II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4823 

To amend the Clean Air Act to create a national zero-emission vehicle 

standard, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20 (legislative day, OCTOBER 19), 2020 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. WARREN, Mr. SANDERS, 

and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Clean Air Act to create a national zeroemission vehicle standard, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Zero-Emission Vehicles 

5 Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘ZEVs Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE STANDARD. 

7 Part A of title II of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 7521 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 220. NATIONAL ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE STANDARD. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) BASE QUANTITY OF NEW PASSENGER VE4 HICLES.—The term ‘base quantity of new passenger 

5 vehicles’ means the total quantity of new passenger 

6 vehicles delivered for sale by a vehicle manufacturer 

7 during the most recent model year. 

8 ‘‘(2) PASSENGER VEHICLE.—The term ‘pas9 senger vehicle’ has the meaning given the term ‘pas10 senger motor vehicle’ in section 32101 of title 49, 

11 United States Code. 

12 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED ELECTRIC VEHICLE.—The 

13 term ‘qualified electric vehicle’ means a passenger 

14 vehicle that is— 

15 ‘‘(A) a new qualified plug-in electric drive 

16 motor vehicle (as defined in section 30D(d) of 

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); or 

18 ‘‘(B) a new qualified fuel cell motor vehicle 

19 (as defined in section 30B(d)(3) of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986). 

21 ‘‘(4) RETIRE.—The term ‘retire’, with respect 

22 to a zero-emission vehicle credit, means to disqualify 

23 the zero-emission vehicle credit for any subsequent 

24 use under this section, including sale, transfer, ex25 change, or submission in satisfaction of a compliance 

26 obligation. 


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1 ‘‘(5) VEHICLE MANUFACTURER.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘vehicle 

3 manufacturer’ means an entity that— 

4 ‘‘(i) engaged in the manufacturing of 

5 new passenger vehicles; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) sold not fewer than 100 new pas7 senger vehicles to ultimate purchasers in 

8 the United States within the current or 

9 previous calendar year, either directly or 

10 through an affiliate, such as a dealer. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘vehicle 

12 manufacturer’ does not include— 

13 ‘‘(i) a motor vehicle parts supplier; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a dealer. 

15 ‘‘(6) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE.—The term 

16 ‘zero-emission vehicle’ means a passenger vehicle 

17 that produces zero exhaust emissions of any criteria 

18 pollutant, precursor pollutant, or greenhouse gas, 

19 other than water vapor, in any mode of operation or 

20 condition, as determined by the Administrator. 

21 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—For model year 2025 and each 

22 model year thereafter, each vehicle manufacturer shall 

23 meet the requirements of subsections (c) and (d) by sub24 mitting to the Administrator, not later than April 1 of 

25 the following calendar year, as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(1) for a vehicle manufacturer that fails to 

2 meet the minimum required percentage of zero-emis3 sion vehicle sales for the applicable model year, as 

4 determined under subsection (c), a quantity of zero5 emission vehicle credits sufficient to offset that ex6 cess, as determined by the Administrator; or 

7 ‘‘(2) for a vehicle manufacturer that meets or 

8 exceeds the minimum required percentage of zero9 emission vehicle sales for the applicable model year, 

10 as determined under subsection (c), a certification of 

11 that compliance, as the Administrator determines to 

12 be appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(c) MINIMUM REQUIRED ANNUAL PERCENTAGE OF

14 ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CREDITS.—For model years 

15 2025 through 2035, in annual increments, the minimum 

16 annual percentage of the base quantity of new passenger 

17 vehicles of a vehicle manufacturer delivered for sale that 

18 are equivalent to zero-emission vehicles, based on the 

19 issuance of zero-emission vehicle credits, shall be the appli20 cable percentage specified in the following table: 

‘‘Minimum Required Annual Percentage of Zero-Emission Vehicle 

Credits 

Model Year Percentage 

2025 ................................................................................................ 50.0

2026 ................................................................................................ 55.0

2027 ................................................................................................ 60.0

2028 ................................................................................................ 65.0

2029 ................................................................................................ 70.0

2030 ................................................................................................ 75.0

2031 ................................................................................................ 80.0


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‘‘Minimum Required Annual Percentage of Zero-Emission Vehicle 

Credits—Continued 

Model Year Percentage 

2032 ................................................................................................ 85.0

2033 ................................................................................................ 90.0

2034 ................................................................................................ 95.0

2035 ................................................................................................ 100.0. 

1 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT FOR 2035 AND THEREAFTER.— 

2 For model year 2035 and each model year thereafter, a 

3 vehicle manufacturer shall sell only zero-emission vehicles. 

4 ‘‘(e) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CREDITS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A vehicle manufacturer 

6 may satisfy the requirements of subsection (b) 

7 through the submission of zero-emission vehicle 

8 credits— 

9 ‘‘(A) issued to the vehicle manufacturer 

10 under subsection (f); or 

11 ‘‘(B) obtained by purchase, transfer, or ex12 change under subsection (g). 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A zero-emission vehicle 

14 credit may be counted toward compliance with sub15 section (b) only once. 

16 ‘‘(f) ISSUANCE OF ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CRED17 ITS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

19 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad20 ministrator shall establish by rule a program— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to verify and issue zero-emission vehi2 cle credits to vehicle manufacturers; 

3 ‘‘(B) to track the sale, transfer, exchange, 

4 carry over, and retirement of zero-emission ve5 hicle credits; and 

6 ‘‘(C) to enforce the requirements of this 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vehicle manufac10 turer that delivered for sale, either directly or 

11 through an affiliate, such as a dealer, a new 

12 zero-emission vehicle or a qualified electric vehi13 cle in the United States may apply to the Ad14 ministrator for the issuance of a zero-emission 

15 vehicle credit. 

16 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for the 

17 issuance of a zero-emission vehicle credit, a ve18 hicle manufacturer shall demonstrate to the Ad19 ministrator that the vehicle manufacturer deliv20 ered for sale one or more zero-emission vehicles 

21 or qualified electric vehicles in the previous 

22 model year. 

23 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS.—The application shall 

24 indicate— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the type of zero-emission vehicle 

2 or qualified electric vehicle that was deliv3 ered for sale; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the State in which the zero-emis5 sion vehicle or qualified electric vehicle was 

6 delivered for sale; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) any other information deter8 mined to be appropriate by the Adminis9 trator. 

10 ‘‘(D) AGGREGATION.—An application for a 

11 zero-emission vehicle credit under subparagraph 

12 (A) may aggregate information on all zero-emis13 sion vehicles and qualified electric vehicles deliv14 ered for sale by the vehicle manufacturer in the 

15 applicable model year. 

16 ‘‘(3) QUANTITY OF ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE

17 CREDITS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES.—The Ad19 ministrator shall issue to a vehicle manufac20 turer the application under paragraph (2) of 

21 which is approved one zero-emission vehicle 

22 credit for each zero-emission vehicle delivered 

23 for sale in the United States. 

24 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED ELECTRIC VEHICLES.— 

25 For a qualified electric vehicle delivered for sale 


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1 by a vehicle manufacturer the application under 

2 paragraph (2) of which is approved, the Admin3 istrator shall issue a partial zero-emission vehi4 cle credit based on the estimated proportion of 

5 the mileage driven on the battery of the quali6 fied electric vehicle, as determined by the Ad7 ministrator. 

8 ‘‘(C) CREDIT BANKING.—A zero-emission 

9 vehicle credit issued for any model year that is 

10 not submitted to comply with the minimum an11 nual percentage of zero-emission vehicles under 

12 subsection (c) during that model year may be 

13 carried forward for use pursuant to subsection 

14 (b)(1) within the next 5 years, but not later 

15 than model year 2035. 

16 ‘‘(g) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CREDIT TRADING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A zero-emission vehicle 

18 credit for any model year before 2035 that is not 

19 submitted to the Administrator to comply with the 

20 minimum annual percentage of zero-emission vehi21 cles under subsection (c) for that model year may be 

22 sold, transferred, or exchanged by the vehicle manu23 facturer to which the credit is issued or by any other 

24 entity that acquires the zero-emission vehicle credit. 

25 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 may delegate to an appropriate market-making 

3 entity the administration of a national tradeable 

4 zero-emission vehicle credit market for purposes 

5 of creating a transparent national market for 

6 the sale or trade of zero-emission vehicle cred7 its. 

8 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC REPORT.—If the Adminis9 trator makes a delegation under subparagraph 

10 (A), the entity to which the Administrator made 

11 the delegation shall annually submit to Con12 gress and make available to the public a report 

13 describing the status of the zero-emission vehi14 cle credit market. 

15 ‘‘(h) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CREDIT RETIRE16 MENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any entity that obtains 

18 legal rights to a zero-emission vehicle credit may re19 tire the zero-emission vehicle credit in any model 

20 year. 

21 ‘‘(2) USE OF RETIRED ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE

22 CREDIT.—A zero-emission vehicle credit retired 

23 under paragraph (1) may not be used for compliance 

24 with subsection (b) in— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the model year in which the zero2 emission vehicle credit is retired; or 

3 ‘‘(B) any subsequent model year. 

4 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—The Adminis5 trator may collect the information necessary to verify and 

6 audit— 

7 ‘‘(1) the model year sales of passenger vehicles 

8 of any vehicle manufacturer; 

9 ‘‘(2) a zero-emission vehicle credit submitted by 

10 a vehicle manufacturer pursuant to subsection 

11 (b)(1); 

12 ‘‘(3) the validity of a zero-emission vehicle cred13 it submitted for compliance by a vehicle manufac14 turer to the Administrator; and 

15 ‘‘(4) the quantity of passenger vehicles delivered 

16 for sale in the United States of all vehicle manufac17 turers. 

18 ‘‘(j) STATE PROGRAMS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section 

20 shall preempt the authority of a State or political 

21 subdivision of a State to adopt or enforce any law 

22 (including regulations) relating to motor vehicles, in23 cluding the authority to set standards for motor ve24 hicle emissions and zero-emission vehicle require25 ments under section 177 and section 209. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION.—No law or 

2 regulation of a State or political subdivision of a 

3 State shall relieve any vehicle manufacturer from 

4 compliance with any requirement otherwise applica5 ble under this section. 

6 ‘‘(k) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that vehicle manufacturers should diversify vehicle 

8 technologies and models to ensure consumer choice and 

9 access. 

10 ‘‘(l) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 540 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

12 shall promulgate regulations to implement this section. 

13 ‘‘(m) ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vehicle manufac16 turer that fails to comply with subsection (b) 

17 shall be liable for a civil penalty, assessed by 

18 the Administrator, in an amount that is equal 

19 to twice the average value of the aggregate 

20 quantity of zero-emission vehicle credits that 

21 the vehicle manufacturer failed to submit in vio22 lation of that subsection, as determined by the 

23 Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator 

2 shall assess any civil penalty under subpara3 graph (A). 

4 ‘‘(C) DEPOSIT.—With respect to any civil 

5 penalty paid to the Administrator pursuant to 

6 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall de7 posit the amount into the Highway Trust Fund 

8 established by section 9503(a) of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986. 

10 ‘‘(2) INJUNCTION.—After model year 2035, the 

11 Administrator shall issue an injunction on the manu12 facture of any passenger vehicles other than zero13 emission vehicles by a vehicle manufacturer.’’. 

Æ 


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