II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1487 

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 

MAY 15, 2019 

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

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. SCHATZ) 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 2019’’. 

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

7 (a) NATIONAL ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE STAND8 ARD.—Part A of title II of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 7521 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

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

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

5 ‘‘(1) BASE QUANTITY OF NEW PASSENGER VE6 HICLES.—The term ‘base quantity of new passenger 

7 vehicles’ means the total quantity of new passenger 

8 vehicles delivered for sale by a vehicle manufacturer 

9 during the most recent model year. 

10 ‘‘(2) PASSENGER VEHICLE.—The term ‘pas11 senger vehicle’ has the meaning given the term ‘pas12 senger motor vehicle’ in section 32101 of title 49, 

13 United States Code. 

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

15 term ‘qualified electric vehicle’ means a passenger 

16 vehicle that is— 

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

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

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); or 

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

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

22 Revenue Code of 1986). 

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

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

25 the zero-emission vehicle credit for any subsequent 


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1 use under this section, including sale, transfer, ex2 change, or submission in satisfaction of a compliance 

3 obligation. 

4 ‘‘(5) VEHICLE MANUFACTURER.— 

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

6 manufacturer’ means an entity that— 

7 ‘‘(i) engaged in the manufacturing of 

8 new passenger vehicles; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) sold not fewer than 100 new pas10 senger vehicles to ultimate purchasers in 

11 the United States within the current or 

12 previous calendar year, either directly or 

13 through an affiliate, such as a dealer. 

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

15 manufacturer’ does not include— 

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

17 ‘‘(ii) a dealer. 

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

19 ‘zero-emission vehicle’ means a passenger vehicle 

20 that produces zero exhaust emissions of any criteria 

21 pollutant, precursor pollutant, or greenhouse gas, 

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

23 condition, as determined by the Administrator. 

24 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—For model year 2030 and each 

25 model year thereafter, each vehicle manufacturer shall 


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1 meet the requirements of subsections (c) and (d) by sub2 mitting to the Administrator, not later than April 1 of 

3 the following calendar year, as applicable— 

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

5 meet the minimum required percentage of zero-emis6 sion vehicle sales for the applicable model year, as 

7 determined under subsection (c), a quantity of zero8 emission vehicle credits sufficient to offset that ex9 cess, as determined by the Administrator; or 

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

11 exceeds the minimum required percentage of zero12 emission vehicle sales for the applicable model year, 

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

14 that compliance, as the Administrator determines to 

15 be appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(c) MINIMUM REQUIRED ANNUAL PERCENTAGE OF

17 ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CREDITS.—For model years 

18 2030 through 2040, in annual increments, the minimum 

19 annual percentage of the base quantity of new passenger 

20 vehicles of a vehicle manufacturer delivered for sale that 

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

22 issuance of zero-emission vehicle credits, shall be the appli23 cable percentage specified in the following table: 


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‘‘Minimum Required Annual Percentage of Zero-Emission Vehicle 

Credits 

Model Year Percentage 

2030 ................................................................................................ 50.0

2031 ................................................................................................ 55.0

2032 ................................................................................................ 60.0

2033 ................................................................................................ 65.0

2034 ................................................................................................ 70.0

2035 ................................................................................................ 75.0

2036 ................................................................................................ 80.0

2037 ................................................................................................ 85.0

2038 ................................................................................................ 90.0

2039 ................................................................................................ 95.0

2040 ................................................................................................ 100.0. 

1 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT FOR 2040 AND THEREAFTER.— 

2 For model year 2040 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.— 


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

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad3 ministrator shall establish by rule a program— 

4 ‘‘(A) to verify and issue zero-emission vehi5 cle credits to vehicle manufacturers; 

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

7 carry over, and retirement of zero-emission ve8 hicle credits; and 

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

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vehicle manufac13 turer that delivered for sale, either directly or 

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

15 zero-emission vehicle or a qualified electric vehi16 cle in the United States may apply to the Ad17 ministrator for the issuance of a zero-emission 

18 vehicle credit. 

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

20 issuance of a zero-emission vehicle credit, a ve21 hicle manufacturer shall demonstrate to the Ad22 ministrator that the vehicle manufacturer deliv23 ered for sale 1 or more zero-emission vehicles or 

24 qualified electric vehicles in the previous model 

25 year. 


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

2 indicate— 

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

4 or qualified electric vehicle that was deliv5 ered for sale; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the State in which the zero-emis7 sion vehicle or qualified electric vehicle was 

8 delivered for sale; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) any other information deter10 mined to be appropriate by the Adminis11 trator. 

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

13 zero-emission vehicle credit under subparagraph 

14 (A) may aggregate information on all zero-emis15 sion vehicles and qualified electric vehicles deliv16 ered for sale by the vehicle manufacturer in the 

17 applicable model year. 

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

19 CREDITS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES.—The Ad21 ministrator shall issue to a vehicle manufac22 turer the application under paragraph (2) of 

23 which is approved 1 zero-emission vehicle credit 

24 for each zero-emission vehicle delivered for sale 

25 in the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED ELECTRIC VEHICLES.— 

2 For a qualified electric vehicle delivered for sale 

3 by a vehicle manufacturer the application under 

4 paragraph (2) of which is approved, the Admin5 istrator shall issue a partial zero-emission vehi6 cle credit based on the estimated proportion of 

7 the mileage driven on the battery of the quali8 fied electric vehicle, as determined by the Ad9 ministrator. 

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

11 vehicle credit issued for any model year that is 

12 not submitted to comply with the minimum an13 nual percentage of zero-emission vehicles under 

14 subsection (c) during that model year may be 

15 carried forward for use pursuant to subsection 

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

17 than model year 2040. 

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

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

20 credit for any model year before 2040 that is not 

21 submitted to the Administrator to comply with the 

22 minimum annual percentage of zero-emission vehi23 cles under subsection (c) for that model year may be 

24 sold, transferred, or exchanged by the vehicle manuVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1487.IS S1487

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1 facturer to which the credit is issued or by any other 

2 entity that acquires the zero-emission vehicle credit. 

3 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION.— 

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

5 may delegate to an appropriate market-making 

6 entity the administration of a national tradeable 

7 zero-emission vehicle credit market for purposes 

8 of creating a transparent national market for 

9 the sale or trade of zero-emission vehicle cred10 its. 

11 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC REPORT.—If the Adminis12 trator makes a delegation under subparagraph 

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

14 the delegation shall annually submit to Con15 gress and make available to the public a report 

16 describing the status of the zero-emission vehi17 cle credit market. 

18 ‘‘(h) ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE CREDIT RETIRE19 MENT.— 

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

21 legal rights to a zero-emission vehicle credit may re22 tire the zero-emission vehicle credit in any model 

23 year. 

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

25 CREDIT.—A zero-emission vehicle credit retired 


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

2 with subsection (b) in— 

3 ‘‘(A) the model year in which the zero4 emission vehicle credit is retired; or 

5 ‘‘(B) any subsequent model year. 

6 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—The Adminis7 trator may collect the information necessary to verify and 

8 audit— 

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

10 of any vehicle manufacturer; 

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

12 a vehicle manufacturer pursuant to subsection 

13 (b)(1); 

14 ‘‘(3) the validity of a zero-emission vehicle cred15 it submitted for compliance by a vehicle manufac16 turer to the Administrator; and 

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

18 for sale in the United States of all vehicle manufac19 turers. 

20 ‘‘(j) STATE PROGRAMS.— 

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

22 shall preempt the authority of a State or political 

23 subdivision of a State to adopt or enforce any law 

24 (including regulations) relating to motor vehicles, in25 cluding the authority to set standards for motor veVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1487.IS S1487

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1 hicle emissions and zero-emission vehicle require2 ments under section 177 and section 209. 

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

4 regulation of a State or political subdivision of a 

5 State shall relieve any vehicle manufacturer from 

6 compliance with any requirement otherwise applica7 ble under this section. 

8 ‘‘(k) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that vehicle manufacturers should diversify vehicle 

10 technologies and models to ensure consumer choice and 

11 access. 

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

13 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

14 shall promulgate regulations to implement this section. 

15 ‘‘(m) ENFORCEMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vehicle manufac18 turer that fails to comply with subsection (b) 

19 shall be liable for a civil penalty, assessed by 

20 the Administrator, in an amount that is equal 

21 to twice the average value of the aggregate 

22 quantity of zero-emission vehicle credits that 

23 the vehicle manufacturer failed to submit in vio24 lation of that subsection, as determined by the 

25 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 2040, the 

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

14 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

15 of contents of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 7401) 

16 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 

17 part A of title II the following: 

‘‘Sec. 220. National zero-emission vehicle standard.’’. 

Æ 


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