I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3973 

To establish the Clean School Bus Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mrs. HAYES (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. HIMES, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, and Mr. LEVIN of California) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish the Clean School Bus Grant 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 School Bus Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘‘elec9 tric school bus’’ means a school bus that is pro10 pelled— 


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1 (A) to a significant extent by an electric 

2 motor that— 

3 (i) draws electricity from a battery; 

4 and 

5 (ii) is capable of being recharged from 

6 an external source of electricity; or 

7 (B) by 1 or more hydrogen fuel cells. 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means— 

10 (A) 1 or more local, regional, or State gov11 ernmental entities responsible for— 

12 (i) providing school bus service to 1 or 

13 more public school systems; or 

14 (ii) purchasing school buses for use by 

15 1 or more public school systems; 

16 (B) a nonprofit school transportation asso17 ciation; or 

18 (C) a tribally controlled school (as defined 

19 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 

20 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)). 

21 (3) FUEL CELL.—The term ‘‘fuel cell’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 803 of the Energy 

23 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16152). 


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1 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

2 the Clean School Bus Grant Program established 

3 under subsection (b)(1). 

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

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

6 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

7 (6) SCRAP.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘scrap’’ 

9 means, with respect to a school bus engine re10 placed using funds awarded under the program, 

11 to recycle, crush, or shred the engine within 

12 such period and in such manner as determined 

13 by the Secretary. 

14 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘scrap’’ does 

15 not include selling, leasing, exchanging, or oth16 erwise disposing of an engine described in sub17 paragraph (A) for use in another motor vehicle 

18 in any location. 

19 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Energy. 

21 (b) CLEAN SCHOOL BUS GRANT PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Re24 newable Energy of the Department of Energy a pro25 gram, to be known as the ‘‘Clean School Bus Grant 


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1 Program’’, for awarding grants on a competitive 

2 basis to eligible entities for the replacement of cer3 tain existing school buses. 

4 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

5 grant under the program, an eligible entity shall 

6 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

7 in such manner, and containing such information as 

8 the Secretary shall require, including— 

9 (A) a certification that no public work or 

10 service normally performed by a public em11 ployee will be privatized or subcontracted in 

12 carrying out a project under the grant; and 

13 (B) to ensure a fair assessment of total 

14 workforce impact, a detailed accounting of the 

15 workforce of the eligible entity at the time of 

16 application, including— 

17 (i) the number of employees, orga18 nized by salary; 

19 (ii) the bargaining unit status of each 

20 employee; 

21 (iii) the full- or part-time status of 

22 each employee; and 

23 (iv) the job title of each employee. 

24 (3) PRIORITY OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 give highest priority under the program to pro3 posed projects of eligible entities that— 

4 (i) serve the neediest students, as de5 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 

6 (ii) will most reduce emissions, as de7 scribed in subparagraph (C). 

8 (B) NEEDIEST STUDENTS DESCRIBED.— 

9 The neediest students referred to in subpara10 graph (A)(i) are students who are eligible for 

11 free or reduced price lunches under the Richard 

12 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

14 (C) MOST EMISSIONS-REDUCING PROJECTS

15 DESCRIBED.—The projects that will most re16 duce emissions referred to in subparagraph 

17 (A)(ii) are projects that— 

18 (i) will replace the most polluting die19 sel school buses with the cleanest running 

20 electric school buses, as indicated by— 

21 (I) the age of the school buses to 

22 be replaced; 

23 (II) the emissions control tech24 nologies on the school buses to be re25 placed; 


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1 (III) the annual vehicle miles 

2 traveled by the school buses to be re3 placed; 

4 (IV) the source of electricity or 

5 hydrogen used to power the electric 

6 school buses; and 

7 (V) any other factors the Sec8 retary determines to be relevant; or 

9 (ii) will complement the use of grant 

10 funds through other activities that— 

11 (I) will enable broader deploy12 ment of electric vehicles, such as se13 curing additional sources of funding 

14 through public-private partnerships 

15 with utilities, grants from other enti16 ties, or issuance of school bonds; or 

17 (II) will achieve further reduc18 tions in emissions, such as installing 

19 solar panels to charge electric school 

20 buses purchased with grant funds. 

21 (D) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

22 giving additional consideration to eligible enti23 ties seeking grants to purchase electric school 

24 buses under the program that meet the priorVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 ities described in subparagraph (A), the Sec2 retary may consider— 

3 (i) whether the grant will benefit stu4 dents in a region that is in nonattainment 

5 of a national ambient air quality standard 

6 under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 7409); or 

8 (ii) whether the eligible entity, or 

9 whether the school system or school that 

10 would be served by the eligible entity, has 

11 taken other action to reduce emissions dur12 ing the transportation of students, such as 

13 instituting a no-idling policy. 

14 (4) USE OF SCHOOL BUS FLEET.—Each electric 

15 school bus acquired with funds provided under the 

16 program— 

17 (A) shall be operated as part of the school 

18 bus fleet for which the grant was made for not 

19 less than 5 years; 

20 (B) shall be maintained, operated, and 

21 charged according to manufacturer rec22 ommendations or State requirements; and 

23 (C) may not be manufactured or retro24 fitted with, or otherwise have installed, a power 

25 unit or other technology that creates air polluVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 tion within the school bus, such as an unvented 

2 diesel passenger heater. 

3 (5) GRANT AWARDS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use 

5 funds made available to carry out the pro6 gram— 

7 (i) to award grants for— 

8 (I) the replacement of existing 

9 diesel school bus fleets with electric 

10 school buses; 

11 (II) the implementation of re12 charging infrastructure or other infra13 structure needed to charge or main14 tain electric school buses; 

15 (III) workforce development and 

16 training, to support the maintenance, 

17 charging, and operations of electric 

18 school buses; and 

19 (IV) planning and technical ac20 tivities to support the adoption and 

21 implementation of electric school 

22 buses; and 

23 (ii) to develop resources to inform, en24 courage, and support eligible entities in ap25 plying for and fulfilling the requirements 


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1 of grants awarded under the program, in2 cluding materials to support the workforce 

3 development and training described in 

4 clause (i)(III) and the planning and tech5 nical activities described in clause (i)(IV). 

6 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive 

7 a grant under the program, the Secretary 

8 shall— 

9 (i) require that grant recipients— 

10 (I) replace diesel school buses 

11 with electric school buses; 

12 (II)(aa) not later than 1 year 

13 after receiving the electric school bus 

14 purchased using a grant under the 

15 program, scrap the diesel engine of 

16 the school bus being replaced; or 

17 (bb) receive a waiver under para18 graph (6); 

19 (III) do not, as a result of receiv20 ing the grant— 

21 (aa) lay off, transfer, or de22 mote any current employee; or 

23 (bb) reduce the salary or 

24 benefits of any current employee 


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1 or worsen the conditions of work 

2 of any current employee; and 

3 (IV) provide current employees 

4 with training to effectively operate, 

5 maintain, or otherwise adapt to new 

6 technologies relating to electric school 

7 buses; and 

8 (ii) permit grant recipients to receive 

9 and retain any funds or benefits received 

10 from— 

11 (I) scrapping a diesel engine; 

12 (II) transferring or repurposing a 

13 diesel school bus as authorized under 

14 a waiver under paragraph (6); and 

15 (III) the resale or reuse of other 

16 parts of a school bus replaced using 

17 grant funds. 

18 (C) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

19 (i) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The max20 imum amount of a grant under the pro21 gram is $2,000,000 per eligible entity. 

22 (ii) AMOUNTS FOR PURCHASE OF

23 ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES.— 

24 (I) IN GENERAL.—For any grant 

25 under the program, the amount of 


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1 funds awarded for the purchase of an 

2 electric school bus shall not exceed 

3 110 percent of the amount equal to 

4 the difference between— 

5 (aa) the cost of an electric 

6 school bus; and 

7 (bb) the cost of a diesel 

8 school bus. 

9 (II) DETERMINATION OF COST

10 OF SCHOOL BUSES.—In determining 

11 the amount of funds under subclause 

12 (I), the Secretary may determine the 

13 cost of a school bus for the purpose of 

14 calculating the marginal cost under 

15 that subclause through— 

16 (aa) a competitive solicita17 tion process for the manufacture 

18 of the school bus; 

19 (bb) a cooperative purchase 

20 agreement permitted by the laws 

21 of the State in which the grant 

22 recipient is located; or 

23 (cc) another method that the 

24 Secretary determines to be ap25 propriate. 


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1 (iii) AMOUNTS FOR SUPPORTING AC2 TIVITIES.—For any grant under the pro3 gram, the amount of funds awarded for 

4 the purposes described in subclauses (II) 

5 through (IV) of subparagraph (A)(i), or 

6 other purposes related to those subclauses, 

7 as determined by the Secretary, shall not 

8 exceed $600,000. 

9 (D) BUY AMERICA.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

11 in clause (ii), any electric school bus pur12 chased using funds awarded under the pro13 gram shall comply with the requirements 

14 described in section 5323(j) of title 49, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 

17 (I) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

18 provide any waiver to the require19 ments described in clause (i) in the 

20 same manner and to the same extent 

21 as the Secretary of Transportation 

22 may provide a waiver under section 

23 5323(j)(2) of title 49, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 (II) PERCENTAGE OF COMPO2 NENTS AND SUBCOMPONENTS.—The 

3 Secretary may grant a waiver in ac4 cordance with section 5323(j)(2)(C) of 

5 title 49, United States Code, when a 

6 grant recipient procures an electric 

7 school bus using funds awarded under 

8 the program for which the cost of 

9 components and subcomponents pro10 duced in the United States— 

11 (aa) for each of fiscal years 

12 2020 through 2024, is more than 

13 60 percent of the cost of all com14 ponents of the school bus; and 

15 (bb) for fiscal year 2025 and 

16 each fiscal year thereafter, is 

17 more than 70 percent of the cost 

18 of all components of the school 

19 bus. 

20 (6) WAIVER.—On request of a grant recipient, 

21 the Secretary may grant a waiver under paragraph 

22 (5)(B)(i)(II)(bb) to authorize a grant recipient— 

23 (A) to transfer a diesel school bus replaced 

24 using grant funds under the program under an 

25 agreement— 


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1 (i) between— 

2 (I) the grant recipient; and 

3 (II) an entity described in sub4 section (a)(2) that serves an area that 

5 is in attainment of national ambient 

6 air quality standards under the Clean 

7 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

8 (ii) that provides that— 

9 (I) not later than 1 year after the 

10 transfer subject to the agreement, the 

11 entity receiving a school bus from the 

12 grant recipient will scrap a number of 

13 diesel engines of school buses that is 

14 equal to the number of school buses 

15 being received; and 

16 (II) any diesel engines described 

17 in subclause (I) are older and more 

18 polluting than the diesel engines in 

19 the school buses being received; and 

20 (iii) provided to the Secretary; or 

21 (B) to delay the requirement under para22 graph (5)(B)(i)(II)(aa) for not more than 3 

23 years after receiving the school bus purchased 

24 using a grant under the program for the pur25 pose of using the school bus being replaced for 


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1 a use determined by the Secretary to be appro2 priate. 

3 (7) DEPLOYMENT AND DISTRIBUTION.—In car4 rying out the program, the Secretary shall, to the 

5 maximum extent practicable— 

6 (A) achieve nationwide deployment of elec7 tric school buses through the program; and 

8 (B) ensure a broad geographic distribution 

9 of grant awards, with no State receiving more 

10 than 15 percent of the grant funding made 

11 available to carry out the program for each fis12 cal year. 

13 (8) ANNUAL REPORTING.— 

14 (A) DATA RELEASE.—The Secretary shall 

15 make available to the public on the website of 

16 the Department of Energy a downloadable elec17 tronic database of information with respect to 

18 each grant made under the program, includ19 ing— 

20 (i) the name and location of the grant 

21 recipient; 

22 (ii) the school district served by the 

23 grant recipient, if the grant recipient is not 

24 a school district; 


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1 (iii) the criteria that the grant recipi2 ent met under subparagraphs (B), (C), 

3 and (D) of paragraph (3), if any; 

4 (iv) the grant amount, including a de5 scription of the amounts of the grant used 

6 for— 

7 (I) the purchase of electric school 

8 buses; 

9 (II) the purchase of infrastruc10 ture; 

11 (III) workforce development; 

12 (IV) the purchase of hydrogen or 

13 electricity; and 

14 (V) any other purpose; 

15 (v) with respect to an electric school 

16 bus purchased using a grant under the 

17 program, the number, make and model, 

18 year of make, cost, estimated annual vehi19 cle miles to be traveled, and estimated 

20 number of students to be transported per 

21 day; 

22 (vi) with respect to a school bus re23 placed using a grant under the program, 

24 the number, make and model, year of 

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1 eled, and the number of students trans2 ported per day; 

3 (vii) whether the grant recipient re4 ceived a waiver under paragraph (6) and, 

5 if the grant recipient received such a waiv6 er, with respect to a school bus scrapped 

7 by the receiving entity described in para8 graph (6)(A), the number, make and 

9 model, year of make, fuel type, type of 

10 school bus, annual vehicle miles traveled, 

11 and the number of students transported 

12 per day; 

13 (viii) an estimate of the local air pol14 lution emissions and global greenhouse gas 

15 emissions avoided as a result of the grant; 

16 and 

17 (ix) any other data determined by the 

18 Secretary to enable an analysis of the use 

19 and impact of grants under the program. 

20 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

21 than January 31 of each year, the Secretary 

22 shall submit to Congress and make available on 

23 the website of the Department of Energy a re24 port that describes— 


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1 (i) the grant applications received 

2 under the program, including a summary 

3 of the grant applications meeting the cri4 teria described in subparagraphs (B), (C), 

5 and (D) of paragraph (3), if any; 

6 (ii) the grants awarded under the pro7 gram, including a summary of the data de8 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

9 (iii) the effect of the receipt of the 

10 grant on students, schools, local commu11 nities, industry, and the workforce; 

12 (iv) the estimated impact of the 

13 awarded grants on local air pollution and 

14 greenhouse gas emissions; and 

15 (v) any other information determined 

16 by the Secretary to enable Congress to un17 derstand the implementation, outcomes, 

18 and effectiveness of the program. 

19 (C) REPORT ON BUY AMERICA WAIVERS.— 

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

22 Secretary shall submit a report describing any 

23 waiver granted under paragraph (5)(D)(ii)(I) 

24 during the preceding year to— 


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1 (i) the Committee on Environment 

2 and Public Works of the Senate; 

3 (ii) the Committee on Energy and 

4 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

5 (iii) the Committee on Transportation 

6 and Infrastructure of the House of Rep7 resentatives; and 

8 (iv) the Committee on Energy and 

9 Commerce of the House of Representa10 tives. 

11 (c) EDUCATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 funds are appropriated to carry out the Program, 

14 the Secretary shall develop an education outreach 

15 program to promote and explain the program. 

16 (2) COORDINATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.— 

17 The outreach program under this subsection shall be 

18 designed and conducted in conjunction with national 

19 school bus transportation associations, educators, 

20 school bus drivers, and other stakeholders. 

21 (3) COMPONENTS.—The outreach program 

22 under this subsection shall— 

23 (A) inform eligible entities of the process 

24 of applying for grants; 


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1 (B) describe the available technologies and 

2 the benefits of the technologies; 

3 (C) explain the benefits of participating in 

4 the program; 

5 (D) facilitate the sharing of best practices 

6 and lessons learned among grant recipients and 

7 between grant recipients and eligible entities; 

8 and 

9 (E) include, as appropriate, information 

10 from the annual reports required under sub11 section (b)(8). 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

14 out the program $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2020 through 2024, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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