II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5625 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize the Clean School 

Bus program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize 

the Clean School Bus program, 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 ‘‘Clean Commute for 

5 Kids Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 741 of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16091) is amended to read as 

9 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 741. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM. 

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

3 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis4 trator’ means the Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency. 

6 ‘‘(2) CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

7 ‘charging infrastructure’, with respect to zero-emis8 sion school buses, includes bidirectional charging 

9 equipment that can receive energy from electric vehi10 cle supply equipment and provide energy to an exter11 nal load when the bidirectional charging equipment 

12 is paired with similarly capable electric vehicle sup13 ply equipment. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term ‘com15 munity of color’ means a geographically distinct area 

16 in which the population of any of the following cat17 egories of individuals is higher than the average pop18 ulation of that category for the State in which the 

19 community is located: 

20 ‘‘(A) Black. 

21 ‘‘(B) African American. 

22 ‘‘(C) Asian. 

23 ‘‘(D) Pacific Islander. 

24 ‘‘(E) Other non-White race. 

25 ‘‘(F) Hispanic. 

26 ‘‘(G) Latino. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Linguistically isolated. 

2 ‘‘(I) Middle Eastern and North African. 

3 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘eligi4 ble contractor’ means a contractor that is a for-prof5 it, not-for-profit, or nonprofit entity that has the ca6 pacity— 

7 ‘‘(A) to sell, lease, license, or contract for 

8 service zero-emission school buses, charging in9 frastructure, or other equipment needed to 

10 charge or maintain zero-emission school buses, 

11 to individuals or entities that own, lease, li12 cense, or contract for service a school bus or a 

13 fleet of school buses; or 

14 ‘‘(B) to arrange financing for such a sale, 

15 lease, license, or contract for service. 

16 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘el17 igible manufacturer’ means a manufacturer of zero18 emission school buses included on the list under sub19 section (b)(3)(A). 

20 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), the term ‘eligible recipient’ means— 

23 ‘‘(i) 1 or more local, State, or Federal 

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1 eral Services Administration, responsible 

2 for— 

3 ‘‘(I) providing school bus service 

4 to 1 or more public school systems; or 

5 ‘‘(II) the purchase, lease, license, 

6 or contract for service of school buses; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an eligible contractor; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a nonprofit school transportation 

9 association; 

10 ‘‘(iv) a charter school (as defined in 

11 section 4310 of the Elementary and Sec12 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 7221i)) responsible for the purchase, lease, 

14 license, or contract for service of school 

15 buses for that charter school; or 

16 ‘‘(v) an Indian Tribe (as defined in 

17 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

18 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

19 5304)), Tribal organization (as defined in 

20 that section), or tribally controlled school 

21 (as defined in section 5212 of the Tribally 

22 Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 

23 2511)) that is responsible for— 

24 ‘‘(I) providing school bus service 

25 to 1 or more Bureau-funded schools 


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1 (as defined in section 1141 of the 

2 Education Amendments of 1978 (25 

3 U.S.C. 2021)); or 

4 ‘‘(II) the purchase, lease, license, 

5 or contract for service of school buses. 

6 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.—In the 

7 case of eligible recipients identified under 

8 clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the 

9 Administrator shall establish timely and appro10 priate requirements for notice and approval by 

11 the public school systems that would be served 

12 by school buses purchased using award funds 

13 made available under this section. 

14 ‘‘(7) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN15 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

16 means a local educational agency that is among the 

17 local educational agencies in the applicable State 

18 with high percentages of children counted under sec19 tion 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)), on the basis 

21 of the most recent satisfactory data available, as de22 termined by the Secretary of Education (or, for a 

23 local educational agency for which no such data is 

24 available, such other data as the Secretary of Edu25 cation determines to be satisfactory). 


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1 ‘‘(8) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given the 

3 term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

5 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘school bus’ has 

6 the meaning given the term ‘schoolbus’ in section 

7 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(10) U.S. JOBS PLAN.—The term ‘U.S. Jobs 

9 Plan’ means a plan submitted by a manufacturer of 

10 zero-emission school buses that seeks inclusion on 

11 the list of eligible manufacturers maintained under 

12 subsection (b)(3)(A), which shall include— 

13 ‘‘(A) commitments for proposed wages, 

14 benefits, and employee training by the manufac15 turer and the supply chain of the manufacturer 

16 for the manufacture of zero-emission school 

17 buses; 

18 ‘‘(B) a commitment by the manufacturer 

19 and the supply chain of the manufacturer for 

20 the manufacture of zero-emission school buses 

21 to recruit and hire— 

22 ‘‘(i) individuals with a barrier to em23 ployment (as defined in section 3 of the 

24 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

25 (29 U.S.C. 3102)); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) veterans; 

2 ‘‘(iii) individuals who reside in low-in3 come or indigenous communities or com4 munities of color; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) individuals that represent popu6 lations that are traditionally underrep7 resented in the manufacturing workforce, 

8 such as women and racial and ethnic mi9 norities; and 

10 ‘‘(C) a narrative description of how the 

11 manufacturer and the supply chain of the man12 ufacturer will implement the commitment de13 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(11) ZERO-EMISSION SCHOOL BUS.—The term 

15 ‘zero-emission school bus’ means a school bus that 

16 is certified by the Administrator to have a drivetrain 

17 that produces, under any possible operational mode 

18 or condition, zero exhaust emission of— 

19 ‘‘(A) any air pollutant that is listed pursu20 ant to section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 7408(a)) (or any precursor to such an 

22 air pollutant); and 

23 ‘‘(B) any greenhouse gas. 

24 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM FOR PURCHASE OF ZERO-EMISSION

25 SCHOOL BUSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

2 shall establish a program— 

3 ‘‘(A) to award grants and rebates on a 

4 competitive basis to eligible recipients for the 

5 replacement of existing school buses with zero6 emission school buses; 

7 ‘‘(B) to award grants and rebates on a 

8 competitive basis to eligible recipients for the 

9 purchase of new zero-emission school buses; 

10 ‘‘(C) to award contracts to eligible contrac11 tors to provide grants and rebates for the re12 placement of existing school buses with zero13 emission school buses; and 

14 ‘‘(D) to award contracts to eligible contrac15 tors to provide grants and rebates for the pur16 chase of new zero-emission school buses. 

17 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for an 

19 award under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 

20 Administrator an application at such time, in 

21 such manner, and containing such information 

22 as the Administrator may require, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) a written assurance that— 

24 ‘‘(I) all laborers and mechanics 

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1 contractors during construction, alter2 ation, or repair that is financed, in 

3 whole or in part, by an award under 

4 paragraph (1), shall be paid wages at 

5 rates not less than those prevailing in 

6 a similar firm or on similar construc7 tion in the locality, as determined by 

8 the Secretary of Labor in accordance 

9 with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

10 title 40, United States Code; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the applicant agrees to the 

12 authority of the Secretary of Labor 

13 described in subparagraph (B); 

14 ‘‘(ii) a certification that no public 

15 work or service normally performed by a 

16 public employee will be privatized or sub17 contracted in carrying out a project funded 

18 by the award; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) a description of— 

20 ‘‘(I) coordination and advance 

21 planning with the local electricity pro22 vider; and 

23 ‘‘(II) how school bus drivers, me24 chanics, and local first responders will 

25 be properly trained in the operation 


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1 of, maintenance of, repair of, and 

2 emergency response for zero-emission 

3 school buses. 

4 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF

5 LABOR.—For any project or activity carried out 

6 by a recipient of an award under paragraph (1), 

7 the Secretary of Labor shall, with respect to the 

8 labor standards described in subparagraph 

9 (A)(i)(I), have the authority and functions set 

10 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 

11 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and sec12 tion 3145 of title 40, United States Code. 

13 ‘‘(C) PRIORITIZATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In making awards 

15 under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

16 shall prioritize applicants that— 

17 ‘‘(I) propose to replace school 

18 buses that serve— 

19 ‘‘(aa) a high-need local edu20 cational agency; 

21 ‘‘(bb) a Bureau-funded 

22 school (as defined in section 

23 1141 of the Education Amend24 ments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

25 2021)); or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) a local educational 

2 agency that receives a basic sup3 port payment under section 

4 7003(b)(1) of the Elementary 

5 and Secondary Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(b)(1)) for 

7 children who reside on Indian 

8 land; 

9 ‘‘(II) serve rural or low-income 

10 areas; 

11 ‘‘(III) propose to complement the 

12 assistance received through the award 

13 by securing additional sources of 

14 funding for the activities supported 

15 through the award, such as through— 

16 ‘‘(aa) public-private partner17 ships; 

18 ‘‘(bb) grants from other en19 tities; or 

20 ‘‘(cc) issuance of school 

21 bonds; 

22 ‘‘(IV) serve areas identified by 

23 the Administrator as in nonattain24 ment of national ambient air quality 

25 standards promulgated under section 


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1 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 7409) for ozone or particulate matter; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(V) serve communities of color. 

5 ‘‘(ii) SELF-CERTIFICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(I) SELF-CERTIFICATION AU7 THORIZED.—For purposes of deter8 mining if a local educational agency 

9 meets a prioritization criterion de10 scribed in clause (i), a local edu11 cational agency may, in accordance 

12 with this clause and in addition to any 

13 local educational agencies that the Ad14 ministrator determines otherwise meet 

15 a prioritization criterion described in 

16 clause (i), self-certify to the Adminis17 trator that the local educational agen18 cy is— 

19 ‘‘(aa) a high-need local edu20 cational agency; or 

21 ‘‘(bb) a local educational 

22 agency that serves a low-income 

23 area. 

24 ‘‘(II) TITLE I GRANTS.—A local 

25 educational agency may self-certify 


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1 under this clause if not less than 80 

2 percent of the schools within the large 

3 local educational agency received a 

4 grant under title I of the Elementary 

5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

6 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) for the 

7 2023/2024 academic year. 

8 ‘‘(III) CERTAIN SCHOOLS.—A 

9 local educational agency may self-cer10 tify a group of schools within the 

11 large local educational agency under 

12 this clause if— 

13 ‘‘(aa) all schools within the 

14 group individually received grants 

15 under title I of the Elementary 

16 and Secondary Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) 

18 for the 2023/2024 academic year; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(bb) all school buses for 

21 which an award under paragraph 

22 (1) is sought will primarily serve 

23 the schools within the group. 

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1 cational agency may self-certify under 

2 this clause if— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the local educational 

4 agency is not included in the 

5 most recent school district esti6 mates for the Small Area Income 

7 and Poverty Estimates of the 

8 Bureau of the Census as having 

9 20 percent or more of students 

10 living in poverty; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) the local educational 

12 agency received a grant under 

13 part A of title I of the Elemen14 tary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 

16 seq.) for the 2023/2024 academic 

17 year. 

18 ‘‘(D) UTILITY PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligible 

19 recipient seeking an award under paragraph (1) 

20 shall include with an application under subpara21 graph (A) a worksheet, containing such infor22 mation as the Administrator may require, de23 tailing the coordination and partnerships of the 

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1 grate an expanded fleet of zero-emission school 

2 buses. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE MANUFACTURERS.— 

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

5 shall maintain and make publicly available a list 

6 of manufacturers of zero-emission school buses 

7 from whom recipients of awards under para8 graph (1) may purchase zero-emission school 

9 buses. 

10 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall 

11 establish a process by which manufacturers may 

12 seek inclusion on the list established under sub13 paragraph (A), which shall include the submis14 sion of such information as the Administrator 

15 may require, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) a disclosure of whether there has 

17 been any administrative merits determina18 tion, arbitral award or decision, or civil 

19 judgment, as defined in guidance issued by 

20 the Secretary of Labor, rendered against 

21 the manufacturer in the preceding 3 years 

22 for violations of applicable labor, employ23 ment, civil rights, or health and safety 

24 laws; 

25 ‘‘(ii) specific information regarding— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the actions the manufacturer 

2 will take to demonstrate compliance 

3 with and, where possible, exceedance 

4 of requirements under applicable 

5 labor, employment, civil rights, and 

6 health and safety laws; and 

7 ‘‘(II) actions the manufacturer 

8 will take to ensure that the direct sup9 pliers of the manufacturer dem10 onstrate compliance with applicable 

11 labor, employment, civil rights, and 

12 health and safety laws; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the U.S. Jobs Plan of the manu14 facturer. 

15 ‘‘(C) U.S. JOBS PLAN.—The Administrator 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) establish a scoring mechanism to 

18 evaluate the quality of U.S. Jobs Plans 

19 submitted by manufacturers seeking inclu20 sion on the list established under subpara21 graph (A); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) establish regular intervals during 

23 which manufacturers may submit updated 

24 U.S. Jobs Plans and obtain an updated 

25 score. 


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1 ‘‘(D) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator 

2 shall establish an enforcement process for the 

3 enforcement of commitments made in the U.S. 

4 Jobs Plan of an eligible manufacturer, which 

5 shall include— 

6 ‘‘(i) a requirement that eligible manu7 facturers submit semiannual reports dem8 onstrating the compliance of the manufac9 turer with the U.S. Jobs Plan of the man10 ufacturer, which shall be certified under 

11 penalty of perjury; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a process for removing an eligible 

13 manufacturer from the list in the case of 

14 substantial non-compliance with the U.S. 

15 Jobs Plan of the manufacturer; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) a requirement that terms and 

17 conditions of employment and compliance 

18 reports of the U.S. Jobs Plan will be pub19 lic information and will be made public on 

20 USAspending.gov. 

21 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) USE OF SCHOOL BUSES.—All zero23 emission school buses acquired using an award 

24 under paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) be purchased from an eligible 

2 manufacturer; 

3 ‘‘(ii) be operated as part of the school 

4 bus fleet for which the award was made for 

5 not less than 5 years, except that, if the 

6 award is to an eligible contractor and the 

7 contract with the local educational agency 

8 (including charter schools operating as 

9 local educational agencies under State law) 

10 ends before the end of the 5-year period, 

11 those school buses may be operated as part 

12 of another local educational agency eligible 

13 for the same or higher priority consider14 ation under paragraph (2)(C)(i), subject to 

15 the limitations under paragraph (6); 

16 ‘‘(iii) be maintained, operated, and 

17 charged according to manufacturer rec18 ommendations or State requirements; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) not be manufactured or retro20 fitted with, or otherwise have installed, a 

21 power unit or other technology that creates 

22 air pollution within the school bus, such as 

23 an unvented diesel passenger heater. 

24 ‘‘(B) INSTALLATION OF EQUIPMENT.—Any 

25 charging infrastructure purchased or installed 


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1 using an award under paragraph (1) shall be 

2 installed with the participation of electricians 

3 certified for the installation of electric vehicle 

4 supply equipment by the Electric Vehicle Infra5 structure Training Program. 

6 ‘‘(5) AWARDS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In making awards 

8 under paragraph (1), the Administrator may 

9 make awards for up to 100 percent of the costs 

10 for replacement of existing school buses with 

11 zero-emission school buses, the purchase of new 

12 zero-emission school buses, charging infrastruc13 ture, and project implementation, such as work 

14 training. 

15 ‘‘(B) STRUCTURING AWARDS.—In making 

16 an award under subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

17 paragraph (1), the Administrator shall decide 

18 whether to award a grant or rebate, or a com19 bination thereof, based primarily on how best to 

20 facilitate replacing existing school buses with 

21 zero-emission school buses or purchasing new 

22 zero-emission school buses. 

23 ‘‘(C) SCORING.—In making awards under 

24 paragraph (1), the Administrator may— 


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1 ‘‘(i) base the amount of an award, in 

2 part, on the score determined using the 

3 scoring mechanism established pursuant to 

4 paragraph (3)(C); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) as a result of the basis described 

6 in clause (i), make a larger award for zero7 emission school buses purchased from 

8 higher-scoring manufacturers. 

9 ‘‘(6) DEPLOYMENT AND DISTRIBUTION.— 

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

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) to the maximum extent prac13 ticable, achieve nationwide deployment of 

14 zero-emission school buses through the 

15 program under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) ensure a broad geographic dis17 tribution of awards. 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Administrator 

19 shall ensure that the amount received by all eli20 gible recipients in a State from grants and re21 bates under this section does not exceed 10 per22 cent of the amounts made available to carry out 

23 this section during a fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(7) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than Janu25 ary 31 of each year, the Administrator shall submit 


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1 to Congress a report that evaluates the implementa2 tion of this section and describes— 

3 ‘‘(A) the total number of applications re4 ceived; 

5 ‘‘(B) the quantity and amount of grants 

6 and rebates awarded and the location of the re7 cipients of the grants and rebates; 

8 ‘‘(C) the criteria used to select the recipi9 ents; and 

10 ‘‘(D) any other information the Adminis11 trator considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(c) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

14 after the date of enactment of the Clean Commute 

15 for Kids Act of 2024, the Administrator shall de16 velop an education and outreach program to promote 

17 and explain the award program under this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.— 

19 The education and outreach program under para20 graph (1) shall be designed and conducted in con21 junction with interested national school bus trans22 portation associations, labor unions, electric utilities, 

23 manufacturers of zero-emission school buses, manu24 facturers of components of zero-emission school 


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1 buses, clean transportation nonprofit organizations, 

2 and other stakeholders. 

3 ‘‘(3) COMPONENTS.—The education and out4 reach program under paragraph (1) shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) inform potential award recipients on 

6 the process of applying for awards and fulfilling 

7 the requirements of awards; 

8 ‘‘(B) describe the benefits of using the 

9 technologies for which awards under subsection 

10 (b)(1) are available; 

11 ‘‘(C) explain the benefits and costs in12 curred by participating in the award program; 

13 ‘‘(D) make available information regarding 

14 best practices, lessons learned, and technical 

15 and other information regarding— 

16 ‘‘(i) zero-emission school bus acquisi17 tion and deployment; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the build-out of associated infra19 structure and advance planning with the 

20 local electricity supplier; 

21 ‘‘(iii) workforce development, training, 

22 and Registered Apprenticeships that meet 

23 the requirements under parts 29 and 30 of 

24 title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

25 in effect on December 1, 2023); 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the benefits of aggregate pur2 chasing using grant awards from the 

3 award program under this section; and 

4 ‘‘(v) any other information that is 

5 necessary, as determined by the Adminis6 trator; 

7 ‘‘(E) include, as appropriate, information 

8 from the annual report required under sub9 section (b)(7); and 

10 ‘‘(F) in consultation with the Secretary, 

11 make information available about how zero12 emission school buses can be part of building 

13 community resilience to the effects of climate 

14 change. 

15 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Administrator 

16 may use, for the administrative costs of carrying out this 

17 section, not more than 3 percent of the amounts made 

18 available to carry out this section for any fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall have 

20 the authority to promulgate such regulations or other 

21 guidance, forms, instructions, and publications as may be 

22 necessary or appropriate to carry out the programs, 

23 projects, or activities authorized under this section, includ24 ing to ensure that such programs, projects, or activities 


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1 are completed in a timely and effective manner, result in 

2 emissions reductions, and maximize public health benefits. 

3 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

5 carry out this section, to remain available until ex6 pended— 

7 ‘‘(1) $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2025 and 2026; and 

9 ‘‘(2) $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2027 through 2032.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

12 subsection (a) takes effect on October 1, 2024. 

13 SEC. 3. OTHER MATTERS. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ17 mental Protection Agency. 

18 (2) CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM.—The term 

19 ‘‘Clean School Bus program’’ means the program for 

20 grants and rebates established under paragraph (1) 

21 of section 741(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

22 (42 U.S.C. 16091(b)). 

23 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

24 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 


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1 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

3 (4) SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘‘school bus’’ has 

4 the meaning given the term ‘‘schoolbus’’ in section 

5 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

6 (5) VEHICLE-TO-BUILDING/HOME PROGRAM.— 

7 The term ‘‘vehicle-to-building/home program’’ means 

8 a program for the installation and operation of tech9 nology to allow for energy stored in an electric vehi10 cle, including a zero-emission school bus, to be dis11 charged to a building or home for the purposes of— 

12 (A) providing backup power; or 

13 (B) avoiding peak energy use demand 

14 charges. 

15 (6) VEHICLE-TO-GRID PROGRAM.—The term 

16 ‘‘vehicle-to-grid program’’ means a program for the 

17 installation and operation of— 

18 (A) technology to allow for 2-way power 

19 flow between a zero-emission school bus and the 

20 electric grid— 

21 (i) to allow users, including school dis22 tricts, to sell energy back to the grid at 

23 during times of high demand; and 

24 (ii) to increase the resiliency of users, 

25 including schools, in natural disasters by 


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1 providing a backup source of energy to 

2 allow facilities to function as shelters; and 

3 (B) communications hardware and soft4 ware that allows for external control of battery 

5 charging and discharging that have the func6 tions described in clauses (i) and (ii) of sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 (7) ZERO-EMISSION SCHOOL BUS.—The term 

9 ‘‘zero-emission school bus’’ has the meaning given 

10 the term in section 741(a) of the Energy Policy Act 

11 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16091(a)). 

12 (b) STUDY ON ZERO-EMISSION SCHOOL BUS

13 PRICES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact14 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall— 

15 (1) carry out, and submit to Congress a report 

16 describing the results of, a study that examines the 

17 effects of the Clean School Bus program on zero18 emission school bus prices; and 

19 (2) in the report required under paragraph (1), 

20 provide recommendations on how zero-emission 

21 school buses can reach cost-parity with diesel-pow22 ered school buses. 

23 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con25 sultation with the Executive Director of the Joint 


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1 Office of Energy and Transportation, shall develop 

2 and carry out a program to provide technical assist3 ance to— 

4 (A) eligible recipients that meet 1 or more 

5 of the prioritization categories described in 

6 paragraph (2)(C)(i) of section 741(b) of the 

7 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

8 16091(b)); and 

9 (B) electric utilities that serve the recipi10 ents of grants and rebates under the Clean 

11 School Bus program, to ensure that those elec12 tric utilities are prepared to work with recipi13 ents of awards under the Clean School Bus pro14 gram and are capable of supporting school bus 

15 electrification. 

16 (2) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—The program es17 tablished under paragraph (1) shall provide technical 

18 assistance to the entities described in that para19 graph, including, as applicable— 

20 (A) providing assistance on applying for 

21 grants or rebates under the Clean School Bus 

22 program; 

23 (B) providing assistance on the deploy24 ment, operation, maintenance, training, and 

25 disposal of zero-emission school buses and assoVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jan 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5625.IS S5625

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1 ciated charging infrastructure, including battery 

2 recycling and reuse; 

3 (C) preparing eligible recipients for coordi4 nation with electric utilities and relevant service 

5 providers; 

6 (D) providing assistance in the deploy7 ment, operationalization, and maintenance of 

8 zero-emission school buses; 

9 (E) providing assistance in developing 

10 zero-emission school bus battery disposition, 

11 reuse, and recycling plans; and 

12 (F) establishing charging coordination and 

13 planning, including bus route planning and the 

14 availability of charging infrastructure tech15 nologies. 

16 (3) BEST PRACTICES.—In carrying out para17 graph (1), the Administrator, in consultation with 

18 the Executive Director of the Joint Office of Energy 

19 and Transportation, shall develop best practices for 

20 electric utilities and State regulatory authorities (as 

21 defined in section 3 of the Public Utility Regulatory 

22 Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602)) to plan and 

23 carry out programs for the equitable deployment of 

24 zero-emission school buses, including vehicle-to-grid 

25 programs and vehicle-to-building/home programs. 


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1 (4) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out paragraph 

2 (1), the Administrator, in consultation with the Ex3 ecutive Director of the Joint Office of Energy and 

4 Transportation, shall ensure transparency and data5 sharing on vehicle-to-grid programs and vehicle-to6 building/home programs and the compensation of 

7 those programs to school bus operators. 

Æ 


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