II
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1350
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 25, 2009
Mr. Pryor (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To encourage increased production of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles and to provide tax incentives for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle infrastructure, and for other purposes.
Short title; table of contents
Short title
This Act may be cited
as the Fueling America Act of
2009
.
Table of contents
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—Increased production of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles
Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration projects.
Sec. 103. Study of increasing natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles in Federal fleet.
Sec. 104. Clean school bus program.
TITLE II—Tax incentives
Sec. 201. Credit for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas refueling property.
Sec. 202. Credit for purchase of vehicles fueled by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.
Increased production of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles
Definitions
In this title:
Administrator
The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Natural gas
The term natural gas means—
compressed natural gas;
liquefied natural gas;
biomethane; and
mixtures of—
hydrogen; and
methane, biomethane, compressed natural gas, or liquefied natural gas.
Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
Natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration projects
In general
The Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator, shall conduct a program of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration.
Purposes
The purposes of the program conducted under this section are to focus on—
the continued improvement and development of new, cleaner, more efficient light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle engines;
the integration of those engines into light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles for onroad and offroad applications;
expanding product availability by assisting manufacturers with the certification of the engines or vehicles described in paragraph (1) or (2) to comply with Federal or California certification requirements and in-use emission standards;
the demonstration and proper operation and use of the vehicles described in paragraph (2) under all operating conditions;
the development and improvement of nationally recognized codes and standards for the continued safe operation of vehicles described in paragraph (2) and the components of the vehicles;
improvement in the reliability and efficiency of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas fueling station infrastructure;
the certification of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas fueling station infrastructure to nationally recognized and industry safety standards;
the improvement in the reliability and efficiency of onboard natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas fuel storage systems;
the development of new natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas fuel storage materials;
the certification of onboard natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas fuel storage systems to nationally recognized and industry safety standards; and
the use of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas engines in hybrid vehicles.
Certification of aftermarket conversion systems
In general
The Secretary shall coordinate with the Administrator on issues related to streamlining the certification of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas aftermarket conversion systems to comply with appropriate Federal certification requirements and in-use emission standards.
Streamlined certification
For purposes of paragraph (1), streamlined certification shall include providing aftermarket conversion system manufacturers the option to continue to sell and install systems on engines and test groups for which the manufacturers have previously received a certificate of conformity without having to request a new certificate in future years.
Cooperation and coordination with industry
In developing and carrying out the program under this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle industry to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, cooperation between the public and the private sector.
Administration
The program under this section shall be conducted in accordance with sections 3001 and 3002 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13541, 13542).
Report
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the implementation of this section.
Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.
Study of increasing natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles in Federal fleet
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services, in consultation with the Administrator, shall—
conduct a study on whether or not the Federal fleet should increase the number of light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles in the fleet;
assess the barriers to increasing the number of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles in the fleet;
assess the potential for maximizing the use of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles in the fleet; and
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of the study.
Clean school bus program
In general
Section 6015 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (42 U.S.C. 16091a) is amended—
in subsection (b)(5)—
in subparagraph (A)—
in
the subparagraph heading, by striking 50
and inserting
65
;
in
the matter preceding clause (i), by striking one-half
and
inserting 65 percent
;
in clause
(i)(II), by striking or
after the semicolon at the end;
in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting as semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
clean school buses with engines manufactured in model year 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014 that satisfy regulatory requirements established by the Administrator for emissions of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter to be applicable for school buses manufactured in that model year; or
clean school buses with engines only fueled by compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas, except that school buses described in this clause may be eligible for a grant that is equal to an additional 25 percent of the acquisition costs of the school buses (including fueling infrastructure).
; and
in subparagraph (B)—
in
the subparagraph heading, by striking 25
and inserting
50
; and
in
the matter preceding clause (i), by striking one-fourth
and
inserting 50 percent
; and
in subsection (d)—
in paragraph (1),
by striking and
at the end;
in paragraph (2),
by striking 2008, 2009, and 2010.
and inserting 2008 and
2009; and
; and
by adding at the end the following:
$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.
.
Technical correction
Section 741 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16091) is repealed.
Tax incentives
Credit for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas refueling property
Increase in credit percentage for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas refueling property
Subsection (e) of section 30C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Special rule for qualified natural gas vehicle refueling property and qualified liquefied petroleum gas vehicle refueling property
In general
In the case of any qualified natural gas vehicle refueling property and any qualified liquefied petroleum gas vehicle refueling property to which paragraph (6) does not apply—
subsection (a)
shall be applied by substituting 50 percent
for 30
percent
,
subsection
(b)(1) shall be applied by substituting $50,000
for
$30,000
, and
subsection
(b)(2) shall be applied by substituting $2,000
for
$1,000
.
Qualified natural gas vehicle refueling property
For purposes of this paragraph, the term qualified natural gas vehicle refueling property has the same meaning as the term qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property would have under subsection (c) if only natural gas, compressed natural gas, and liquefied natural gas were treated as clean-burning fuels for purposes of section 179A(d).
Qualified liquefied petroleum gas vehicle refueling property
For purposes of this paragraph, the term qualified liquefied petroleum gas vehicle refueling property has the same meaning as the term qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property would have under subsection (c) if only liquefied petroleum gas were treated as a clean-burning fuel for purposes of section 179A(d).
.
Extension of credit
Subsection (g) of section 30C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
Termination
This section shall not apply to any property placed in service after December 31, 2014.
.
Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2008, in taxable years ending after such date.
Credit for purchase of vehicles fueled by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas
In general
Subsection (e) of section 30B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Higher incremental cost limits for natural gas vehicles and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles
In general
In the case of any eligible natural gas motor vehicle and any eligible liquefied petroleum gas motor vehicle, paragraph (3) shall be applied by multiplying each of the dollar amounts contained in such paragraph by 2.
Eligible natural gas motor vehicle
For purposes of this paragraph, the term eligible natural gas motor vehicle means (except as provided in clause (ii)) a new qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle or aftermarket conversion system the final assembly of which is in the United States and that—
is only capable of operating on compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas, or
is capable of operating for more than 175 miles on compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas and is capable of operating on gasoline or diesel fuel.
Eligible liquefied petroleum gas motor vehicle
For purposes of this paragraph, the term eligible liquefied petroleum gas motor vehicle means (except as provided in clause (ii)) a new qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle or aftermarket conversion system the final assembly of which is in the United States and that—
is only capable of operating on liquefied petroleum gas, or
is capable of operating for more than 175 miles on liquefied petroleum gas and is capable of operating on gasoline or diesel fuel.
Aftermarket conversion system
For purposes of this paragraph, the term aftermarket conversion system means property that converts a vehicle that is not described in this paragraph into an eligible natural gas motor vehicle (for purposes of subparagraph (B)) or an eligible liquefied petroleum gas motor vehicle (for purposes of subparagraph (C)).
.
Extension of credit for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles
Paragraph (4) of section 30B(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
by striking
and
at the end of paragraph (3),
by striking the
period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting , and
,
by striking
(as described in subsection (e))
in paragraph (4) and inserting
(as described in paragraph (4) or (5) of subsection (e))
,
and
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
in the case of a new qualified alternative fuel vehicle described in subsection (e)(6), December 31, 2014.
.
Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall apply to vehicles placed in service after December 31, 2008, in taxable years ending after such date.