BILL REQ. #:  H-4636.1 

Read first time 01/25/10.   Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to including alternative fuel vehicles in a strategy to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from state agency fleets; and amending RCW 43.41.130.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 43.41.130 and 2009 c 519 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director of financial management, after consultation with other interested or affected state agencies, shall establish overall policies governing the acquisition, operation, management, maintenance, repair, and disposal of((,)) all ((passenger)) motor vehicles owned or operated by any state agency. ((Such)) These policies shall include but not be limited to a definition of what constitutes authorized use of a state owned or controlled passenger motor vehicle and other motor vehicles on official state business. The definition shall include, but not be limited to, the use of state-owned motor vehicles for commuter ride sharing so long as the entire capital depreciation and operational expense of the commuter ride-sharing arrangement is paid by the commuters. Any use other than such defined use shall be considered as personal use.
     (2) By June 15, 2010, the director of the department of general administration, in consultation with the office and other interested or affected state agencies, shall develop strategies to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from all classes of vehicles. State agencies shall use these strategies to:
     (((1))) (a) Phase in fuel economy standards for motor pools and leased vehicles using petroleum-based fuel sources to achieve an average fuel economy standard of thirty-six miles per gallon for passenger vehicle fleets by 2015;
     (((2))) (b) Either:
     (i) Achieve an average fuel economy of forty miles per gallon for light duty passenger vehicles purchased after June 15, 2010, that use a petroleum-based fuel source; or
     (ii) Achieve a reduction of at least ten percent in lifecycle carbon intensity, when compared to similar petroleum-based fuel vehicles, for light duty passenger vehicles purchased after June 15, 2010, that use a nonpetroleum-based fuel source; and
     (((3))) (c) Either:
     (i) Achieve an average fuel economy standard of twenty-seven miles per gallon for light duty vans and sport utility vehicles purchased after June 15, 2010, that use a petroleum-based fuel source; or
     (ii) Achieve a reduction of at least ten percent in lifecycle carbon intensity, when compared to similar petroleum-based fuel vehicles, for light duty vans and sport utility vehicles purchased after June 15, 2010, that use a nonpetroleum-based fuel source.
     (3) State agencies must report annually on the progress made to achieve the goals under subsection((s (1) through (3))) (2)(a) through (c) of this section beginning October 31, 2011.
     (4) The department of general administration, in consultation with the office and other affected or interested agencies, shall develop a separate fleet fuel economy standard for all other classes of vehicles that use a petroleum-based fuel source and report the progress made toward meeting the fuel consumption and emissions goals established by this section to the governor and the relevant legislative committees by December 1, 2012. In an effort to achieve lower overall emissions for all other classes of vehicles, the department should, when financially comparable, consider purchasing or converting to vehicles that use a nonpetroleum-based fuel source that achieve a reduction of at least ten percent in lifecycle carbon intensity, when compared to a similar vehicle that uses a petroleum-based fuel source.
     ((For the purposes of this section, light duty vehicles refers to cars, sport utility vehicles, and passenger vans.)) (5) The following vehicles are excluded from the ((agency fleet)) average fuel economy ((calculation)) goals established in subsection (2)(a) through (c) of this section: Emergency response vehicles, passenger vans with a gross vehicle weight of eight thousand five hundred pounds or greater, vehicles that are purchased for off-pavement use, and passenger vehicles that are driven less than two thousand miles per year. Average fuel economy calculations for vehicles that use a petroleum-based fuel source must be based upon the current United States environmental protection agency composite city and highway mile per gallon rating.
     (6) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (a) "Lifecycle carbon intensity" is a measurement, as determined by the department, of the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with each step of a fuel's full life cycle from extraction or generation, including indirect land use changes, up to consumer use of the fuel.
     (b) "Petroleum-based fuel source" means a fuel blend that uses any percentage of gasoline or diesel fuel as an additive.