Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State to purchase alternative fuel, alternative technology, hybrid, and fuel efficient vehicles.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring the State to purchase energy efficient vehicles and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Alternative fuel" means any non-petroleum based fuel such as methanol, denatured ethanol, and other alcohols; any mixture containing 85% or more by volume of methanol, denatured ethanol and other alcohols, or fuels other than alcohol derived from animal, biological or vegetable materials, with gasoline and other fuels, including, but not limited to, certain blends of biodiesel; fuel other than alcohol derived from animal, biological or vegetable materials not mixed with gasoline or other fuels; natural gas, propane, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, electricity, and any other fuel designated by the Secretary of Energy as an alternative fuel. The term "alternative fuel" shall not include the reformulated gasoline required to be sold pursuant to the federal "Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990," 42 U.S.C.s.7403 et seq., or any fuel that is more than 15% petroleum-based by volume.
"Alternative fuel vehicle" means a motor vehicle capable of operating primarily on alternative fuel, except for hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell-powered vehicles. The term "alternative fuel vehicle" includes any vehicle, except for hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell-powered vehicles, that has the capability of operating on either alternative fuel or gasoline; any vehicle that does not have a tank for gasoline and can operate only on alternative fuel; and any type of vehicle designated an alternative fuel vehicle by federal law or the Secretary of Energy.
"Alternative technology vehicle" means any vehicle that is certified to meet the California Air Resources Board ultra-low emissions vehicle requirements for the applicable model year or cleaner standards, and is a hybrid electric vehicle, a fuel cell-powered vehicle, a dual fuel vehicle, or any motor vehicle that operates primarily on alternative fuel but has been determined to not be an alternative fuel vehicle by the Secretary of Energy.
"Dual fuel vehicle" means a vehicle engineered and designed to be operated on two different fuels, but not on a mixture of the fuels.
"Flexible fuel vehicle" means a vehicle engineered and designed to be operated on any mixture of two or more different fuels.
"Fuel cell" means: (1) a device or contrivance that, through the chemical process of combining ions of hydrogen and oxygen, produces electricity and water; (2) an electro-chemical reaction that generates electricity by combining atoms of hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst; (3) a device that directly or indirectly produces electricity directly from hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuel through a non-combustive electro-chemical process; or (4) an electro-chemical device that uses fuel and oxidant to continuously generate electricity.
"Fuel efficient vehicle" means a vehicle attaining a combined fuel economy value of not less than 36 miles per gallon based on fuel efficiency estimates provided by automobile manufacturers and printed on the fuel economy label affixed to a window of a new motor vehicle, pursuant to 40 CFR s.600.306-08 et seq.
"Hybrid electric vehicle" means a motor vehicle propelled by both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor or energy storage device which regenerates energy captured from braking.
2. No new vehicle shall be purchased by the State unless it is an alternative fuel vehicle, alternative technology vehicle, a fuel efficient vehicle, flexible fuel vehicle, or is certified to meet the California Air Resources Board ultra low emissions vehicle, super ultra low emissions vehicle, or zero emissions vehicle requirements for the applicable model year, except if no such vehicle exists in the vehicle class being purchased.
3. This act shall take effect on July 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would require any vehicle purchased by the State to be an alternative fuel vehicle, alternative technology vehicle (including fuel cell-powered or hybrid electric vehicle), fuel efficient vehicle, flexible fuel vehicle, or a vehicle certified to meet the California Air Resources Board ultra low emissions, super ultra low emissions, or zero emissions vehicle requirements, if no such vehicle exists in the vehicle class being purchased. This bill would take effect on the first day of the fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment.