H-3456              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 2415

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives Nealey, Rayburn, Jesernig, McLean, Holland, Moyer, Wolfe, Smith and R. King

Read first time 1/12/90 and referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Development.

AN ACT Relating to gasohol; amending RCW 43.41.130; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that the use of ethanol blended fuels in motor vehicles affords the nation the opportunity to reduce its dependency on imported oil while expanding the market for agricultural and other domestically produced feedstocks for ethanol.

          The purpose of this act is to establish a pilot project for increasing the use of ethanol blended fuels in this state and for studying the effects of the project on the use of agricultural products as feedstock for producing ethanol.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The department of agriculture shall study the effects of the pilot project established in section 3 of this act on the use of agricultural products as feedstock for the production of ethanol.  The department shall also review available literature and identify the agricultural crops suitable for production in this state which have the greatest potential as feedstocks for ethanol production.  The department shall report its findings to the legislature by September 1, 1992.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     As one means of implementing the director's responsibilities under RCW 43.41.130(2) for providing for the widest possible use of ethanol blended gasohol in state owned and operated vehicles, the director of financial management shall adopt the following policy on a pilot project basis:  During the period beginning July 1, 1990, and ending June 30, 1992, gasohol shall be a passenger vehicle fuel dispensed at those state facilities which dispense passenger vehicle fuel.  A state facility which dispenses such fuel is exempted from this requirement only if gasohol is not distributed to commercial enterprises in the vicinity of the facility by a wholesale distributor, or the facility dispenses only propane or a similar fuel for passenger vehicles.

        Sec. 4.  Section 5, chapter 167, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess. as last amended by section 13, chapter 163, Laws of 1982 and RCW 43.41.130 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 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) Such policies shall also include the widest possible use of gasohol and cost-effective alternative fuels in all motor vehicles owned or operated by any state agency.  As used in this section, "gasohol" means motor vehicle fuel which contains more than nine and one-half percent ((alcohol)) ethanol by volume.