I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 444 
To amend title 23, United States Code, relating to the use of high occupancy 
vehicle lanes by hybrid vehicles. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 1, 2005 
Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. COX, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. DREIER, 
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. 
BERMAN, Ms. WATSON, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CAL-
VERT, Mr. BAIRD, and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, relating to the use 
of high occupancy vehicle lanes by hybrid vehicles. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hybrid Vehicle HOV 
Access Act’’. 
SEC. 2. HYBRID VEHICLE EXCEPTION. 
Section 102(a) of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
LOW-EMISSION
HYBRID 
VEHICLES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a State 
may permit a vehicle with fewer than 2 occupants to 
operate in high occupancy vehicle lanes if— 
‘‘(A) such vehicle is a hybrid vehicle; and 
‘‘(B) the State establishes, after the date 
of enactment of this paragraph, requirements 
for identifying vehicles that are hybrid vehicles 
and labeling such vehicles as hybrid vehicles. 
‘‘(4) HYBRID
VEHICLE
DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘hybrid vehicle’ 
means a motor vehicle (as such term is defined in 
section 164(a))— 
‘‘(A) which draws propulsion energy from 
onboard sources of stored energy which are 
both— 
‘‘(i) an internal combustion or heat 
engine using combustible fuel; and 
‘‘(ii) a rechargeable energy storage 
system; 
‘‘(B) which, in the case of a passenger 
automobile or light truck— 
‘‘(i) for 2002 and later model vehicles, 
has received a certificate of conformity 
under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401
et seq.) and meets or exceeds the equiva-
lent qualifying California low emission ve-
hicle standard under section 243(e)(2) of 
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7583(c)(2)) 
for that make and model year; and 
‘‘(ii) for 2004 and later model vehi-
cles, has received a certificate that such ve-
hicle meets or exceeds the Bin 5 Tier II 
emission level established in regulations 
prescribed by the Administrator of the En-
vironmental Protection Agency under sec-
tion 202(i) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7521(i)) or as meeting a California Air Re-
sources Board emission standard that is at 
least as stringent for that make and model 
year vehicle, and meets any additional En-
vironmental Protection Agency or Cali-
fornia Air Resources Board emissions cat-
egory or other requirements identified by 
the Agency or the Board, as the case may 
be; 
‘‘(C)(i) which has been certified by the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency to have a 45-mile-per-gallon or greater 
fuel economy highway rating; or
‘‘(ii) which meets any additional require-
ments, restrictions, or conditions that the State 
establishes before, on, or after the date of en-
actment of this paragraph; and 
‘‘(D) which is made by a manufacturer.’’. 
SEC. 3. TERMINATION. 
Effective December 31, 2010, paragraphs (3) and (4) 
of section 102(a) of title 23, United States, are repealed. 
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