Clean School Bus Act of 2021
Bill: S.506 | Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine (D-NV)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Clean School Bus Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the Clean School Bus Grant Program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Under the program, DOE must award grants for the replacement of existing diesel school buses with electric buses.

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

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean School Bus Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Electric school bus.--The term ``electric school bus'' 
        means a school bus that is propelled--
                    (A) to a significant extent by an electric motor 
                that--
                            (i) draws electricity from a battery; and
                            (ii) is capable of being recharged from an 
                        external source of electricity;
                    (B) by any necessary components or equipment 
                required to facilitate electric school bus operations; 
                or
                    (C) by 1 or more hydrogen fuel cells.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) 1 or more local, regional, or State 
                governmental entities, including a local educational 
                agency, responsible for--
                            (i) providing school bus service to 1 or 
                        more local educational agencies; or
                            (ii) purchasing school buses for use by 1 
                        or more local educational agencies;
                    (B) 1 or more contracting entities that provide 
                school bus service to 1 or more local educational 
                agencies;
                    (C) a nonprofit school transportation association 
                that provides school bus service to 1 or more local 
                educational agencies; or
                    (D) a tribally controlled school (as defined in 
                section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 
                1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)).
            (3) Fuel cell.--The term ``fuel cell'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 803 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
        (42 U.S.C. 16152).
            (4) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
            (5) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Clean School 
        Bus Grant Program established under subsection (b)(1).
            (6) School bus.--The term ``school bus'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``schoolbus'' in section 30125(a) of title 49, 
        United States Code.
            (7) Scrap.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``scrap'' means, with 
                respect to a school bus engine replaced using funds 
                awarded under the program, to recycle, crush, shred, or 
                otherwise disable the engine within such period and in 
                such manner as determined by the Secretary.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``scrap'' does not include 
                selling, leasing, exchanging, or otherwise disposing of 
                an engine described in subparagraph (A) for use in 
                another motor vehicle in any location.
            (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (9) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) each of the several States of the United 
                States;
                    (B) the District of Columbia; and
                    (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
    (b) Clean School Bus Grant Program.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish in the 
        Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the 
        Department of Energy a program, to be known as the ``Clean 
        School Bus Grant Program'', for awarding grants on a 
        competitive basis to eligible entities for the replacement of 
        certain existing school buses.
            (2) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        the program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 
        an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
        such information as the Secretary shall require, including--
                    (A) a certification that no public work or service 
                normally performed by a public employee will be 
                privatized or subcontracted in carrying out a project 
                under the grant; and
                    (B) to ensure a fair assessment of total workforce 
                impact, a detailed accounting of the workforce of the 
                eligible entity at the time of application, including--
                            (i) the number of employees, organized by 
                        salary;
                            (ii) the bargaining unit status of each 
                        employee;
                            (iii) the full- or part-time status of each 
                        employee; and
                            (iv) the job title of each employee.
            (3) Priority of grant applications.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall give priority 
                to eligible entities--
                            (i) that have significant aging, 
                        inefficient, or high emission bus fleets that 
                        need improvement;
                            (ii)(I) that serve a high percentage of 
                        students from low-income families, as 
                        determined by the Secretary using data from the 
                        Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program 
                        of the Bureau of the Census; and
                            (II) with a participating local educational 
                        agency designated with a school district locale 
                        code of 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the 
                        National Center for Education Statistics in 
                        consultation with the Bureau of the Census; or
                            (iii) that propose projects that will most 
                        reduce emissions, as described in subparagraph 
                        (B).
                    (B) Most emissions-reducing projects described.--
                The projects that will most reduce emissions referred 
                to in subparagraph (A)(iii) are projects that--
                            (i) will replace the most polluting diesel 
                        school buses with the cleanest running electric 
                        school buses, as indicated by--
                                    (I) the age of the school buses to 
                                be replaced;
                                    (II) the emissions control 
                                technologies on the school buses to be 
                                replaced;
                                    (III) the annual vehicle miles 
                                traveled by the school buses to be 
                                replaced;
                                    (IV) the source of electricity or 
                                hydrogen used to power the electric 
                                school buses; and
                                    (V) any other factors the Secretary 
                                determines to be relevant; or
                            (ii) will complement the use of grant funds 
                        through other activities that--
                                    (I) will enable broader deployment 
                                of electric vehicles, such as securing 
                                additional sources of funding through 
                                public-private partnerships with 
                                utilities, grants from other entities, 
                                or issuance of school bonds; or
                                    (II) will achieve further 
                                reductions in emissions, such as 
                                installing solar panels as part of 
                                recharging infrastructure to power 
                                electric school buses purchased with 
                                grant funds.
                    (C) Additional criteria for consideration.--With 
                respect to eligible entities seeking a grant to 
                purchase electric school buses under the program, the 
                Secretary may consider, in addition to the information 
                included in the application submitted under paragraph 
                (2)--
                            (i) whether the grant will benefit students 
                        in a region that is in nonattainment of a 
                        national ambient air quality standard under 
                        section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        7409);
                            (ii) whether the eligible entity, or 
                        whether the local educational agency that would 
                        be served by the eligible entity, has taken 
                        other action to reduce emissions during the 
                        transportation of students, such as instituting 
                        a no-idling policy; and
                            (iii) whether the eligible entity serves 
                        geographic locations with potential barriers to 
                        the use of an electric school bus, including--
                                    (I) significant weather events; and
                                    (II) distance challenges and 
                                limitations.
            (4) Use of school bus fleet.--Each electric school bus 
        acquired or leased with funds provided under the program--
                    (A) shall be operated as part of the school bus 
                fleet for which the grant was made for not less than 5 
                years;
                    (B) shall be maintained, operated, and charged 
                according to manufacturer recommendations or State 
                requirements; and
                    (C) may not be manufactured or retrofitted with, or 
                otherwise have installed, a power unit or other 
                technology that creates air pollution within the school 
                bus, such as an unvented diesel passenger heater.
            (5) Grant awards.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary may use funds made 
                available to carry out the program--
                            (i) to award grants for--
                                    (I) the replacement of existing 
                                diesel school bus fleets with electric 
                                school buses;
                                    (II) the implementation of 
                                recharging infrastructure or other 
                                infrastructure, including renewable 
                                energy generation infrastructure, 
                                needed to charge or maintain electric 
                                school buses;
                                    (III) workforce development and 
                                training, to support the maintenance, 
                                charging, and operations of electric 
                                school buses; and
                                    (IV) planning and technical 
                                activities to support the adoption and 
                                implementation of electric school 
                                buses; and
                            (ii) to develop resources to inform, 
                        encourage, and support eligible entities in 
                        applying for and fulfilling the requirements of 
                        grants awarded under the program, including 
                        materials to support the workforce development 
                        and training described in clause (i)(III) and 
                        the planning and technical activities described 
                        in clause (i)(IV).
                    (B) Requirements.--In order to receive a grant 
                under the program, the Secretary shall--
                            (i) require that grant recipients--
                                    (I) replace diesel school buses 
                                with electric school buses;
                                    (II)(aa) not later than 1 year 
                                after receiving the electric school bus 
                                purchased using a grant under the 
                                program, scrap the diesel engine of the 
                                school bus being replaced; or
                                    (bb) receive a waiver under 
                                paragraph (6);
                                    (III) do not, as a result of 
                                receiving the grant--
                                            (aa) lay off, transfer, or 
                                        demote any current employee; or
                                            (bb) reduce the salary or 
                                        benefits of any current 
                                        employee or worsen the 
                                        conditions of work of any 
                                        current employee; and
                                    (IV) provide current employees with 
                                training to effectively operate, 
                                maintain, or otherwise adapt to new 
                                technologies relating to electric 
                                school buses; and
                            (ii) permit grant recipients to receive and 
                        retain any funds or benefits received from--
                                    (I) scrapping a diesel engine;
                                    (II) transferring or repurposing a 
                                diesel school bus as authorized under a 
                                waiver under paragraph (6); and
                                    (III) the resale or reuse of other 
                                parts of a school bus replaced using 
                                grant funds.
                    (C) Grant amounts.--
                            (i) Maximum amount.--For each eligible 
                        entity that submits an application under 
                        paragraph (2), the maximum amount of a grant 
                        under the program is $2,000,000.
                            (ii) Amounts for purchase of electric 
                        school buses.--
                                    (I) In general.--For any grant 
                                under the program, the amount of funds 
                                awarded for the purchase of an electric 
                                school bus shall not exceed 110 percent 
                                of the amount equal to the difference 
                                between--
                                            (aa) the cost of an 
                                        electric school bus; and
                                            (bb) the cost of a diesel 
                                        school bus.
                                    (II) Determination of cost of 
                                school buses.--In determining the 
                                amount of funds under subclause (I), 
                                the Secretary may determine the cost of 
                                a school bus for the purpose of 
                                calculating the marginal cost under 
                                that subclause through--
                                            (aa) a competitive 
                                        solicitation process for the 
                                        manufacture of the school bus;
                                            (bb) a cooperative purchase 
                                        agreement permitted by the laws 
                                        of the State in which the grant 
                                        recipient is located; or
                                            (cc) another method that 
                                        the Secretary determines to be 
                                        appropriate.
                            (iii) Amounts for supporting activities.--
                        For any grant under the program, the amount of 
                        funds awarded for the purposes described in 
                        subclauses (II) through (IV) of subparagraph 
                        (A)(i), or other purposes related to those 
                        subclauses, as determined by the Secretary, 
                        shall not exceed $600,000.
                    (D) Buy america.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), any electric school bus purchased 
                        using funds awarded under the program shall 
                        comply with the requirements described in 
                        section 5323(j) of title 49, United States 
                        Code.
                            (ii) Exceptions.--
                                    (I) Waiver.--The Secretary may 
                                provide any waiver to the requirements 
                                described in clause (i) in the same 
                                manner and to the same extent as the 
                                Secretary of Transportation may provide 
                                a waiver under section 5323(j)(2) of 
                                title 49, United States Code.
                                    (II) Percentage of components and 
                                subcomponents.--The Secretary may grant 
                                a waiver in accordance with section 
                                5323(j)(2)(C) of title 49, United 
                                States Code, when a grant recipient 
                                procures an electric school bus using 
                                funds awarded under the program for 
                                which the cost of components and 
                                subcomponents produced in the United 
                                States, for fiscal year 2022 and each 
                                fiscal year thereafter, is more than 70 
                                percent of the cost of all components 
                                of the school bus.
            (6) Waiver.--On request of a grant recipient, the Secretary 
        may grant a waiver under paragraph (5)(B)(i)(II)(bb) to 
        authorize a grant recipient--
                    (A) to transfer a diesel school bus replaced using 
                grant funds under the program under an agreement--
                            (i) between--
                                    (I) the grant recipient; and
                                    (II) an entity described in 
                                subsection (a)(2) that serves an area 
                                that is in attainment of national 
                                ambient air quality standards under the 
                                Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
                            (ii) that provides that--
                                    (I) not later than 1 year after the 
                                transfer subject to the agreement, the 
                                entity receiving a school bus from the 
                                grant recipient will scrap a number of 
                                diesel engines of school buses that is 
                                equal to the number of school buses 
                                being received; and
                                    (II) any diesel engines described 
                                in subclause (I) are older and more 
                                polluting than the diesel engines in 
                                the school buses being received; and
                            (iii) provided to the Secretary; or
                    (B) to delay the requirement under paragraph 
                (5)(B)(i)(II)(aa) for not more than 3 years after 
                receiving the school bus purchased using a grant under 
                the program for the purpose of using the school bus 
                being replaced for a use determined by the Secretary to 
                be appropriate.
            (7) Deployment and distribution.--In carrying out the 
        program, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
        practicable--
                    (A) achieve nationwide deployment of electric 
                school buses through the program; and
                    (B) ensure a broad geographic distribution of grant 
                awards, with no State receiving more than 15 percent of 
                the grant funding made available to carry out the 
                program for each fiscal year.
            (8) Annual reporting.--
                    (A) Data release.--The Secretary shall make 
                available to the public on the website of the 
                Department of Energy a downloadable electronic database 
                of information with respect to each grant made under 
                the program, including--
                            (i) the name and location of the grant 
                        recipient;
                            (ii) the school district served by the 
                        grant recipient, if the grant recipient is not 
                        a school district;
                            (iii) the criteria that the grant recipient 
                        met under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 
                        paragraph (3), if any;
                            (iv) the grant amount, including a 
                        description of the amounts of the grant used 
                        for--
                                    (I) the purchase of electric school 
                                buses;
                                    (II) the purchase of 
                                infrastructure;
                                    (III) workforce development;
                                    (IV) the purchase of hydrogen or 
                                electricity; and
                                    (V) any other purpose;
                            (v) with respect to an electric school bus 
                        purchased using a grant under the program, the 
                        number, make and model, year of make, cost, 
                        estimated annual vehicle miles to be traveled, 
                        and estimated number of students to be 
                        transported per day, as provided by the 
                        eligible entity awarded the grant;
                            (vi) with respect to a school bus replaced 
                        using a grant under the program, the number, 
                        make and model, year of make, fuel type, annual 
                        vehicle miles traveled, and the average number 
                        of students transported per day, as provided by 
                        the eligible entity awarded the grant;
                            (vii) whether the grant recipient received 
                        a waiver under paragraph (6) and, if the grant 
                        recipient received such a waiver, with respect 
                        to a school bus scrapped by the receiving 
                        entity described in paragraph (6)(A), the 
                        number, make and model, year of make, fuel 
                        type, type of school bus, annual vehicle miles 
                        traveled, and the average number of students 
                        transported per day, as provided by the 
                        eligible entity awarded the grant;
                            (viii) an estimate of the local air 
                        pollution emissions and global greenhouse gas 
                        emissions avoided as a result of the grant; and
                            (ix) any other data determined by the 
                        Secretary to enable an analysis of the use and 
                        impact of grants under the program.
                    (B) Report to congress.--Not later than January 31 
                of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
                and make available on the website of the Department of 
                Energy a report that describes--
                            (i) the grant applications received under 
                        the program, including a summary of the grant 
                        applications meeting the criteria described in 
                        subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (3), if 
                        any;
                            (ii) the grants awarded under the program, 
                        including a summary of the data described in 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            (iii) the effect of the receipt of the 
                        grant on students, schools, local communities, 
                        industry, and the workforce;
                            (iv) the impact of the awarded grants on 
                        local air pollution and greenhouse gas 
                        emissions; and
                            (v) any other information determined by the 
                        Secretary to enable Congress to understand the 
                        implementation, outcomes, and effectiveness of 
                        the program.
                    (C) Report on buy america waivers.--Not later than 
                1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
                annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a 
                report describing any waiver granted under paragraph 
                (5)(D)(ii)(I) during the preceding year to--
                            (i) the Committee on Environment and Public 
                        Works of the Senate;
                            (ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                        Resources of the Senate;
                            (iii) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                        the Senate;
                            (iv) the Committee on Transportation and 
                        Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
                            (v) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 
                        the House of Representatives; and
                            (vi) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                        House of Representatives.
    (c) Education.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after funds are 
        appropriated to carry out the Program, the Secretary shall 
        develop an education outreach campaign to promote and explain 
        the program.
            (2) Coordination with stakeholders.--The outreach campaign 
        under this subsection shall be designed and conducted in 
        conjunction with national school bus transportation 
        associations, educators, local educational agencies, school bus 
        drivers, school bus leasing or contracting operators, the 
        school bus manufacturing and supply industries, and other 
        stakeholders.
            (3) Components.--The outreach campaign under this 
        subsection shall--
                    (A) inform eligible entities of the process of 
                applying for grants;
                    (B) describe the available technologies and the 
                benefits of the technologies;
                    (C) explain the benefits of participating in the 
                program;
                    (D) facilitate the sharing of best practices and 
                lessons learned among grant recipients and between 
                grant recipients and eligible entities; and
                    (E) include, as appropriate, information from the 
                annual reports required under subsection (b)(8).
    (d) Cost Sharing.--The Secretary shall not require cost sharing for 
any project carried out using a grant awarded under the program.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the program $200,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027, to remain available until 
expended.
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