State and Local Fleet Efficiency Act

To enable State and local promotion of alternative fuel and high-efficiency motor vehicle fleets. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the State and Local Fleet Efficiency Act 2. State and local promotion of natural gas, flexible fuel, and high-efficiency motor vehicle fleets (a) Definitions In this Act: (1) Fleet (A) In general The term fleet (i) centrally dispatched; or (ii) (I) centrally fueled or capable of being centrally fueled; and (II) owned, operated, leased, or otherwise controlled by a governmental entity or other person who owns, operates, leases, or otherwise controls 50 or more such vehicles, by any person who controls such person, by any person controlled by such person, or by any person under common control with such person. (B) Excluded vehicles The term fleet (i) motor vehicles held for lease or rental to the general public; (ii) motor vehicles held for sale by motor vehicle dealers, including demonstration motor vehicles; (iii) motor vehicles used for motor vehicle manufacturer product evaluations or tests; (iv) law enforcement motor vehicles; (v) emergency motor vehicles; or (vi) motor vehicles acquired and used for military purposes that the Secretary of Defense has certified to the Secretary of Energy must be exempt for national security reasons. (2) Purchase requirement The term purchase requirement (A) have been warranted by their manufacturer to operate on natural gas, hydrogen, or biodiesel; (B) are flexible fuel vehicles, meaning vehicles that have been warranted by their manufacturer to operate on gasoline, E85, and M85; (C) are plug-in electric drive vehicles; (D) are propelled solely by a fuel cell that produces power without the use of petroleum or a petroleum-based fuel; (E) are propelled solely by something other than an internal combustion engine and produce power without the use of petroleum or a petroleum-based fuel; or (F) meet a technology or performance based characteristic that is commercially available. (b) State and local fleet requirements Nothing in this Act or in any other provision of law shall be construed to limit the authority of any State or local government to establish purchase requirements applicable to fleets operating primarily within the jurisdiction of the State or local government if such requirements are intended to further any policy regarding climate change, the control of air pollution, energy independence, or local economic benefits. No such State or local requirement shall be considered to be an undue burden on interstate commerce. A fleet operating in more than one jurisdiction in any calendar year shall be treated as operating primarily in the jurisdiction in which the largest number of vehicle miles were traveled by vehicles in the fleet in the 5-calendar-year period immediately preceding such calendar year. (c) Savings Nothing in this Act shall be construed as granting additional authority to State or local governments to establish requirements upon the manufacturers of vehicles.

Summary: State and Local Fleet Efficiency Act This bill recognizes the authority of states or local governments to require fleet owners or operators to acquire only new fleet vehicles that are alternative fuel or high-efficiency motor vehicles that: operate on natural gas, hydrogen, or biodiesel; are flexible fuel vehicles that operate on gasoline, E85, and M85; are plug-in electric drive vehicles; are propelled solely by a fuel cell that produces power without the use of petroleum or a petroleum-based fuel; are propelled solely by something other than an internal combustion engine and produce power without the use of petroleum or a petroleum-based fuel; or meet a technology or performance-based characteristic that is commercially available. A fleet is a group of 20 or more light-duty motor vehicles, medium-duty motor vehicles, or heavy-duty motor vehicles carrying 14 or more passengers operating primarily in a metropolitan area with a population of more than 250,000 that are: (1) centrally dispatched; or (2) centrally fueled, or capable of being centrally fueled, and controlled by a governmental entity or other person meeting specified criteria. The bill excludes certain motor vehicles from the term &quot;fleet,&quot; including vehicles rented to the general public, law enforcement vehicles, and emergency vehicles.