school buses; alternative
fuel
DP |
Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology |
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DPA |
Committee on Environment |
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X |
Caucus and COW |
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Third Read |
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As Passed the House |
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SB 1117 eliminates the requirement that large school districts, located in the Maricopa county portion of area A, develop plans that encourage and gradually increase the number of alternative and clean burning fuel vehicles in their fleets.
SB 1117 passed the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology unamended.
The bill passed the Environment Committee amended as follows: establishes a goal of at least 33% for larger buses (19,500 pounds GVWR and above) in a school district fleet to be converted, retrofitted and using cleaner diesel fuels by December 31, 2004 and each year thereafter if there are available state air quality funding sources; expands the requirement to all of area A.
School Districts
ARS 15-349 provides that school districts of more than three thousand students, with bus routes running within Area A in Maricopa County must develop a plan that encourages the use of alternative and clean burning fuels in their respective fleets. The plan must include measures that progressively increase the number of vehicles capable of utilizing those fuels based upon the following schedule:
|
Compliance Date |
Percentage Requirement Alternative and Clean Burning Fuels |
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December 31,2001 |
5 percent |
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December 31, 2002 |
15 percent |
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December 31, 2003 |
25 percent |
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December 31, 2004 |
33 percent |
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December 31, 2005 |
50 percent |
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December 31, 2006 |
75 percent |
The Department of Commerce Energy Office, in a survey conducted in January 2001, concluded that schools in Area A, on average, have converted 20.8 percent of their fleets to alternative fuels.
Alternative fuel is
defined as: electricity, solar energy, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas,
hydrogen or a blend of hydrogen with liquefied petroleum or natural gas. Clean
burning fuel is defined as: an emulsion of water‑phased hydrocarbon
fuel that contains not less than twenty per cent water by volume or a diesel
fuel substitute that is produced from non-petroleum renewable resources.
15-349. Operation
of motor vehicle fleet; energy conservation; alternative and clean burning
fuels; definitions
A. The
governing board of a school district with an average daily membership as
defined in section 15‑901 of more than three thousand which is located
within or which has bus routes running within area A, as defined in section 49‑541,
in a county with a population of more than one million two hundred thousand
persons according to the most recent United States decennial census shall
develop and implement a vehicle fleet plan for the purpose of encouraging and
progressively increasing the use of alternative fuels and clean burning fuels
in school district owned vehicles. The
plan shall include a timetable for increasing the use of alternative fuels and
clean burning fuels in fleet vehicles either through purchase or
conversion. At a minimum, the
alternative fuel vehicles shall comply with any one of the following:
1. The
United States environmental protection agency standards for low emission
vehicles pursuant to 40 Code of Federal Regulations section 88.104‑94 or
88.105‑94.
2. The
vehicle engine is certified by the engine modifier to meet the addendum to
memorandum 1‑A of the United States environmental protection agency, as
printed in the federal register, volume 62, number 207, October 27, 1997, pages
55635 through 55637.
3. The
vehicle engine is the subject of a waiver for that specific engine application
from the United States environmental protection agency's addendum to memorandum
1‑A requirements and that waiver is documented to the reasonable satisfaction
of the department of commerce energy office.
B. The
timetable shall reflect the following schedule and percentage of vehicles which
operate on alternative fuels and clean burning fuels:
1. At
least five per cent of the total fleet by December 31, 2001.
2. At
least fifteen per cent of the total fleet by December 31, 2002.
3. At
least twenty‑five per cent of the total fleet by December 31, 2003.
4. At
least thirty‑three per cent of the total fleet by December 31, 2004.
5. At
least fifty per cent of the total fleet by December 31, 2005.
6. At
least seventy‑five per cent of the total fleet by December 31, 2006 and
each year thereafter.
C. For the
purpose of this section, "alternative fuel" and "clean burning
fuel" have the same meaning prescribed in section 1‑215.
Special Session –
Alternative Fuels
Laws 2000, 7th Special Session, Chapter 1, made various changes relating to the Alternative Fuel Program. Among those changes was the elimination of increased transportation support level payments to school districts located within Area A. The increased transportation support levels were established to help absorb some of the costs associated with the alternative fuel program requirements. Current funding options to offset costs associated with the program include:
·
Diesel conversion grants from the Department of
Commerce.
·
Revenues from the sale of advertising space on school
buses.
· Eliminates the requirement that any school district of more than three thousand students, located within Area A in Maricopa County, develop a plan to encourage and gradually increase the use of alternative and clean burning fuels in its fleet; removes the current requirement that school districts follow a timetable that reflects a gradually increasing percentage of fleet vehicles that utilize alternative fuel and clean burning fuels.
· Provides that all revenues generated from the sale of advertising space on school buses be used for pupil related costs.
Amendments
SB 1117 passed the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology unamended.
SB 1117 was amended in the Environment Committee as follows:
· Establishes a goal of at least 33% for larger buses (19,500 pounds GVWR and above) in a school district fleet to be converted, retrofitted and using cleaner diesel fuels by December 31, 2004 and each year thereafter if there are available state air quality funding sources; describes possible funding sources; expands the requirement to all of area A.
· Allows school districts to use any local, federal or private funding sources that may be available for this purpose.
· Specifies approved engine retrofits or conversions.
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45th Legislature
Second Regular Session 3 April
19, 2002
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