the 

6 standards as necessary to ensure compliance with require7 ments under paragraph (3). The Secretary may not, how8 ever, reduce the average fuel economy standards applica9 ble to replacement tires. 

10 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to 

11 preempt any provision of State law relating to higher fuel 

12 economy standards applicable to replacement tires de13 signed for use on passenger cars and light trucks. 

14 ‘‘(7) Nothing in this chapter shall apply to— 

15 ‘‘(A) a tire or group of tires with the same 

16 SKU, plant, and year, for which the volume of tires 

17 produced or imported is less than 15,000 annually; 

18 ‘‘(B) a deep tread, winter-type snow tire, space19 saver tire, or temporary use spare tire; 

20 ‘‘(C) a tire with a normal rim diameter of 12 

21 inches or less; 

22 ‘‘(D) a motorcycle tire; or 

23 ‘‘(E) a tire manufactured specifically for use in 

24 an off-road motorized recreational vehicle. 


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1 ‘‘(8) In this subsection, the term ‘fuel economy’, with 

2 respect to tires, means the extent to which the tires con3 tribute to the fuel economy of the motor vehicles on which 

4 the tires are mounted.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 30103(b) 

6 of title 49, United States Code, is amended in paragraph 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘When’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided 

8 in section 30123(d) of this title, when’’. 

9 (c) TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of 

10 Transportation shall ensure that the national tire fuel effi11 ciency program required under subsection (d) of section 

12 30123 of title 49, United States Code (as added by sub13 section (a)(2)), is administered so as to apply the policies, 

14 procedures, and standards developed under paragraph (2) 

15 of such subsection (d) beginning not later than March 31, 

16 2009. 

Æ 


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