[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 794 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 794
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the system for
enhancing automobile fuel efficiency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 7, 2003
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Jeffords, Mr.
Corzine, Mr. Reed, Mr. Kennedy, and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the system for
enhancing automobile fuel efficiency, 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 ``Automobile Fuel Efficiency
Improvements Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. PHASED INCREASES IN FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS.
(a) Passenger Automobiles.--
(1) Minimum standards.--Subsection (b) of section 32902 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Passenger Automobiles.--Except as otherwise provided under
this section, the average fuel economy standard for passenger
automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer in a model year--
``(1) after model year 1984 and before model year 2006
shall be 25 miles per gallon;
``(2) after model year 2005 and before model year 2009
shall be 28 miles per gallon;
``(3) after model year 2008 and before model year 2012
shall be 32 miles per gallon;
``(4) after model year 2011 and before model year 2015
shall be 36 miles per gallon; and
``(5) after model year 2014 shall be 40 miles per
gallon.''.
(2) Higher standards set by regulation.--Subsection (c) of
such section is amended--
(A) in the first sentence of paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``Subject to paragraph (2)
of this subsection, the'' and inserting
``The''; and
(ii) by striking ``amending the standard''
and inserting ``increasing the standard
otherwise applicable'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) by designating the text composed of the second
and third sentences of paragraph (1) as paragraph (2)
and realigning such paragraph, as so designated, flush
with the left margin.
(b) Non-Passenger Automobiles.--Subsection (a) of such section is
amended--
(1) by striking ``At least 18 months before each model
year,'' and inserting the following:
``(1) The average fuel economy standard applicable for automobiles
(except passenger automobiles) manufactured by a manufacturer in a
model year--
``(A) after model year 1984 and before model year 2006
shall be 17 miles per gallon;
``(B) after model year 2005 and before model year 2009
shall be 19 miles per gallon;
``(C) after model year 2008 and before model year 2012
shall be 21.5 miles per gallon;
``(D) after model year 2011 and before model year 2015
shall be 24.5 miles per gallon; and
``(E) after model year 2014 shall be 27.5 miles per gallon,
except as provided under paragraph (2).
``(2) At least 18 months before the beginning of each model year
after model year 2015,''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) If the Secretary does not increase the average fuel economy
standard applicable under paragraph (1)(E) or (2), or applicable to any
class under paragraph (2), within 24 months after the latest increase
in the standard applicable under paragraph (1)(E) or (2), the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report containing an explanation of the
reasons for not increasing the standard. The report shall be submitted
not later than 90 days after the expiration of the 24-month period.''.
SEC. 3. INCREASED INCLUSIVENESS OF DEFINITIONS OF AUTOMOBILE AND
PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE.
(a) Automobile.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (3) of section 32901(a) of title
49, United States Code, is amended--
(A) by striking ``6,000 pounds'' each place it
appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting
``12,000 pounds''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by striking ``10,000 pounds'' and
inserting ``14,000 pounds''; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``an
average fuel economy standard'' and all that
follows through ``conservation or''.
(2) Special rule.--Section 32908(a)(1) of such title is
amended by striking ``8,500 pounds'' and inserting ``14,000
pounds''.
(b) Passenger Automobile.--Paragraph (16) of section 32901(a) of
such title is amended to read as follows:
``(16) `passenger automobile'--
``(A) means, except as provided in subparagraph
(B), an automobile having a gross vehicle weight of
12,000 pounds or less that is designed to be used
principally for the transportation of persons; but
``(B) does not include--
``(i) a vehicle that has a primary load
carrying device or container attached;
``(ii) a vehicle that has a seating
capacity of more than 12 persons;
``(iii) a vehicle that has a seating
capacity of more than 9 persons behind the
driver's seat; or
``(iv) a vehicle that is equipped with a
cargo area of at least 6 feet in interior
length that does not extend beyond the frame of
the vehicle and is an open area or is designed
for use as an open area but is enclosed by a
cap and is not readily accessible directly from
the passenger compartment.''.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply
with respect to automobiles manufactured for model years after the
automobile model year in which this Act is enacted.
SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTIES.
(a) Increased Penalty for Violations of Fuel Economy Standards.--
Subsection (b) of section 32912 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``Standards.--'';
(2) by striking ``$5'' and inserting ``the dollar amount
applicable under paragraph (2)'';
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2)(A) The dollar amount referred to in paragraph (1) is $10, as
increased from time to time under subparagraph (B).
``(B) Effective on October 1 of each year, the dollar amount
applicable under subparagraph (A) shall be increased by the percentage
(rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent) by which the price
index for July of such year exceeds the price index for July of the
preceding year. The amount calculated under the preceding sentence
shall be rounded to the nearest $0.10.
``(C) In this paragraph, the term `price index' means the Consumer
Price Index for all-urban consumers published monthly by the Department
of Labor.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (c)(1) of such section is
amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (B); and
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as
subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to automobiles manufactured for model years after
the automobile model year in which this Act is enacted.
SEC. 5. ACCURATE FUEL ECONOMY TESTING.
(a) Biennial Report on Testing Quality.--
(1) Requirement for report.--
(A) In general.--Chapter 329 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 32920. Biennial report on testing quality
``(a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than October 1 of each
odd-numbered year, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to
Congress a report on the quality of the testing for determining
automobile fuel economy under this chapter for all currently available
technologies for autmobiles.
``(b) Content of Report.--The report shall include the following
information:
``(1) An assessment of the accuracy of the fuel economy
determined for automobiles in relation to actual highway and
road vehicle fuel economy.
``(2) A discussion of changes in testing methodology that
are planned to be made, together with an assessment of the
effects that such changes are expected to have on the accuracy
of the measures of automobile fuel economy resulting from the
use of the testing methodology as changed.
``(c) Consultation Requirement.--The Secretary of Transportation
and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall
consult on the preparation of the biennial report under this
section.''.
(B) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at
the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
``32920. Biennial report on testing quality.''.
(2) First report.--The first report under section 32920 of
title 49, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), shall
be submitted to Congress in 2005.
(b) Improvement of Process for Measuring Fuel Economy.--
(1) Study.--
(A) Requirement for study.--The Secretary of
Transportation shall provide for the John A. Volpe
National Transportation Systems Center to carry out a
study--
(i) to determine what practicable
automobile fuel economy testing process
provides the most accurate measures of actual
automobile fuel economy in highway use, in
urban use, and in combined highway and in urban
use; and
(ii) to compare the average automobile fuel
economy ratings calculated under the testing
process determined under clause (i) for each
category of automobile use described in that
clause with the corresponding automobile fuel
economy ratings calculated under the testing
process in use under chapter 329 of title 49,
United States Code, on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) Report.--Not later than two years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report on the results of the study
under subparagraph (A). The report shall include the
following:
(i) Determinations.--The determination and
comparisons made under clauses (i) and (ii) of
subparagraph (A).
(ii) Estimate of equivalent fuel economy.--
An estimate of the average adjustment to
automobile fuel economy ratings calculated
under the testing process used for the purposes
of chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code,
as of the date of enactment of this Act that is
needed to conform those ratings closely to the
automobile fuel economy ratings calculated
under the testing process determined most
accurate under subparagraph (A)(i).
(2) Testing procedure revision.--
(A) Requirement for revised procedure.--Not later
than 180 days after the report required under paragraph
(1)(B) is submitted to Congress, the Secretary of
Transportation shall prescribe in regulations--
(i) a revised testing procedure for
accurately measuring the actual automobile fuel
economy of each model of automobile; and
(ii) a requirement that the revised testing
procedure be applied for the purposes of
chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, to
determine the average fuel economy of the
automobiles manufactured in model years after
model year 2006.
(B) Model for revised procedure.--The testing
procedure prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall be
based on the testing process identified in the report
required under paragraph (1)(B) as providing the most
accurate measures of actual automobile fuel economy.
(3) Comparable adjustment in average fuel economy
standards.--
(A) Requirement for adjustment.--For automobiles
manufactured in model years after model year 2006, the
Secretary of Transportation shall amend each average
fuel economy standard prescribed under section 32902 of
title 49, United States Code, to take into account
improved accuracy in the calculation of automobile fuel
economy that results from use of the revised testing
procedure applied as required under paragraph (2).
(B) Condition.--The Secretary shall ensure that
each average fuel economy standard applied as amended
under subparagraph (A) is at least as stringent as the
corresponding average fuel economy standard that the
Secretary would have applied under section 32902 of
title 49, United States Code, if the fuel economy
testing procedure had not been revised as required
under paragraph (2).
SEC. 6. STANDARDS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCY AUTOMOBILES.
Section 32917 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1) of subsection (b)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``passenger''; and
(ii) by striking ``to achieve'' and all
that follows and inserting ``to achieve--'';
and
(B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and
inserting the following:
``(A) in the case of non-passenger automobiles, a fleet
average fuel economy for that year of at least the average fuel
economy standard applicable under subsection (a) of section
32902 of this title for the model year that includes January 1
of that fiscal year; and
``(B) in the case of passenger automobiles, a fleet average
fuel economy for that year of at least the average fuel economy
standard applicable under subsection (b) or (c) of such section
for such model year.'';
(2) in paragraph (2) of subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``Fleet average fuel economy is--''
and inserting ``For the purposes of paragraph (1), the
fleet average fuel economy of non-passenger or
passenger automobiles in a fiscal year is--'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``passenger automobiles''
and inserting ``the non-passenger automobiles
or passenger automobiles, respectively, that
are''; and
(ii) by striking ``in a fiscal year'' and
inserting ``in such fiscal year''; and
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``such''
after ``the number of''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Minimum Number of Exceptionally Fuel-Efficient Vehicles.--The
President shall prescribe regulations that require that--
``(1) at least 20 percent of the passenger automobiles
leased for at least 60 consecutive days or bought by executive
agencies in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel economy rating
that is at least 5 miles per gallon higher than the average
fuel economy standard applicable to the automobile under
subsection (b) or (c) of section 32902 of this title for the
model year that includes January 1 of that fiscal year; and
``(2) beginning in fiscal year 2009, at least 10,000
vehicles in the fleet of automobiles used by executive agencies
in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel economy at least 5 miles
per gallon higher than the average fuel economy standards
applicable to such automobiles under section 32902 of this
title for the model year that includes January 1 of that fiscal
year.''.
<all>